My family comes from a long line of sailors and as such, we like to go to a local boat club to enjoy the water, some boat time and maybe a beverage and something to eat. Over the years the food has gotten better and to the club’s credit there is always a vegetarian option on the menu.
On Sundays in the winter, club volunteers cook brunch with the profits going to various projects and not for profit groups. This is of course a great way to use the facilities during our Canadian winters. My sons however stopped going to brunch when they realized that the potatoes and eggs are cooked on the same surface as the bacon and sausages.
This situation got me to thinking about going to restaurants in general. If you hit your local pub or greasy spoon, what guarantee do you have that your veggie burger isn’t veggie in the middle but meaty on the outside due to cross contamination? Ultimately there is no guarantee so what do you do?
The obvious answer of course is to go veg or go home. From a practical perspective this isn’t realistic though is it? Most of us VegHeads are in the minority when it comes to eating with groups of coworkers, family and friends. You might get your party to go veggie once in a while but most of the time it will be you who are in uncharted waters.
A brief search of chain restaurants turned up none that publish vegetarian policies on their websites leading me to believe that such policies are few and far between. I’m sure they do their best, but if you go to a non vegetarian restaurant I think it only realistic to expect some cross contamination. This then leaves it up to the individual to decide what they are willing to accept in terms of a little flesh with their salad. Chances are you won’t avoid the odd trip to your local, so when you’re there consider this:
- Ask your server what if any steps are taken to avoid cross contamination when preparing vegetarian dishes, or better yet call in advance.
- Stay away from deep fried. Bets are that your french fries or zucchini sticks have been dancing in oil with chicken fingers and fish.
- Anything that is prepared on a frying or grilling surface (yes even a veggie burger) is likely to have come in contact with meat. Always best to ask.
- Looking for fast food? Get the Subway Artist to change gloves before preparing your sandwich.
- Stick with obvious choices like salads and pastas with known entities like tomato sauce or pesto.
- Menu items such as nachos, pizzas and salads are typically prepared individually and might be less likely to have come in contact with meat.
The bottom line is that if you dine at an omnivorous restaurant, there is a good chance that your vegetarian meal will have inadvertently come into contact with some amount of fleshy matter. Armed with this knowledge, decide what, as a vegetarian you are prepared to accept. Once this decision is made the rest is easy. Either you stick with vegetarian restaurants, stay home or do the best you can under the circumstances and order meals that are the least likely to have come in contact with meat.
This is a decision each of us has to make.
Good Luck!