Eating out with your hobag friends

My friends Emily and Christy are coming into town this weekend and Christy is planning a dinner for the three of us. She sends me this hateful email saying she’s not going to make special arrangements for this f**king hippie, flowers, rainbow bs I’m doing and I need to stop being a selfish c**t. I’m going to go to a restaurant of her choosing, going to like it and eat a god damn cow like the rest of em.

Eating out can be really hard.

Ok that didn’t actually happen but it’s a good illustration as to how eating out can be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully it’s not nearly as difficult as I initially suspected and just requires a little careful planning. No hateful names or ends of friendships occurring.

The best scenario is where you get to pick the restaurant (f u Christy). This means you can be sure to eat somewhere that has a vegan option you’ll enjoy. If a friend is picking it might be good to send them a couple of suggestions or remind them of your restrictions (i.e. I am more important than you). It’s amazing how supportive friends are and most times mine will send me the menu and ask if it’s ok before making a reservation (damn straight). If this is the case then I just try to find one thing that I can eat and be agreeable. You can’t be a vegan AND picky. Worst-case scenario you have no input, you have to attend and there’s nothing on the menu that you can eat (this is what I call eating at my mother’s). I find it best to call the restaurant ahead of time and see if they can make accommodations. If not then I’ll eat beforehand and order the plainest salad on the menu as not to draw attention for not eating.

Things to look for on menus are hummus in the appetizers section as it’s surprisingly filling (especially if you pair it with a beer), items where cheese is the only thing standing in your way (as it can be easily removed), and pasta. Often times if they have pasta you can get it with just tomato sauce. Salads are always a good standby but usually aren’t that filling. Also, if all else fails look to see what side items they have. A lot of places will list a few vegetables so you can pick a couple and make yourself a veggie plate.

Gone are the days where you can just rock up to a place and order any ol thing off the menu, but I love eating out and I love being a vegan so it’s worth the extra effort. And at the end of the day if this is the biggest of my problems then life ain’t that bad.

Oh! And the website Urban Spoon can be really helpful when looking for places. It lets you know how vegan friendly they are. For example, here’s the page I look at when trying to find places in my not-so-vegan-friendly hometown http://www.urbanspoon.com/t/40/2/Indianapolis/Vegan-Friendly-restaurants

If all else fails, order a beer.

Happy eating!

Be a Fan