veg vs non veg restaurants

[Guest guest]

Regarding my recent email that I couldn't confirm to my satisfaction that the pizza crust in Zante's vegan Indian pizza was vegan, Lisa commented: " This is one of the main reasons why I ALWAYS choose 100% vegetarian, and preferably 100% vegan, restaurants: in my experience I've found mixed (non-vegetarian) restaurants to be extremely untrustworthy. "

 

Well, I don't have much experience eating at non-veg restaurants. Typically, I believe in eating at preferably vegan restaurants because I believe they have a smaller potential customer base and are more in need of my support. That said, sometimes I do get weary of eating at my favorite restaurants, and that's why Zante had such appeal. Guess it's time to break out the cookbooks!

 

 

Elaine's recent post about ordering vegan but having the bread offered spread with butter at Saffron's (another Indian restaurant) leads to my generalization that it's trickier to order vegan Indian food at a mixed restaurant than other cuisines. And this is a big shame, because I love Indian food but sadly there is a shortage of veg restaurants here in the city to eat Indian. Although, with Mother Nature closing, New Ganges (a vegetarian SF restaurant) is now in the Top Ten restaurant list in the Ultimate Guide. (A restaurant currently needs at least 9 reviews to be counted in the Top Ten)

 

http://www.bayareaveg.org/ug/featured.htm

 

I remember being surprised to find that one street in San Jose has three vegetarian restaurants on it - Good Karma is only a few doors away from Tofoo Com Chay, and a bit further down is Vegetarian House. But why does it have to be surprising to have 3 vegetarian restaurants within relatively close proximity to each other? In many business districts there are meat restaurants one after another. I am waiting for the day when that happens in every large city in the Bay Area.

 

"I'm sure that they have valid reasons but I'm curious why official vegetarian events and vegetarian individuals sometimes choose non-vegetarian places when we have so many vegan/vegetarian places that need our business."

 

I'm not sure what is being counted as "official vegetarian events and vegetarian individuals", but in regards to Bay Area Vegetarians as an organization -- it primarily depends on our volunteers and where they want to host their event. At this time, of our 10 monthly events that are held in restaurants (which would be the dining out events and letter writing parties), only two are held at non-veg places. For Marin, Alicia rotates the location every month and there's only 1 veg restaurant in Marin anyways. For the Berkeley LWP, it's at Fellini's and I believe Sara chose that restaurant because it has some wonderful vegan food selections, and they cook their vegan foods in a separate pan. The manager even changed the bulb over the table so it would be brighter for them to write letters. For myself, Zante's would have been the first event (out of dozens of dinners) that I've ever had at a non-veg place, but that won't be happening now......

 

I want to add that having vegan options at mixed restaurants may be even more important because there will be folks (both vegan and not) that will order vegan when an easy selection is there, but they aren't comfortable specifically asking for it to be vegan.

 

Finally, in terms of "need our business" -- I think there is an important distinction between "need" and "deserve". Vegetarian restaurants are not charities, and while we should dine at the ones that we like, restaurants need to be run in a manner to make them profitable for their own survival. Unfortunately for vegetarians, it sometimes seems that dedicated veggie people open vegetarian restaurants but don't really run them like businesses. And to be profitable, vegetarian restaurants need to appeal to both veg and non-veg customers.

 

Okay, that's my 4 cents on the restaurant topic.

 

Cheers,

Tammy

 

 

Join Team BAVeg and volunteer to make a difference..Free Restaurant Guide or Create Your Own - Monthly Event Calendar - Veggie Mentor ProgramCurrent Newsletter

Bay Area Vegetarians * www.BayAreaVeg.org

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Tammy, Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I wasn't really referring to Bay Area Vegetarians specifically re official veg events taking place at non veg restaurants: Veg News just had a mixed deli cater their anniversary party (although I assume the food might have been donated?) and the SFVS has had at least a couple of big events at mixed places. And yes, Marin and the upper Peninsula have a dearth of veggie restaurants, as do some outlying Bay Area towns. I agree that veg restaurants aren't a charity and there are some places I've gone to where I won't be back and others where I'll go only rarely, and I've seen some loved veg places close because they were poorly run in some way. But the Bay Area in general has so many veg places that are good. The way I figure it, even the most die hard omnivore can enjoy an occasional vegan meal at a veg place when with a mixed group, but I rarely get a reliably good vegan meal (that's truly vegan!) at a non vegetarian restaurant; in fact I've had so many bad experiences that I don't trust them - sometimes I haven't found out certain facts until after several visits. I have a few more places to add to my reviews at your website, but want to go back to each at least once more before I write a review. One of those places is New Ganges. I used to get their food frequently with the old owner, but have been there only once since the change, and that was quite a while ago. I'd like to go back at least once more to feel confident in any review I give it. But what I've said about non vegetarian restaurants is just my experience and my opinion and I'm always interested in other veg*n's opinions - some of my vegan friends have mixed restaurants they enjoy and have encouraged me to go with them. Thanks for your feedback. Lisa

 

In a message dated 8/13/05 2:27:03 PM, t writes:

 

 

 

In a message dated 8/13/05 2:27:03 PM, t writes:

 

 

Regarding my recent email that I couldn't confirm to my satisfaction that the pizza crust in Zante's vegan Indian pizza was vegan, Lisa commented:  " This is one of the main reasons why I ALWAYS choose 100% vegetarian, and preferably 100% vegan, restaurants: in my experience I've found mixed (non-vegetarian) restaurants to be extremely untrustworthy. "    

 

Well, I don't have much experience eating at non-veg restaurants.  Typically, I believe in eating at preferably vegan restaurants because I believe they have a smaller potential customer base and are more in need of my support.  That said, sometimes I do get weary of eating at my favorite restaurants, and that's why Zante had such appeal.  Guess it's time to break out the cookbooks!  

 

Elaine's recent post about ordering vegan but having the bread offered spread with butter at Saffron's (another Indian restaurant) leads to my generalization that it's trickier to order vegan Indian food at a mixed restaurant than other cuisines.  And this is a big shame, because I love Indian food but sadly there is a shortage of veg restaurants here in the city to eat Indian.  Although, with Mother Nature closing, New Ganges (a vegetarian SF restaurant) is now in the Top Ten restaurant list in the Ultimate Guide.  (A restaurant currently needs at least 9 reviews to be counted in the Top Ten)

 

http://www.bayareaveg.org/ug/featured.htm

 

 

I remember being surprised to find that one street in San Jose has three vegetarian restaurants on it - Good Karma is only a few doors away from Tofoo Com Chay, and a bit further down is Vegetarian House.  But why does it have to be surprising to have 3 vegetarian restaurants within relatively close proximity to each other?  In many business districts there are meat restaurants one after another.  I am waiting for the day when that happens in every large city in the Bay Area.

 

"I'm sure that they have valid reasons but I'm curious why official vegetarian events and vegetarian individuals sometimes choose non-vegetarian places when we have so many vegan/vegetarian places that need our business."

 

I'm not sure what is being counted as "official vegetarian events and vegetarian individuals", but in regards to Bay Area Vegetarians as an organization -- it primarily depends on our volunteers and where they want to host their event.  At this time, of our 10 monthly events that are held in restaurants (which would be the dining out events and letter writing parties), only two are held at non-veg places.  For Marin, Alicia rotates the location every month and there's only 1 veg restaurant in Marin anyways.  For the Berkeley LWP, it's at Fellini's and I believe Sara chose that restaurant because it has some wonderful vegan food selections, and they cook their vegan foods in a separate pan.  The manager even changed the bulb over the table so it would be brighter for them to write letters.  For myself, Zante's would have been the first event (out of dozens of dinners) that I've ever had at a non-veg place, but that won't be happening now......

 

I want to add that having vegan options at mixed restaurants may be even more important because there will be folks (both vegan and not) that will order vegan when an easy selection is there, but they aren't comfortable specifically asking for it to be vegan. 

 

Finally, in terms of "need our business" -- I think there is an important distinction between "need" and "deserve".   Vegetarian restaurants are not charities, and while we should dine at the ones that we like, restaurants need to be run in a manner to make them profitable for their own survival.   Unfortunately for vegetarians, it sometimes seems that dedicated veggie people open vegetarian restaurants but don't really run them like businesses.  And to be profitable, vegetarian restaurants need to appeal to both veg and non-veg customers. 

 

Okay, that's my 4 cents on the restaurant topic. 

 

Cheers,

Tammy

[Guest guest]

I would like to add that I would prefer to go to all vegan restaurants. However, I have quite a few family members who have their food preferences (for example, an 82 year old mother) who don't really enjoy the places I like to eat. So we go to her favorite restaurant where I can find vegan choices, and we are both happy!

 

Elaine