Back from making a vegan pilgrimage on the Camino de
Santiago de Compostela and in Madrid, Paris, and New
York City in September, I'm meeting the challenges of Bay Area restaurants
that really don't welcome vegans. (There are many that do, and I patronize
those when I'm given the choice.) These
meat-heavy places include vegetarian dishes on their menus, but they don't
include anything vegan.
Here are some
experiences I've had:
I went to Le Garage in Sausalito, the choice of a friend
whose birthday we were celebrating. I
called in advance to ask about a vegan entree but got no response. When our party of four arrived, they offered
me chick pea fries and a Salade Niçoise without the tuna, hard-boiled eggs,
anchovies, and gouda basil pistou. That
didn't leave a lot.
While there, wanting to be neither timid nor obnoxious, I really
tried to make the point that a vegan entree would be a wonderful addition to
their menu, and I mean printed on their menu.
When I was invited to the Magic Flute in San Francisco, I
had two weeks' notice and contacted the restaurant in advance. However, I didn't want to state my interest
in a vegan entree only for my lunch with friends. I stated it in more general terms, saying
that I had heard good things about their restaurant but, before going there,
wanted to be sure that they had a vegan entree--not just a side dish--on their
menu. I went online and filled out their
form, explaining that I would greatly appreciate a vegan entree. When I didn't get a response, I sent an
e-mail, which didn't get a response either.
I then
called and left a message, adding that Italian flavors were so good that I was sure they could create a
vegan entree. (I even mentioned the
Mayor of Turin, Italy, who's been promoting plant-based dishes.)
In all these messages I was very polite and kept a friendly
(if insistent) tone.
The day of our lunch at the Magic Flute, the server was a
bit perplexed because even the risotto had
pesto-with-cheese, and she thought there was a chicken stock base,
too. Then the owner came to our table
and said that they made the risotto from scratch and could make it vegan, which
I trust is what they did. It was
delicious, and they added pine nuts! I
praised the dish and suggested that they add it to their printed menu.
I had the same experience with Original Joe's in Daly City,
when I tried to contact the restaurant in advance and got no response. I did see something online about the owner's
worst experience, which was with a rude client demanding a vegan, gluten-free
meal and no alcohol.
The evening we ate there, I was very polite, had a glass of
wine, and didn't ask that my pasta be gluten free but did specify that I wanted
no animal products. The server tried to
be very welcoming and accommodating.
Later, though, I noticed the bill showed
I had been charged $14.95 for
spaghetti with meat sauce, which was removed,
and $5.95 for a side dish of vegetables, which they put in place of the
meat sauce.
Restaurants really need a vegan entree.
Sometimes they "come up with one," but they just take out the
dairy without adding anything in its place.
(I was lucky with the pine nuts--or maybe it was my
in-advance-suggestion.) I think this is
an important part of the vegan movement.
My birthday is coming up, and I'm celebrating
with the same group of friends who went to Le Garage. The person who chose Le Garage did not give
me a choice of where to go but said they would choose "something to suit all
tastes," as if a vegan restaurant
couldn't possibly do that and as if "taste" were the only
consideration leading to a vegan diet!
But a friend who doesn't "get it" or is hostile to the whole
concept is a separate issue.
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