Vegetarian restaurants ... ever been?

[Toba]

I am a carnivore, I admit it. LOL So is the rest of my family, except my youngest sister. When she was in intermediate school, her teacher was a die-hard vegan and converted almost every student in her class. I remember my DH (my DH is very protective of my sisters) was so incensed that he had to be talked out of going down to the school and having a meeting with the principal ... he felt like the teacher was pushing an "agenda." LOL We figured it would just be a fad thing for her (because believe me, my father made us try every kind of food there was), but she stuck with it. It's hard for the rest of my family to deal with, especially when making meals for our meat-eating family, and sometimes they give her a hard time. Honestly, I have no problem either making a vegetarian meal (big pasta lover) or I have frequently made the same dish we're having, just without meat for her.

Anyway, she was just here on vacation during her birthday and she chose to go to a vegetarian restaurant. We all griped ... we even goofed that we were going to stop someplace and buy my dad steak and sneak it in (alas, he wound up not going, but that's another story). But we went. She's forever tried to get me to go to this place and I have always refused ... usually I just wag the Olive Garden in her face (she loves their pasta) and she gives in.

We walk in and it's this hippie hole in the wall. Just the complete stereotype of a vegetarian restaurant. LOL Their menu was GINORMOUS and I studied it for what seemed like ever, trying to find something, ANYTHING, that sounded edible (lots of tofu, gluten, something that started with an "s"). I finally found something .... they were spinach and potato perogies, but they had a bunch of other stuff in them and were stewed with those big mushrooms (the name escapes me). So I asked my VERY crunchy waitress if I could get it with just the spinach and potato and not to stew it with mushrooms (some of them I'm allergic to, and it's not worth taking a chance ... plus I do NOT like the taste). She went on this five minute speech about how the ARTIST (I swear she used that word) that creates the food doesn't like to change his recipes, especially that one, because he feels it changes the whole flavor. I just chuckled (like I am now) ... and just asked if she could see if it was possible, especially since I don't LIKE that flavor (plus the potential allergy). She shook her head and said she'd ask, but couldn't promise anything.

Turns out, the ARTIST DID make them according to my specifications, and they weren't that bad (it wasn't a total vegan restaurant, so I was able to get dairy mozzarella without a fuss). I ate them all ... and two glasses of wine (BYOB). LOL It was just SOOO funny. The place was a total dive, but he's an ARTIST. The waitress came back and asked if we wanted dessert ... she rattled off a bunch of very weird things and got to "strawberry shortcake." MMMMmmmm. Okay, I'll take THAT. Only I didn't hear the word RAW strawberry shortcake. I didn't know what that was, so she politely explained and I took a pass. I'm a wimp.

The highlight of the dinner was my husband pointing out this very elderly man sitting next to us ... they had tablecloths draped over the table (two squares, draped over each other diagonally) and gave you cloth napkins. Apparently, the elderly man thought he had one of the napkins in his hand and used the entire TABLECLOTH to VERY LOUDLY blow his nose into. His wife kept trying to shove a napkin at him and he's telling he's got it, he's got it ... and he's blowing away. Oh, geez, it was so gross. After they left, DH tapped the busboy (who was also a waiter) on the shoulder and discreetly told him what happened and that he might want to change the tablecloths. He nodded. Then left them there. Then a few minutes later sat another couple there. I almost vomited.

So that was my first vegetarian restaurant experience. I don't think it would have been so bad if it hadn't been such a dive (like a six table little store in a small shopping mall). The funny thing was when we walked out to leave ... there was a ZAGAT sign in the window!!! I guess the chef was an ARTIST after all!! LOL

[egoldber]

Hmmm...well, there are lots of vegetarian restaurants here. Some are good, some not so good, just like any kind of restaurant. But my fav dish at Chinese places is bean curd homestyle and I think The Olive Garden is gross, so there you go. ;)

[Toba]

I don't think there are many around here at all. We had to travel quite a distance (45 minutes) for this one and my sister would know. I know she goes to some kind of vegetarian buffet, but I don't know where it is. She LOVES Saladworks, but I would eat there any day. She didn't want to go there for her birthday though. :)

[kijip]

Hmmm...well, there are lots of vegetarian restaurants here. Some are good, some not so good, just like any kind of restaurant. But my fav dish at Chinese places is bean curd homestyle and I think The Olive Garden is gross, so there you go. ;)

Yup. Here I can always find a good veggie meal if I am so inclined at a Chinese or Indian restaurant.

There are some really swanky veggie places here to boot, places that as a meat eater I still love to go to in order to see what the chef is doing with the food. Great flavors without relying on starchy carbs or fake meats.

And double yup on Olive Garden being gross to me. One of my vegetarian friends loves Olive Garden so we do go with them on her b-day but pretty much no one else can get me to go there.

[wellyes]

I've been to many delightful vegetarian restaurants, but they're almost always in towns that are very crunchy. I've also been to one where the wait staff was extremely snooty despite the place really, you know, sucking (hey, did yours happen to be in Pawtucket RI?)

Having said that, I'm kind of feeling bad for your sister. She's on vacation and it's her birthday and you can't even cut her a break then? Awwwwwwwwwwww.

And as a longtime vegetarian just let me say, Olive Garden = :barf:

[brittone2]

was at a great one in Asheville once. Forget the name now though!

[MontrealMum]

Well, I certainly hear you about your unique restaurant "experience"...but I don't think it's necessarily due to it being vegetarian. I think you just hit on a place with a sucky, inflated attitude. Now, I live in a big city where I can get just about any type of food to eat, and Montrealers LOVE their food, so my experience is going to be different, but we have a great chain up here (le Commensal) that is a veggie place and we used to go there tons since it was in our neighborhood. Even my dad liked it and he hates everything - he's the pickiest eater I know. They sell their soups and pies (quiche, faux shepherd's pie etc) as well as some of the salads to the local grocery stores, and they're a goto for me if I'm short on time and need a nice dinner.

There's also a great Indian place that's entirely vegetarian and it's wonderful - you'd never know you weren''t eating meat. Of course, you can do that at regular Indian, Japanese, and Chinese places fairly easily too, as pp said - might want to check that out next time for your sis!

[Toba]

I've been to many delightful vegetarian restaurants, but they're almost always in towns that are very crunchy. I've also been to one where the wait staff was extremely snooty despite the place really, you know, sucking (hey, did yours happen to be in Pawtucket RI?)

Having said that, I'm kind of feeling bad for your sister. She's on vacation and it's her birthday and you can't even cut her a break then? Awwwwwwwwwwww.

And as a longtime vegetarian just let me say, Olive Garden = :barf:

Nope, Northern-ish Jersey shore. We have mainly seafood restaurants around here. I really can't recall ANY local vegetarian restaurants.

And yeah, we griped a little. But we still went. :) Her first choice was Shogun ... which is, I believe, Japanese where they grill at your table. I told her I was fine with that, but that me, DH and DS wouldn't be going but I hoped she had a fabulous time. Been to that place twice ... DH and I are both allergic (and we suspect that DS is also) to shellfish and seafood. Just the steam from the grill cooking makes my throat scratchy. DH's allergy is life-threatening. The first time we went (many years ago), he wound up in the ER for 12 hours. The second time we went (just this past May) and nobody from our table ordered seafood because of his allergy, but I guess the other tables were too close ... he was on breathing treatments for about six days. I think she's trying to kill us. (JOKING!)

[writermama]

I'm a dedicated omnivore, but one of my favorite restaurants nearby is a vegetarian place.

They keep the menu short and seasonal. The waitstaff is knowledegable and friendly. The place is spotless. Allergens are listed clearly on the menu and the chef is happy to work with customers who need or just want substitutions. some dishes are vegan, some are raw, some are soy free, some are gluten-free ... but everything that I've had from soups to salads, to main dishes has been excellent. For example, I tried a raw chocolate mousse last weekend that was absolutely amazing, and I was skeptical about the whole raw aspect.

The only drawbacks are that it's fairly $$ (using expensive ingredients instead of cheap starches will do that), and that the service tends to be too slow for when I have the kids with me.

The place you went to sounds like it's just overrated and well, bad. I third the recommendation of Indian and Asian restaurants if you're looking for a place with veg. options that the rest of the family might enjoy also.

[TwinFoxes]

Hmmm...well, there are lots of vegetarian restaurants here. Some are good, some not so good, just like any kind of restaurant. (edit)... I think The Olive Garden is gross, so there you go. ;)

:yeahthat:

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've been to tons of vegetarian restaurants, and they are like any other type of restaurant. Some are excellent, some suck, and most are somewhere in the middle. The place you went to sounds like a caricature of a veggie restaurant from the 1970s. If you ever get out to San Francisco, try Greens, a fine dining restaurant that happens to be vegetarian, it's a complete 180 from the place you describe.

It was nice of you all to go where your sister wanted. Maybe next time she'll pick a place that's not so crunchy, just a regular restaurant that happens to be vegetarian. Maybe she picked a super-crunchy place as a little sisterly revenge for all of the ribbing she's taken? :)

[Globetrotter]

That's a pet peeve of mine, but you can get an attitude anywhere - we've seen major attitudes in a lot of non-vegetarian places, like people who won't accomodate dietary needs. We are vegetarians and have visited some amazing places and a few crappy ones, but mostly really good. The people who own them tend to be particular about using fresh ingredients, so the quality is generally up there (with the exception of veg. Indian or Chinese restaurants, which are hit or miss). :ROTFLMAO: about the napkin thing, though!


but we have a great chain up here (le Commensal) that is a veggie place and we used to go there tons since it was in our neighborhood

When we visited Montreal and Quebec, we went to Le Commensal four or five times in ten days. No kidding! Needless to say, we were fed up of it after that, but I so wish we had that here!! It is a wonderful place - so nice to go somewhere and not have to worry .

And I agree with PPs. The Olive Garden sucks! I'm sure there are wonderful Italian restaurants in your area - I'm salivating at the thought. It's like my relative who lives in NY and prefers Pizza Hut pizza :shrug:

[niccig]

We're in LA, so you can get any type of food that you want. DH and I will eat pretty much anything, as long as it is good. We're not picky about any food. Sounds like the restaurant you want to was very pretentious, and that is not a fun experience. I wouldn't write off all vegetarian restaurants from that one experience. I've been to some great places.

I agree with cutting your sister some slack about her food choices. She's an adult and can eat what she wants. It sounds like she goes to all the restaurants you go to, so why can't the meat eaters suck it up for one meal on her birthday and not give her a hard time?? I know you were joking about bring the steak, but it's still showing disrespect of her choices. ETA..ok, this does sound harsh, but I was reading your OP and all I could think about was your sister wanting to go out for her birthday dinner and it sounds like family were giving her a hard time, and I really felt for her.

I agree that Indian or Chinese restaurants may be a good choice for future dinners. You can have your beef and she can have her tofu.

[HannaAddict]

I know the post was tongue in cheek, but it did seem like everyone had already decided it was going to suck. I love my steak, but there are tons of non-meat things I love too. I try not to be like the vegetarian in the other post about the unreasonable house guest (who wanted all meat and dairy out of the house!) and live and let live. And as I am in the same city as Katie, we have some great, even swanky, delicious vegetarian/vegan restaurants that serve fab wines too. I love a polenta dish at one. It is delicious. I would not go to the Olive Garden, yuck, so to each their own I guess. It sounds like this restaurant is a dive, I would have tossed my cookies if I'd seen that man blow his nose like that . . .double ick. but if you are ever in the Pac. NW, I can point you to some veggie places that can make you forget the carnivore in you for the night. :)

[HIU8]

We have an awesome vegetarian chinese restaurant here. It's vegetarian and macrobiotic. I used to eat there ALL THE TIME. I have not been in several years. This thread is making me want to go back. My favorite dish was bean curd chicken and spicy mixed veggies.

[Jacksmommy2b]

My vegetarian BF dragged J and I to a family lunch at this Vegan place. (they are devout Hindu and the whole family is vegetarian.)

M wouldn't go but J has the most adventurous palate a toddler can have so I figured why not - we could always hit the McD drive thru if we couldn't find anything edible.

Believe it or not - the place was fantastic. It is this little hole in the wall (Su tao in Media PA) and they served lunch buffet style. I loved the veggie entrees and J ( a tofu fan to begin with) was in heaven with all of the choices. Best of all they had a Vegan apple pie a la mode that was the best piece of pie I have ever had in my life. : )

I have been several times since and have even dragged other Omniverous friends who ended up loving it as well.

I'm sorry you had such a horrible trip, but I promise all places aren't like that!

[Toba]

It was nice of you all to go where your sister wanted. Maybe next time she'll pick a place that's not so crunchy, just a regular restaurant that happens to be vegetarian. Maybe she picked a super-crunchy place as a little sisterly revenge for all of the ribbing she's taken :)

Yes, that is completely possible. :) But that's okay ... she's allowed, just like she was okay with all the ribbing ... she's one of my most favorite people in the world. ;) It was such a dive that as soon as we walked in, my DH leaned over and whispered in my ear, "All I can think is ... COCKROACHES!!" Fun start to the night. Like I said, the wine helped. LOL



And I agree with PPs. The Olive Garden sucks! I'm sure there are wonderful Italian restaurants in your area - I'm salivating at the thought. It's like my relative who lives in NY and prefers Pizza Hut pizza :shrug:

Actually, we had to travel north for this restaurant. I live more southern/central-ish Jersey shore, and like I said, a LOT of seafood restaurants. We do have one Italian place that we LOVE here ... they make their own beer and we come in frequently in the fall, my DH LOVES their pumpkin beer. They are awesome, but very expensive, so it's a treat. We are kind of boring eaters ... American/Italian cuisine all the way. A place that can cook a really decent steak (and cooked the way I ask) with a side of freshly steamed broccoli is my heaven, and if they have a really good cheesecake for dessert, I'll dream about them for a week. :) We both have tender tummies and several food allergies, so we pretty much stick to what we know. Boring. :)

[lchang25000]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've been to Chinese vegetarian restaurants several time and it has been been very delicious!!

[boolady]

I'm not a vegetarian, but my sister has been for a long time, and have been to lots of really good vegetarian restaurants with her, here in NJ and elsewhere. I've always had great food. I also sometimes order meatless dishes at "regular" restaurants because I'm just not always in the mood for meat.

[BeachBum]

It sounds like you just had a really bad experience, no matter what the cuisine. What a bummer!


I am not a vegetarian, but I often seek out veggie restaurants when we travel (none in our town). I've found that the cooking is often very fresh, using seasonal ingredients. Many places even have their own gardens out back. Yum.

[MamaKath]

Used to eat at a good one in Parsippany, NJ. Had lots of stuff that was pretty good.

Where we live now, it is mostly chain restaurants. I don't know of a single truly vegetarian restaurant here at all. Places that have veg options exist (Chinese food and Mexican come to mind).