The vegetarian option

[evilharpy]

A thread in AIBU about "if you had your own restaurant" had lots of responses about vegetarian options usually being shit and always involving goat's cheese, mushrooms or beetroot which is sadly bang on. Although where our work Christmas lunch is, both the (only) vegetarian starter and main are based on chestnuts. I've seen another Christmas part menu that has three veggie starter options out of six, and two out of six mains, none of which involve mushrooms, goats cheese or beetroot. And no risotto!

Wondering if you are vegetarian (or not, but just like the veggie option on the menu), what sort of things would you like to see? I would like meat-free meals out more often but they really do often seem like an afterthought/token nod.

Butternut squash & fennel lasagne
Brussels sticky Asian black rice
Soufflé
Aubergine pepper onion paha

Agree we need more imaginative veggie options

I feel sorry for vegetarians because round here every veggie offering in now vegan.
Cheese and eggs being extremely tasty I feel this must be a loss.

As non veggie the veg meals I order are often soufflé, veg and cheese filled ravioli and anything involving eggplant or artichokes.

I’m veggie and also feel cheated if the meat free option is vegan. I get it’s convenient but it’s lazy.

Soufflé
Quiche
Roulade
Nut roast
Pie

And no fucking cranberries thank you very much. I don’t want dried fruit in my main course. Drives me batty.

I love a really good nut roast and also other easily made, but rarely appearing, veggie options of toad in the hole or sausages and mash. Years ago I had THE BEST veggie sausages with colcannon, veg and gravy in a branch of O’Neils: it was lush.

I loathe goat’s cheese and I’m not a huge fan of pastry - everywhere I’ve been recently seems to feature goat’s cheese and mushroom pie

Strong agree that it's bloody annoying when there are no veggie options, only vegan. I'm seeing this more and more when eating out. I actually quite enjoy vegan food but if I'm having pizza I want proper cheese on it! Or actual mayo on a salad or sandwich.
For a works Christmas lunch, I'd love to see a nut roast. Not hard to make and really tasty served with the sides that everyone else is having.

Yes, I don't need vegan either. If I have something pastry based it is much better made with butter. I also get annoyed when the veggie option is 'lighter'. In my opinion any option should have carbs, veg and protein in it.

@verymiddleaged

I feel sorry for vegetarians because round here every veggie offering in now vegan. Cheese and eggs being extremely tasty I feel this must be a loss.

As non veggie the veg meals I order are often soufflé, veg and cheese filled ravioli and anything involving eggplant or artichokes.

Complety agree. Veganism has ruined vegetarianism.

Agree OP, when eating out in the U.K. it’s always goat’s cheese, beetroot, butternut squash, as if all veggies have a sweet tooth. Also I agree with PP that lately everything seems to have been veganised, so essentially a plate of veg, sometimes accompanied by a grain of some sort. No thought to nutrient balance or even just a satisfying meal.

There are so many cuisines in the world with huge ranges of vegetarian options, when I go out to eat I go for Lebanese or Turkish, or generally Mediterranean, plenty of flavours there and most are really easy to prepare. No need to go super exotic with Indian or East Asian even.

Another bugbear is what would normally be vegetarian fare (eg. Aubergine parmigiana) but is rendered inedible by the addition of fucking ham or bacon or lardons. This is an annoying trait in gastropubs in particular, even the veg on the side is tainted.

you see the problem here is that you can't win.
i was veggie for 10 years.

bloody love goast cheese and pastry, and mushrooms. cannot stand nut roast in any form.

Love cranberries, and would happily have them with my main, including with goats cheese

I don’t mind seeing beetroot, mushrooms or butternut squash on the menu personally! Most pub menus are pretty unadventurous for meat eaters too - Sunday roast, burgers, fish and chips etc. so I don’t mind unadventurous options, but I do mind small/overly simple options! I don’t want a bowl of pasta while all the meat eaters are having a hearty meal.

So I love to see beetroot/mushroom/butternut squash tart with potatoes and veg. But a beetroot/mushroom/squash bowl
Of pasta just depresses me. Especially as I don’t think a bowl of pasta is a complete meal, I’d always have a side salad at home. But I resent playing 12 quid for a bowl
Of pasta and another 4 quid for a side salad.

@verymiddleaged

I feel sorry for vegetarians because round here every veggie offering in now vegan. Cheese and eggs being extremely tasty I feel this must be a loss.

As non veggie the veg meals I order are often soufflé, veg and cheese filled ravioli and anything involving eggplant or artichokes.

I found that when I was veggie, so annoying.

I liked cheese and egg based dishes.
Love mushrooms.

Agree that you can't win on this - a lot of people are vegetarian, you can't expect a dish that pleases everyone, any more than there's one thing that all meat eaters like. I love pastry, butternut squash, goats cheese, mushrooms, beetroot, risotto - all the things people moan about! My one thing that annoys me about 'vegetarian options' is if they don't match the rest of the menu: I don't want a Thai green curry if everyone is having a Christmas dinner. But I know other vegetarians who think restaurants should always go for 'already veggie friendly' cuisines for vegetarian options rather than try and adapt an inherently meaty cuisine. So again, you can please some of the people some of the time but...

I agree that the veggie options can be very poor in restaurants. Very samey.

Why is almost all of it stuffed full of goats cheese? I don't really like goats cheese. Pasta in tomato sauce is trotted out far too regularly too. And sodding cranberries! I don't like cranberries, and cranberry sauce is like jam. I want to be able to choose my savoury food not smothered in horrible cranberry jam sauce.

I'd like more imaginative options. Veggie curry, veggie chilli, toad-in-the-hole made with really nice veggie sausages, different types of quiche, cauliflower or potato gratin. Or let me just have the seasonal vegetables that come with every other meal with vegetarian gravy, cheese sauce or savoury white sauce.

Surely it isn't as difficult or restrictive as restaurants make it!

Well I quite like goats cheese, beetroot and butternut squash, if they’re done well I don’t mind them being the options. I also like risotto although I don’t like butternut squash or beetroot risotto particularly - I like it more in summer with summery veg. Mushrooms are also delicious but give me the worst IBS so they’re a no no for me, and I do struggle when they’re the only veggie option.

100% agree I don’t want vegan cheese or Mayo they taste odd, I miss an actual vegetarian option not just vegan.

Id love to see more veggie burgers that are actually made out of vegetables/ beans/ nuts etc. Rather than meat replacement versions - I use meat replacement options very occasionally at home for ease but I’m choosy about which ones and don’t particularly want to pay restaurant prices for them. Id also like it if these burgers had eithe no cheese or actual cheese/ not vegan stuff on them.

Really nice interesting salads - maybe warm salads as well.

I was once really pissed off when the only option for me on a fairly pricey set menu was a cauliflower steak. It was actually delicious in the end so I’m happy to see cauliflower steak on there however I would want the price to reflect the fact that it’s a slice of fucking cauliflower not an actual steak, therefore I don’t want to pay £18 or whatever for it.

Things that are inkeeping with the rest of the menu/ occasion - so for a Sunday roast type menu I would like a pie or nut roast that I can have with all the usual trimmings just not meat - ideally with proper veggie gravy too. And not with wildly incongruous flavours which sometimes get inexplicably added to the veggie option. If it’s something like a Christmas dinner again it would be nice to see something that fits with what everyone else is eating, nut roast etc, rather than a bowl of tomato pasta or aubergine bake - I mean fine for a Tuesday night tea but hardly festive.

I think it’s really shoddy and lazy of a place not to have decent vegetarian options.

But you can continue with the beetroot, butternut squash, goat’s cheese etc. I actually do like them, and am fond of the odd pasty myself, but not all the time! It would be great if alongside these options there was also something a) not sweet b) not pasta or risotto c) actually tasty and satisfying and maybe a bit more adventurous and not just an afterthought.

I always say I want something I wouldn't be bothered to cook at home so no pasta, easy risottos or burgers.

My main issue isnt with any particular ingredient, but when the veggie option is so much lower quality and cheaper than the meat, but we have to pay the same price. Sp no thank you to a shite microwave ready meal when everyone else gets something lovely and home cooked

I have a dear friend who is vegetarian but allergic to mushrooms (I've seen her scone up in an angry rash just from inadvertently touching one)

So yes to more variety.

Also yes to not tarting up vegetable sides with bits of bacon etc

When I make veggie meals they usually involve pulses. Butter bean curry, lentil lasagna, lentil Bolognase. You never see anything with pulses in a restaurant unless it’s a Dahl in an Indian restaurant. I think they need to be more imaginative about the protein replacement. I also think you need a few options. For example some vegetarian/ vegan can’t eat soy.

Tbf I love goat's cheese and if there's a goat's cheese tart on the menu, especially with roasted veg, I'm having it. I also love quiche so I'll often choose that.

Yes to making the veggie option fit in with the rest of the meal. Too, too often I have scooped up half a dozen spoonfuls of warm risotto inside a couple of minutes, and had an empty plate before the rest of the table has eaten a couple of roasties.
And for the love of God, if there's gravy, tell me if it's vegetarian gravy. Or not.
Everything else is down to personal taste, so I won't go into detail about that, except fuck off, cranberries.

Haven’t read the full thread but basically I don’t want an exact same dish as the meat dish with the meat replaced with cheese or vegetables/nuts. There are hundreds of different vegetables and beans out there so lots can be done creatively rather than meat-centric dishes modified.

I love goats cheese and beetroot.

I can't eat beans of any description do hate that more veggie options are becoming vegan. I loooooove cheese!

I'd like more imaginative options. Veggie curry, veggie chilli, toad-in-the-hole made with really nice veggie sausages, different types of quiche, cauliflower or potato gratin.

These are the kind of vegetarian things I would order myself. I think restaurants often do a better job on vegetarian for the starter. It's not unusual for me to order veggie starter and meat main. Went to a "fancy" Indian restaurant a while back and the only disappointing dish was the meat one. All the veggie dishes (served sort of tapas style for starters) were incredible.