Eating out as a vegetarian. Aaaaggggghhhhhh!

[Neolara]

Once again I've come back from a meal out and my food has been terrible while everyone else has had great food. Every. Bloody. Time.

This time, we were at a nice pub. There actually weren't any vegetarian options. The only option was vegan. Could I swop the coconut feta for normal feta? No, unfortunately you can't which (according to the waitress) is a shame because they get asked that a lot...

When it arrives, my dish is a plate of lettuce with about 10 small diced pieces of aubergine (maybe a third of an aubergine?) and a scattering of coconut feta. It tastes ok, but it's really just a starter, bulked out with a lot of lettuce. The lettuce is covered in a very dressing that is so sweet, I didn't even manage to eat all the lettuce. It costs £15. Everyone else (meat eaters), talks about how full the are and how good the food is. I've come home after spending £50 on two drinks, a starter and a rubbish main meal, and made myself a piece of toast because I'm still hungry.

If it was a one off, I wouldn't mind that much. But it's every time. The rise of veganism has been an absolute disaster for vegetarian.food in restaurants. Eating out is very rarely a pleasure any more.
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That's fantastic @Neolara !

I spent a frustrating afternoon in Scarborough looking for anything vegetarian. One cafe had "Vegetarian lasagne and chips" on its menu. OK, very 1985, but it's still food, so I was relieved.

"Can I check the chips that come with the vegetarian meal are cooked in vegetable oil?"

"Nah, love, we cook everything in beef dripping."

"That's not suitable for vegetarians"

"Why not? there's no meat in chips!"

I bought a meal deal in Boots.

South Yorkshire is mostly vegetable oil, North Yorkshire is mostly beef dripping, West Yorkshire varies from chippy to chippy.

I feel the pain of a beef cooked chip (remembers sad outing to award winning chippy in Southwold...).

I can't understand why chip shops use beef dripping. Why would anyone want their fish and/or chips to taste of beef?

The one time me and DH ate a chip which had been cooked in dripping we both thought it tasted vile and spat the chip out (we were at home). We just could not understand why they tasted so awful . It was only a few weeks later when we found out that the chip shop uses dripping. We are in East Midlands

I'm very much not a veggie, and have in the past really enjoyed chips cooked in beef dripping, as long as that's what I was expecting (though if you're anticipating veg-oil-fried chips, the sheer unexpectedness of the beefiness makes it disgusting, in much the same way as I once nearly threw up after a sip of cream of chicken soup that I'd thought was white hot chocolate — my brain went "SALTY! WRONG TASTE! GONE HORRIBLY OFF!"). Potato and beef go well together. But the fish? I tried it once and just can't see how it could ever be made to work. Cod and haddock (if good) are delicate, fragrant, complex, light, moist, and most of all, fish. They go well with a light, crispy, not-too-greasy, mild-tasting batter, maybe with some herbs or spices or some beer in the mix if you like (though I'm not a massive fan of beer batter on fish personally). They do not go well with an overpoweringly-beefy slick of cow grease. IMO, of course.

@mydogisthebest , some people like them made that way. If you grew up eating them that way, then you might think ones cooked in veg oil really tasteless.

Exactly @KirstenBlest In most of Yorkshire, and a lot of Scotland I believe, fish and chips have always been cooked in beef dripping and the fish is usually haddock. The flavour isn't noticeably beefy.

But if that's what you're used to, those cooked in oil are bland and greasy in comparison. And cod is soft and watery compared to haddock, which has a firmer, more meaty texture (maybe that's why it's better in beef dripping).

I think I had chips cooked in beef dripping once. I'd been told that somewhere did the best chips and they were the most disgusting chips I've ever had.

Chips cooked in oil aren't bland and greasy. The oil needs to be hot and they taste of potato.

Exactly. If eating chips I want them to taste of potato. If I ate fish I would want it to taste of fish.

I want all the foods I eat to taste of the food which is why I don't understand the love for gravy in the north. They even pour gravy over their fish and chips. I find it very odd

Gravy… <shudder> I lived in Lincolnshire for a little while and on several occasions watched streams of college students coming out of a local caff at lunchtime, almost all clutching a tray of chips'n'cheese* slathered in a glossy layer of thick, pale brown gravy. It's like someone saw poutine and said to themselves, "How can we make this even less palatable?"

*Never "cheesy chips"! Always "Canyav chips'n'cheese, please?"

Where in the North puts gravy on fish and chips? I've never seen this where I am.

Gravy on chips - yes
Fish, chips and mushy peas - yes
Gravy on fish and chips - no

Pick a vegetarian restaurant. You'll certainly get more choice and probably better food.

Not always an option.....

We had enough trouble finding anywhere for lunch today. I had a cheese and tomato sandwich. Again.

Agreed elphame

there are 1 or 2 vegetarian restaurants in the nearby city’s (maybe) but thats well over 30 minutes drive away

@Noodge Don’t ever worry about “upsetting” a provider by complaining! You’re the customer, you’re paying them for something, so if it isn’t up to scratch you should let them know.