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?

I said earlier earthy mama that I have completely separate bbqs for veggies and meat eaters.

bolshy, I completely agree about meat eaters also eating the vegetarian food. When I book on training courses now, I ask to have the vegetarian food kept separate. It drives me nuts if I go to lunch late and there's nothing to eat.

I'm also considering whether to go on my work Christmas do. There is one option for the starter, one for the main. The main has Jerusalem artichokes as the main ingredient, which rather knocks courgettes into a cocked hat!

I love Jerusalem artichokes

So do I, but they give me terrible wind

The same vegetarian dish appearing on different menus is the one that pisses me off, as it tends to happen in the more upmarket places. Normally I choose Indian or Italian places where there is usually a degree of choice.

I've been veggie since the early 80s, and in some ways we've moved on so much. But on my first date with (now) DH 30 years ago, we booked a table somewhere relatively posh for our student incomes, and I was offered a cheese salad. To his eternal credit, BF decided this was pretty crap and we abandoned the place in favour of an Indian restaurant up the road. It's pretty appalling that many places still only offer vegetarians a bit of cheese, even if it does come warm with pastry these days.

jerualem artichokes are notorious. are they worth it for the taste? never had them.

I agree with the poster who said that vegetarian portions are usually tiny? I often get a meal that my 3 year old could eat while everyone else has a good hearty plateful. Very strange.

I'm vegetarian, but there is nothing on the menu suitable for me. Could you please make me something different? Most good restaurants will be glad to cater for you

The magic words are "a good restaurant" which are in very short supply!
IME the chances of this happening are very low in UK unless you are in a big city. You are very lucky if they cobble together something edible that isnt a veggie lasagne or some other pasta type dish. Doing anything on the spur of the moment that is creative, tasty and varied is off most restaurants' radar. Most come across as CBA, if it isnt on the menu!

But dont apologise for being a veggie, op, its great, but we just cant be quite as spontaneous as people who eat meat and fish.

YANBU
It is sheer laziness not to provide tasty veggie meals on a menu.

I'm not veggie but if I am unsure where the meat/fish comes from or it is cheap processed I will only eat the veggie options.

We don't eat out often but we are lucky to have a good local pub where the chef knows his onions and the local Indian does a lovely veggie thali.

OTOH, I have normally done very well out of our company Christmas lunch which is always in London. Then I get to order something gorgeous in advance, that they have adapted for me and people always say " mmm that looks delicious" as they stare at their boring old turkey and stuffing!

The taste is no better and no worse than most root vegetables, blackeyedsusan. I think it's the novelty value that makes restaurants use them.

Tbh I would prefer globe artichokes given the choice. I don't think I'll be going to our work do because the vegetarian meal is far too heavily weighted towards root vegetables. I can do that at home, not pay £30 for the pleasure.

And I've just notice there is no vegetarian dessert, only cheese and biscuits, which I never have the stomach for after two other courses.

Restaurants are private businesses. They're entitled to serve precisely what they want. If you don't like it, don't eat there. That's the only power you have. You might think that they are harming their business by not serving food you like: that's their problem, not yours. You can't demand that restaurants serve vegetarian any more than you can demand that they keep kosher, use only macrobiotic ingredients or not cook using ingredients that contain the letter r. You'll find there's plenty of vegetarian food in areas where there are plenty of vegetarians, so if you feel that strongly about it, you know where to look.

Not sure you've told me anything I don't already know, duhgld, but, err, thanks

Went to Terre terre on the 2nd of October

Just saying....absolutely no point to make whatsoever

But was it fab, rufus?

Oh good lord yes!!!

Me and three meat eaters, their plates were virtually licked clean!!

I have the same thing every time though...really must try something different next time, we live about an hour and a half away so it is a bit of a treat

rufus

Hang on, just realised we live an hour away - we are so going for our next anniversary!

Pro traveller tip: "South Asian Vegetarian" is the best meal choice on west-bound transatlantic flights, as most of the airlines get them from a place in Southall that also supplies sweet centres. Those in the know order it whether they're meat eaters or not, because it's the best food on the sector. It's fairly obvious that Virgin, BA, American and United use the same supplier, and I'd be surprised if there weren't others.

I am finding that there are fewer choices now than a few years ago for some reason.

I sometimes have a double sized started (strads used to be the most lovely polenta with creamy mushroom sauce as a starter).

I hate eating out as a veggie - ggthe price is just rediculously high for what is usually a menu 'afterthought' and often as good as, if not worse, than you make at home (certainly rarely more 'special'). A bowl of pasta (out of a packet), a few veggies and handful of basil coming up similar to a piece of fish/meat and loads of lovely veggies?!

Rufus what do you have?

YANBU and it's even worse if you don't eat cheese.

I'm not vegetarian but a fussy bugger with meat so do prefer a meat free meal at a restaurant. Barely any choice though on restaurant menus, all very predictable and samey. But that's my choice. I always feel for vegetarians who don't have the choice of meat, they're so poorly catered for. Years ago we went to a very flashy country house hotel for a work meal. The meat eaters tucked into the most beautifully prepared meat and fish. The vegetarian option was a roast veg lasagne. Didn't match up to the effort of the meat dishes at all.

Stay home OP with a "Higgledy" feta spinach and pine nut pie. Nov dressing for dinner required.

Great travel tip, duhgld.

DH and I ordered vegetarian on a long-haul flight back in the dark ages when we were on honeymoon. Got rice and peas for breakfast while everyone else had maple syrup pancakes. In those days they didn't really differentiate non-meat diets so we think we got the Buddhist menu

drbonnie, it's even worse when you get the meat option with the meat removed.

We went to a posh lunch for a family member's big birthday. Meat eaters got sea bass on a bed of pea risotto. Vegetarians got - you guessed it - pea risotto.