My husband has been a vegetarian for many years...I believe going on 20 years. We've had a lot of occasions in our family recently to go out to dinner, and even in this day and age, it is so difficult for him to get a decent vegetarian meal.
The answer for a lot of restaurants seems to be to throw some pasta on a plate and throw a few veggies on top and call that a "vegetarian meal." There is no creativity or thought put behind it.
In most books I have read about being a vegan or vegetarian, the authors swear they can find something to eat in any restaurant, but it seems they haven't tried to eat out where I live. One Saturday my father came up and wanted to take us out to lunch. We went to a local diner...where they literally had nothing on the menu my husband could eat. They had no baked potatoes, no rice. Breakfast time was over so they couldn't make any breakfast foods. He could've had a green salad. Wow. That was the best they could do.
Applebees last Friday night...not one dish was listed on the menu for vegetarians. In very light print under the burgers it said that you could "substitute" any burger with a veggie burger. My husband is 50 years old and didn't see it...the server had to point it out when we asked if there was anything for him on the menu. Surely an organization as big as Applebee's should be able to come up with something a vegetarian can eat besides the trite veggie burger or a salad.
We love living in the country, except for the prevailing attitude that there is something wrong with you if you don't eat meat. We are going out Saturday night to celebrate my son's graduation from law school. His girlfriend is a vegetarian too. We are going to Philadelphia, which has the best vegetarian restaurant I've ever been to, but very expensive. There's really nothing in our area unless you want to eat Asian or Italian, which gets very old. Good thing I like to cook.
We have the same issues here in Hilljack, Indiana. As such, we rarely go out to eat (which is better for us anyway!) and when we do, it takes a fair amount of planning. Good thing most places have menus online now! A lot of places around us will accommodate vegi's if you ask them specifically, such as substituting meat for vegs or beans in their meat dishes. I do wish more "chain" places had veg options though, maybe they'll get around to it sometime ...
I honestly haven't had any issues eating out as a vegan. My inlaws live out in the country and when we go out there, our choices are limited but I can find a decent meal.
The restaurant choices there are some local restaurants but they have Applebees (I didn't like their food pre-veg and I'm not willing to go there), Red Hot & Blue, Outback and Ruby Tuesdays. Ruby Tuesdays actually doesn't have anything vegan on the menu as I believe their veggie burger isn't vegan. They do have a decent salad bar though. Outback has decent sides so I've been able to order a 'meal of sides' basically of sweet potato and steamed veggies, as long as I ask for no butter.
Ok now having said all that. I only go to those places because I'm visiting my in laws and if it was up to me, I'd skip going out to eat entirely. I go out once a week to a vegan restaurant and I absolutely love it. I rarely go out to eat at a restaurant that serves meat if it is my choice. The exception is sometimes we will get ethiopian but I know 100% that there is no animal products in my meal and its delicious.
Dude I went to applebee's last night and was planning on getting their WW fish meal and they were out of fish! I got the grilled chicken instead and didn't really like it BOO. I think they only have like 5 WW choices- I'm not surprised they have nothing for vegetarians/vegans.
Before we went to that diner, I'd have said, "Well, there's always a baked potato and some veggies," etc. but they didn't even have that. They had plenty of pork chops, chicken, burgers, etc. I guess he could've had fries but he likes to eat healthy foods. It goes without saying that there wasn't even a veggie burger on the menu.
I should state that we live in southeastern PA and live among the Pennsylvania Germans. I am Pennsylvania German too in my background but have modified my diet so that I no longer eat scrapple and such. More and more people are moving in from elsewhere, but the traditional diet still seems to dominate in our little corner of the world. There's always ethnic...but one gets tired of never being able to go to just a "regular" restaurant. When he says he doesn't eat meat, they look at him as if he has two heads.
It is indeed frustrating at times to find a decent veggie meal when going out to eat. The people I go out to eat with assume if there is only one thing on the menu that is veggie (and it's usually insanely unhealthy), then the restaurant is veggie friendly. The funny thing is, I'll go to the restaurant of their choice, which is usually a steakhouse or the dreaded Olive Garden, but when I ask if they would accompany me to this one lovely vegetarian restaurant where I live, they think I'm forcing them to live my lifestyle.
Robot - I have a similar issue. When going out to eat with coworkers, I'll list a variety of restaurants that would have at least 1 choice for me and if I'm lucky, multiple choices. I invariably get outvoted because of the one person who says there is only one or two things they like on the menu. The restaurants I choose aren't even vegetarian just with good vegetarian choices. So when I go out with my coworkers, I usually get a plain green salad depending on the place we go because that is what is available.
I hate Applebees since going vegan, one day I asked them if their rice and veggie plate was vegan or even vegetarian if I took off the chicken, and asked him to ask the chef.. he came back told me the chef checked that it is made in vege oil and the rice has no animal products in it, i ate a little but not being able to check myself waited till the next day to finish..
i then learned the rice is made in chicken fat and butter... i will never eat there again.
I went to Applebee's a few years ago after a friend convinced me there were a few veggie friendly options on the menu. It was a disaster and the waiter didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about vegetarian food.
I also recently went to TGI Fridays with my family. It almost makes you feel alienated from everyone else when they're enjoying their food and you're just tolerating what you're eating.
That's terrible- when my vegetarian friends and I hang out I always try to accomodate them- I always ask them where they'd like to go. When I cook I ALWAYS try to make foods they can eat. I'll do a meat item but have plenty of other foods as well. The good thing for me is that most of my vegetarian friends still eat things like cheese and milk and eggs. I don't mind taking the extra effort on my part to make it so they don't have to settle for lettuce and rice!
And the sad truth is that it is actually very easy to provide a vegan friendly meal that is tasty and nutritious. It just takes a little thought, and after all, these chefs went to school for cooking, did they not? You'd think they could use all that training for more than a veggie burger or pasta primavera, usually with a very fatty milk-based sauce.
Even foods that are traditionally vegetarian, such as minestrone soup or pasta i fagioli, are often made with a meat-based broth in these places. So frustrating.
On the other hand, I know we will love our dinner on Saturday night, but we will pay through the nose for it!
I thought the veggie patch pizza at Applebee's was vegetarian.
Also some soups on certain days vegan, or baked potatoes with out sour cream.
we usally got to taco bell and i get a bean burrito, or wendy's and i get a baked potato. limited for sure.
Trust me, I'm with you. I don't think Chef's learn how to cook veggie friendly. I even know someone who went to school in nutrition and animal proteins, especially dairy were pushed heavily. Its sad that the dairy industry has such a hold on schools from elementary to college, but I guess they have the (blood) money for it.
Not related but I was talking to someone yesterday who went to a 4 year state university where they slaughtered cows... I was a bit amazed. I think a little piece of me would die if I killed a cow or other animal with my own hand. I suppose it was better than them going through a slaughterhouse though.
I think a little piece of me would die if I killed a cow or other animal with my own hand. I suppose it was better than them going through a slaughterhouse though.
I accidentally hit a squirrel today on the way to work. I pulled over and cried. I can't even imagine killing an animal on purpose.
Please allow me to blow off some steam
Surely an organization as big as Applebee's should be able to come up with something a vegetarian can eat besides the trite veggie burger or a salad. 
