To feel I almost have to apologise for being veggie...

[Loopylala7]

We were invited out tonight with a big group, but I couldn't go due to no babysitter. Anyway DH casually mentions that, well there was nothing on the menu for me anyway. This is following a holiday where being a vegetarian was considered weird, so had to survive on junk food.

These are just a few of my recent experiences. TBH I feel lucky if I go to a restaurant and have two dishes to choose from. Am I being unreasonable to think this is unreasonable?

Nothing on the menu for you.

At somewhere "out"?

Like, a restaurant?

Are you sure?

What country and/or century do you live in?

I don't think you are but I'm a veggie too so am biased. I would love more than one choice and for it not to be cheese based!

No, and I don't ever eat where 'vegetarians are catered for'. That means 'go to the fridge and see what we can cobble together for the veggie' whereas if they want my money they have to make an effort.

I've been veggie for 30 years [in 9 days time]. And yet you'd think I was an alien the faces some places pull. I tend to eat out rarely to be honest. Prefer my own food.

Trills we tried to eat out recently and two different places only offered a fish choice. No veggie. It wasn't a small town either.

Yes Trills, very sure. I live in 2014, and have encountered this in many, many restaurants.

I get sick of pasta as the veggie choice.

Veg lasagne - I know it well, its a running joke in our family

Trills those places do still exist, unfortunately. I'm a completely non fussy vegetarian and still occasionally have to 'make a meal' out of sides. It is still a 'treat' for me to go somewhere with nice vegetarian options. I went to a restaurant in York a while ago and it was such a pleasure to have several different meals to choose from :)

YANBU

I'm not a vegetarian, but I often choose a veggie dish because I like it, or I don't fancy the meat, or whatever. There's rarely more than one veggie dish in each section. And I've learned not to choose it if I'm very hungry, as vegetarian portions are often skimpy compared to the meat dishes.

Britain is still very crap at veggy food.

Every time we go to a country pub for "a lovely pub lunch" I always end up with some shitty frozen veg lasagne that has been festering in the freezer for years.

We stick to Southern Indian and Italian restaurants in order to get some choice.

YANBU to want choice when eating out as a veggie. One two choices is not rare but most offer sonething. I have been veggie for almost 25 years but will pretty much eat anything so long as it is veggie. It is so much better now than in the beginning when anywhere who offered an option fo a veggie, offered omlette or lasagne. Some places these days are really good and have a number if veggie mains/specials. I have never been anywhere where if you ask there are no veggie options abd tbh have eaten all over the world. I will eat anything so long as its veggie though.

Yep, you do have to watch for places who think fish is veggie!

At least veggies are actually catered for nowadays, even if some places only have a veggie lasagne and that's your lot option. Not so long ago there would have been a or face if you'd have dared to say you were veggie when eating out. Everywhere.
If you're anywhere near Scarborough in North Yorkshire or likely to visit, try the Calf vegan cafe. It's amazing.

Rare more than one veggie option in restaurants and they are usually very poor quality compared to the non veggie options. I have lost count of the times my meat eating dh has been delighted with his food while my veggie meal has been distinctly average or worse.

I have also been known to cobble something together from sides and starters. You know like garlic mushrooms, salad and chips :-)

Am an almost lifelong veggie, over 40 years now. The choice and acceptance of the meat free life has got much better IME but it is patchy in my experience. I am totally unfussy and don't like to draw attention to myself. I hate having to explain why I am as I sometimes feel people go on the defensive. I also used to feel a bit on the bac kfoot with people who would ask, no 'demand' if I was bringing my children up vegetarian and then tell me why this was a bad idea before I even had the chance to explain I wasn't. My two DS are hardened carnivores though I would love it if they did defect to my side. In answer YDNBU but I am biased :-)

Try being a veggie that doesn't eat cheese!!!

Yanbu. It is hard.

I remember one holiday where I virtually existed on chips.

Although I wholeheartedly agree with you, I did end up at a restaurant with no veggie option last month and the chef made me a beautiful meal. On the other hand, I was at a high street cafe, which listed calamari as a veggie option and all the others had Parmesan on.

It's a lot better than it used to be. When I first became a veggie 30 years ago there was actually nothing veggie to eat at all! I think I lived on cheese sandwiches for years and they were made out of really horrible veggie cheese from Sainsburys as it was a rarity back then. I couldn't eat out as there was nothing.
It's somewhat better now although you do have to be creative and 'make' meals out of starters sometimes and face the inevitable bloody veggie lasagne....vile.

It's much better than it used to be when I first turned vegetarian (1984) but I am heartily sick of vegetarian lasagne and anything with goat's cheese. And there does seem to be a fashion at the moment for a new type of hipster barbecue/burger place which really does not cater for vegetarians - not that I'd choose to eat at that sort of place, but awkward if it's a group decision.

"So the Caesar salad is really suitable for vegetarians..? Can you tell me what you put in the dressing?"
"Olive oil, anchovies..."

Our short-hand for the generic, token veggie dish is "goat's cheese surprise".

YANBU.

All kinds of stuff here, from all day breakfasts to burgers, and lovely desserts - I had chocolate fridge cake when I was there, but they had cheesecake and all sorts.
Yum
www.calfsanctuary.com/calf-project/calf-cafe-menu/

I'm just feeling daft because during 22 years of being a veggie its never occurred to me to make a meal out of side orders/starters.

Back when I was pescetarian (never went veggie, but struggled with meat for a variety of reasons, so stopped eating it), I was dragged out to a not particularly wonderful chinese restaurant in a big group. Everyone insisted on the set menu, including my not so D H at the time, despite my protestations that there was nothing for me. There were no veggie options elsewhere on the menu (oh there was - tofu sweet and sour and I'd already seen other tables with that horrible dyed red gloopy S&S sauce, so gave that one a swerve), but I chose a prawn dish that looked like it might be safe.

Well, the fried rice had sodding ham in it, so that was out, and I might have managed to serve myself a small bowl of the prawn dish before everyone else demolished it.

I stuffed myself with toast, when I got home.