I have noticed there are not many places that I can actually find vegan food, let alone great vegan food, so cooking for myself has been the best option. But there are times when friends or family are going out to the local restaurant and I am left hanging onto dear hope that I will find something vegan and delicious on the menu.
If you have been a vegan for awhile, then this probably isn’t that great of a shock to you, but on menus from those Americana places like TGIF, Applebee’s, Chile’s and Red Robbin (the same places that all of their salads are listed with chicken on their menus) I really find myself saying to myself “Let’s not get discouraged….”
Lately it seems like the waiter has been coming to the table all too soon and the scene is like this; everyone else at the table is placing their order… great now it’s my turn. My friends peer at me from across the table.. silence…
“Um…” I finally manage to utter, “Does your potato soup have any animal products in it?”
“Yes, milk and cheese,” the waiter responds. Crap. I scramble to find another option.
“Hmm, ok, well what about the vegetable flatbread?”
“That has cheese also..”
At this point, I’m getting a little flustered. I don’t want to annoy my party or the waiter who is putting in my order.
“Is there anything vegan on the menu?” I ask. The waiter pauses for a moment.
“I can get you a supreme pizza with no cheese.” Oh yay!
I definitely need to become smoother when ordering at non vegan restaurants, and I encourage all of you vegan newbies not to put too much pressure on yourselves when you’re trying to eat out at restaurants. Those restaurants serve millions of different people everyday with different preferences, allergies and lifestyles and we are just as obligated to enjoy ourselves too.
