To think that you don't walk into a vegan cafe with a Mcdonald's burger in your hand

[TapasForTwo]

Had a lovely lunch yesterday at a bar that sells outstandingly good vegan food (I'm not vegan, but the food is insanely good).

As we were walking out DD asked if I had seen a family walk in with one of the children holding a Mcdonald's burger in their hand.

a) It is rude to bring your own food into a café anyway
b) It is breathtakingly rude to bring meat into a vegan café!

This place sells the most amazing chips, so they could easily have bought this child the chips instead of a McDonald's.

It's just downright rude to take your own food into another food -selling establishment.

Imagine if I went out for dinner with my DH. He fancied going for a pizza but I am on a diet - so can I take along my tupperware tub filled with salad and boiled eggs? No.

I recently was in a shopping mall and was on my way back to the car, so purchased a coffee to take away. Before the car parks I remembered I needed to buy a birthday card so deliberated taking my coffee into the card shop as I was brought up to NOT take food or drink into any shop. I did go in and was super careful not to spill my coffee and apologised to the cashier when I paid. She was astounded that I cared so much so it's clearly nothing surprising nowadays.

Why is it that vegan/vegetarian restaurants are allowed to not offer a meat dish on their menu, yet if you look at the majority of steak restaurants there is always one veg alternative?

Have seen enough veges bring some of their own food into omnivore restaurants, if it stops them moaning ( regualrly!) about how no one caters for them - then fine!

If it keeps the child happy - let them eat meat!

JassyRadlett. Ok apply that to something else other than meat.

I don’t like mushrooms. I am not allergic but let’s pretend I am morally opposed to mushrooms. Am I allowed to demand that your child doesn’t eat mushrooms in my presence? Is that reasonable?

As you’ll see from my posts, I think the vegan bit is a non-issue. The point is, it’s fucking rude to take outside food into a cafe or restaurant. You fit with what the restaurant offers, or you don’t go there.

So in your hypothetical, you don’t go to a restaurant that only serves mushroom-based dishes, or if you do, you eat in advance. And you teach your children to behave decently, rather than expecting the world to bend around them.

@NunoGoncalves

They aren't in the least bit sanctimonious about their ethics outpinked. The place is very popular with vegans and omnivores alike because the food is so bloody good.

I was sitting next to someone drinking a Costa coffee in another cafe the other day. I asked her repeatedly to hide it and it was clear I wasn't comfortable with it. What more could I have done though? So annoying.

Am I allowed to demand that your child doesn’t eat mushrooms in my presence?

If you and the child are in your house then yes, absolutely.

Why is it that vegan/vegetarian restaurants are allowed to not offer a meat dish on their menu, yet if you look at the majority of steak restaurants there is always one veg alternative

Steak restaurants are "allowed" to offer no veggie alternative too. But that would be bad for business. Restaurants mostly do whatever they can to make more money.

I’m with you, OP. I don’t think it’s acceptable to bring meat into a vegan restaurant and eat it. I’m not vegan myself but I do think it’s fair enough to expect a vegan restaurant to be reliably meat-free.

Why is it that vegan/vegetarian restaurants are allowed to not offer a meat dish on their menu, yet if you look at the majority of steak restaurants there is always one veg alternative?

Because the steak restaurant has a commercial interest in attracting groups that include one vegetarian? They are ‘allowed’ to serve only meat; they choose not to.

The thing about vegetarian food is that... it doesn’t actually exclude anyone, except those who claim they can never have a meal that doesn’t include meat, or they’ll melt or mutate or something. (Nb: I eat meat, I just think it’s a stupid argument). Vegetarian/vegan restaurants are targeting a particular commercial market.

Have seen enough veges bring some of their own food into omnivore restaurants, if it stops them moaning ( regualrly!) about how no one caters for them - then fine!

They are also rude.

Well, assuming your dd saw correctly op I guess it is up to the owners and other clientele to mind, or not.
how old was child?

No idea, not a toddler.

What if it was a vegetarian burger from McDonalds?

Actually that is a good point. It could have been.

I've done exactly this at the cafe's suggestion. When ds1 was tiny he was allergic to dairy and nuts. The vegan place we tried didnt want to serve him (too worried about nut contamination), so he ended up with a burger and fries whilst dh and I ate in.

I bloody loved MacDonalds when he was tiny. When we were travelling it was often the only safe place to find him a meal. Obviously that all changed after the dairy allergy went.

I am enjoying a the replies on here - even the vegan bashers

BarbarianMum It's true that we don't know the background to the situation mentioned in the OP - it's possible that family might have a longstanding agreement with the cafe for reasons along those lines.

The key point in your example is that it happened after consultation with the cafe, which is the courteous thing to do; and it wasn't just a case of the child being picky.

It's up to the cafe owner to object.
The family may be regulars and this is a known arrangement.

*Am I allowed to demand that your child doesn’t eat mushrooms in my presence?

If you and the child are in your house then yes, absolutely.*

OP isn’t in her own house. She’s out and about and getting pissed at what someone’s kid is eating. I really don’t have it in me to care so much and be offended by a small child’s lunch. It wasn’t going in anyone else’s mouth ffs.

Of course food brought in to a cafe is rude but we have literally zero info on what was going on here, so to call them “not decent” is a bit strong...

so rude to bring any kind of food into any cafe.

The vegan question doesn't even come into it. If your child doesn't like the food there, then.. just don't go, feed him before or after, just pay for a drink whilst you are in How difficult can that be.

OP isn’t in her own house

I was continuing the analogy thus:

Person with moral objection to mushrooms = owners of vegan cafe
Mushroom-hater's house = cafe premises

It’s rude to walk into any cafe with food from elsewhere

Meat/vegan is irrelevant

Of course it's rude for several reasons. I wonder if maybe it was a veggy burger though?