Vegetarian Restaurant Options

Video Transcript

"This clip is about eating in restaurants. Eating in restaurants used to be very creative. We used to have to have a lot of patience to talk to the wait staff. But fortunately things are progressing and people are becoming more sympathetic to vegetarians. The first you're going to have to do when you go in and sit down. You're going to have to explain to the wait staff. "Look, I am a vegetarian. I do not want meat on my plate. I do not want any animal products on my plate. I don't want lard. I don't want chicken fat. I don't want anything like that. Now where can we start?" And she may suggest a few things. She may look at you like you have three heads. She may faint and pass out. No, not really, I'm teasing. But she may also suggest cheese. So if you're Vegan, you may not want to go into the cheese products. But learn to look at your menu. Open your menu, take your time. Look at it. A lot of times there maybe an icon there next to the product. That means it's a vegetarian product. A lot of time they'll say something is vegetarian, and it's not. So be real careful. Ask a lot of questions. Make friends with the wait staff. And ask her to help you. She may have to disappear on you for about three or four times. Because she is going in and talking to the cook or whatever. She's checking on things for you. So be patient, make sure you give her a good tip. One thing you can do, is you can get on the Internet. You can do research on the Internet about which place is vegetarian, which place isn't. You will eventually learn what your favorite places are. People will tell you if you're talking to them. And they say, "Oh!, I know a vegetarian, they eat at such and such a place." Go check it out. Don't be shy. Always ask when you first enter. "Do you have vegetarian food?" If they don't have anything don't be afraid. Get up and walk out. I've walked out of more than one restaurant and it feels really good. By the time you're in your car and you're driving to some other place, you're really glad you were strong. And took that to, leave a message to them that you really need to address vegetarians in your life. So enjoy the process. Have fun with it and be nice to the staff. They're trying. "