Being vegetarian is so tiresome.

[Brandnewskytohangyourstarsupon]

I’ve been vegetarian for over 25 years.

Just arranging dinner with friends who are raving about a particular restaurant. It’s a m at eaters dream of a place I’m sure gorgeous food is sold.
It’s Italian so there’s the usual vegetarian offerings of over priced margarita pizza available and it really pisses me off.
There are also some overpriced sides available but it boils my piss to pay £14-16 for a bit of cauliflower.

It’s the majority vote to go to this place.

I don’t want to bring it all down because there’s very little choice for vegetarians so I’ll do as I always do, eat before I go, order a drink and order the cheaper side to just be sociable.

Its always the same I find, always the same.

If you are vegetarian, how do you navigate this?

I agree, there are not many choices. I usually suck it up too as usually the main reason for me being there is to socialise with friends. With family it's better as I'm not the only vegetarian. I don't like to buy fake meat in a restaurant - I just can't see the point when I can buy that in a supermarket if I want a quick processed meal - it's not a treat.

I don't find in our area that being veggie is difficult. I have been veggie for 25 years along with a lot of my friends and family. If my non veggie friends want to go to a place that has rubbish options I sometimes will ask for a veggie starter there to be made into a main or similar (maybe you can do that OP). If I am choosing somewhere to eat out then I just won't go to a place that has very limited options or the usual boring 'vegan chilli' option. I see it as either the chef is a bit crap and unimaginative or maybe they just don't sell enough veggie stuff at that place to justify having it on the menu.

I was vegetarian for 20 years, it was niche.

I was fine with the boring menus because I knew that it was a practical choice for restaurants.

Remember it can be harder a more time consuming to make a vegetarian dish - that cauliflower side might even cost more in ingredients if it contains special ingredients. Meat doesn't necessarily cost more

But this restaurant just is expensive full stop!

Agree with PP that's it's so tedious there is now often one combined vegan/vegetarian option. I have seen loads of really nice sounding veggie pizzas but they are made with that awful fake cheese to make it vegan! I just want a nice veggie pizza! I'm not even veggie, I just eat and enjoy a lot of veggie foods! And as for "oh no, even though we're a pizza place and therefore presumably have mozzarella coming out the wazoo, we can't possibly swap the "sheez" for real cheese for you". Argh!

This doesn't sound like a vegetarian problem more a shit restaurant problem. An Italian restaurant that sells Margherita pizzas for £22 and serves chicken wings is not worthy of the name.

Some of the best and nicest Italian food is vegetarian.

That's a meat eater's kind of comment!

Well down here in Bournemouth we have 12 ,which is a good vegan restaurant .(My friend is vegan) The Crown hotel is Blandford does some nice Nourish Bowls or veggie tarts .I have noticed though that there are maybe more vegan offerings ATM?

I don't eat meat, I don't actually like most meat, especially red meat. So fake meat is the worst of all worlds! I'd say a fair few veggies are repulsed by meat. I'd happily eat vegan and mainly do at home, but not food mocked up to look like meat.

I don't even describe myself as a veggie, but just eat mainly plant-based at home and fish when I eat out.
It's lovely to hear about all the middle Eastern, Lebanese restaurants- there are none near us, although we have a lovely deli. People on MN always seem to live in a metropolis with a myriad of restaurants!

I’m vegan, I just think of the animals and have no desire to pay for dead body parts so it’s fine. I eat out at plenty of vegan places with my DH and family though and actually a few of my friends have been ok with going to them as well, so the occasional lack of choice I just suck up.

🤣
The shock that they use special ingredients to cook meat meals too...It's not only those veggies that eat them new fangled spices!

@PaminaMozart

Yes except when there are mixed mezze and the greedy carnivores eat the non meat stuff as well as the meat stuff. I hate this!

Mind you, I have been to a totally vegetarian restaurant and seasonally, there were lots of Jerusalem artichokes on the menu. Basically in almost every dish bar one! I had to have the stacked aubergine thingy as that was the only non Jerusalem artichoke choice! Gutted!

Shock horror as meat eaters also like to enjoy a balanced diet including vegetables.

Why would I want to eat only a plate of meat?

Stuff of nightmares for a chickpea and cumin hater..! 🙈

Yet on previous thread like this meat eaters often describe vegetarian food as horrible- “putrid” was a word used.

even this thread a pp has described vegan food as revolting.

doesn’t matter how much you point out meat eaters can enjoy vegetarian or vegan food, and actually they do, as no one survives solely on meat. And that vegetables, bread, pulses, pasta, rice etc are all “vegan”.

nope, vegan and vegetarian food is discussing and no way would they go to a vegetarian restaurant.

yet always first in line for the vegetarian food at a buffet.

Oh yes. At a buffet you will often find the vegan and veggie food has gone because the meat eaters have had it because it looks nice. Leaving the non meat eaters with some breadsticks and a cherry tomato.

@BiscuityBoyle

Exactly! I was trying to make that point but @rookiemere and @MyQuaintDog either misunderstood or more likely just want to make a sneery remark!

This is our veggie supper tonight. We do tend to eat a little early

Until I can get vegetarian cooking at least as good as I can make myself I don’t see any point to eating out. This is halloumi in a peri peri coating with garlic, lime and tomato rice, peas and salad

It wasn't a sneery point, it was just to state that unless something is marked as off limits then meat eaters have the advantage if choosing to be able to eat everything from a mixed buffet, and sometimes I do prefer vegetarian food - if I am getting an Indian takeaway for example, I usually go for Saag Paneer which is spinach and cheese.

Maybe they should make more buffet food vegan, I'm never going to touch the tofu surprise, or anything with vegan mayo or cheese.

Why would they make more buffet food vegan?

i’m a vegetarian and wouldn’t touch anything with vegan cheese, vegan mayo, fake meat etc.

what they need to do is change their planning. Instead of catering enough vegetarian food for the 12 people out of 60 who are vegetarian, they need to switch it round and cater 80% non meat and 20% meat. Then there’s plenty for everyone. It’s depressing when a buffet is 80% meat containing dishes, and the other 20% is shared between all 60 people.

so we’re back to lack of choice for vegetarians because the choice is meat or fake meat/dairy.

Just a thought but maybe those describing vegetarian food as putrid and those loving vegetarian foods are not the same people. 🙄Some massive generalisation going on here.

my point was unless anyone eats a diet of 100% meat they’re going to be eating a fair amount of “vegetarian” food. Rice, beans, pasta, vegetables, you know, part of a normal diet but still all “vegetarian”.

a cheese sandwich or a margherita pizza is vegetarian. So that’s putrid, yet chuck a bit of ham on and it’s magically wonderful? A simple tomato and garlic pasta is unacceptable, but with a bit of chicken thrown in it’s fine?

so to describe vegetarian food as putrid and refuse to go to restaurants that serve vegetarian food seems ridiculous. My guess is even the most anti- vegetarian eaters still eat a fair bit…