Vegetarian

[jackie j]

My OH is a vegetarian and has been for 34 years imagine his horror when my daughter said that the cheese and onion rolls he bought from A--A on Saturday tasted funny he had already eaten one, on inspection he found they were in fact sausage rolls. Took them back and given a refund and awaiting letter. Today I went to same store and noticed baguettes labeled as granary were in fact tiger bread when i queried this with a staff member she said they had run out of bags ( wrong answer went to customer services and asked for manager ) in these instances no damage but imagine if this was something containing nuts or something else that could have a very bad effect on somebody's life.

[piskieinboots]

bl**dy awful...!!

I am very allergic to walnuts - in Starbucks I once munched onto a piece of cake that was labelled as safe for me, there was, however, a 'something and walnuts' cake next to it....yep, they had switched the labels ....it wasn't funny it so wasn't funny

[Two_Sheds]

My OH is a vegetarian ... they were in fact sausage rolls.

That is so not funny. A stiff letter to Head Office methinks.
My old nan used to make me "omelette" into which she had secreted chopped up ham, thinking I wouldn't notice.
In Sept our pub made two cauldrons of chilli - one veggie and one meaty. Some wag swapped the labels, and guess which I ended up eating? I had really painful belly the next day (haven't eaten meat for 20 years, I think my gut can't tolerate it now)

[piskieinboots]

that is so horrid TS, why the hell do people find it a wheeze to do that grrrrrrr

[sallym]

I work with a guy who has a nut allergy. We went out for the works Xmas dinner and he checked 3 times that his meal was nut free.... then we found a chestnut in the stuffingHe sent it back and when they returned it he thought he ought to check that it was not the same meal with stuffing taken off as may have touched another part of meal. Guess what? Same meal

[sez]

Me and my OH are vegetarian and it's a bloody nightmare sometimes (especially in deepest darkest lincolnshire ) .

Last time we ordered chinese (from our usual place that will make dishes with Quorn instead of chicken), despite knowing us + knowing we're veggie they were surprised when OH wasn't impressed with his CHICKEN sweet n sour (in batter so hard to tell). He threw up 3 times in one night - hasn't had meat in 16 years so I think you're right about developing intolerance TS.

Last time we had a pub sunday lunch there wasn't a veggie option but we were both happy to have the meal without the meat (yorkies, mash, roast spuds, lots of veggies, and onion gravy). Despite us asking for that, what most would consider to be a bit odd, they still neglected to tell us that the ONION gravy had meat juices in it When questioned they said that 'they didn't think we'd notice'.

I sometimes almost* wish I was allergic to meat, at least then we'd have some comeback to people who think it's amusing to feed meat to the vegetarians.

*by almost I mean almost - I have utmost sympathy for the poor sods who have allergies

[sez]

Today I went to same store and noticed baguettes labeled as granary were in fact tiger bread when i queried this with a staff member she said they had run out of bags ( wrong answer went to customer services and asked for manager ) in these instances no damage but imagine if this was something containing nuts or something else that could have a very bad effect on somebody's life.

that could actually have pretty bad consequences - afaik most 'tiger' bread has a glaze containing sesame seeds/oil, which some people are pretty horribly allergic too.

[jackie j]

We have almost stopped eating out having both worked in the catering industry we don't feel we can trust the menu when it says its suitable for vegetarians, if you ask, the staff don't seem to know, not only is he a veggie he is also diabetic so double trouble. Its our anniversary tomorrow so guess who will do the cooking? Again!!! ( I don't mind really)

[areia]

i suffer from food intolerances i can't eat cabbage (no colslaw ), unripe tomatoes ( they have a higher acidity level make my mouth swell but oragnic soft ones don't, figures eh) the worst one is iceberg lettuce (its known to be slow to digest in the gut )and guess what is the majority of prepacked sandwiches, salad bars, dare i say fast food resturants, i dont often eat out but somtimes im in situations where i havent managed to eat anything all day and i need to grab something i know there is a lot of variety of stuff but when i look at a tasty looking wrap it would say mixed leaves i have to put it back as i know if cabbage or iceberg is in it i will be in pain for 3 days kinda sucks too when you get taken to a nice pub, or resturant.

[Two_Sheds]

I can't believe it is so hard to cater for veggies - just get a cookery book, for cripes sake. We had our black tie work's dinner last weekend, and we advised in advance that I was veggie.
The starters came round: fish. (no, some vegetarians do not eat fish. If you eat fish, you ain't a vegetarian). I asked for the veggie option and the waitress looked panicked and said "we've got some fruit juice". The main course (nut roast) was fine, but the dessert was made with gelatine.
This is why I usually have a jacket potato with beans when I eat out!

NB. We had a superb lunch at Ebury Street Wine Bar on Saturday (3 courses for £10 courtesy of The Times). Absolutely rocking gorgeous it was, highly recommended. Just round the corner from Victoria Coach Station. I had spring veg risotto, and he had mustardy chicken.

[TonyF]

J and I aren't veggies but for a number of health reasons, neither of us should eat red meat, tho chicken and fish is ok. Where we are is a nightmare, everything here is oriented towards the consuption of red meat and stuff I wouldn't eat for ethical reasons like fois gras. Now I'm not averse to the meat very occasionally (and then it's usually duck) but any more and I'm really unwell, so we usually ask for the vegetarian option because it's easier - assuming that is there is one!

Last Saturday we were out at our Consiel dinner at a local resto. I had explained all this to the Maire, who hadn't told the restaurant owner. So, after an excellent chestnut soup, I had crudite, three small piles of grated veggies and to make life easier all round, the main course was a cep omelette. That was after we had scrambled eggs for lunch!!!

It's not just the more orthodox veggies that have the problem, even being on a restricted diet can be an equal nightmare.

[sez]

I can't believe it is so hard to cater for veggies - just get a cookery book, for cripes sake.

exactly.

to be honest i find it ridiculous that anywhere that serves meals should find it so difficult to cook something without meat (or for that matter, without nuts, without any other certain ingredient).

i'm from Brighton and it's been a REAL culture shock moving up here - there is actually a whole (small) BOOK of vegetarian places in the Brighton area! whenever I go to visit friends/family I spend a fortune eating out as it's such a novelty to not get blank looks, rude comments or jacket potatoes/omelettes!

[Alison C]

Thats awful jackie. I cant believe people could be so neglegent its a shame that it always takes accidents like a small child going in to anaphalectic (not sure if thats how its spelt) shock for people to do their jobs properly and responcibly. Lets face it thats what is normally takes. This just backs up my way of living, if I havent made it I wont buy or consume it.

[Maf]

My meat eating OH is always banging on about how every day of our holidays turns into a ten mile walk trying to find somewhere that serves summat I can eat

Yes I'm a fussy veggie but this grow your own lark is changing things...

Got some Chard Brightlights seed given the other day, so I thought I better try some supermarket stuff to see if I liked the taste, before growing it. (very bold of me )

So now I'm out of the Chard closet... I like Chard (and hopefully mine is gonna be better that the supermarket stuff)

If you ever plan a trip to the "Knightsbridge of the North" (where the heck is Knights Bridge anyway?) and you're feeling flush, book at table at Anthonys on Boar Lane (well in advance) and tell them your a veggie. You'll get no menu, no choices, just food that will (literally) make you cry with joy

Failing that.... move to Thailand

[sez]

If you ever plan a trip to the "Knightsbridge of the North" (where the heck is Knights Bridge anyway?) and you're feeling flush, book at table at Anthonys on Boar Lane (well in advance) and tell them your a veggie. You'll get no menu, no choices, just food that will (literally) make you cry with joy

Failing that.... move to Thailand

or Brighton

off the top of my head i can think of a vegetarian indian place, a 50% veggie and authentic indian place, food for friends (very nice veg restaurant) terre a terre ('posh' veggie), a veggie/vegan all day cafe, a veg fast food place, infinity foods cafe (99% organic, vegan, local, loads of dairy/wheatfree), a veg/vegan pub, and many many more places that serve say 30% plus veg dishes rather than 1 choice on the whole menu.