I need suggestions for something I am not familiar with.?!
Answers: I have just been reunited with a friend I grew up with after 22 years. I have learned that he and his wife are vegan. She was raised one and he has only been one for 3-4 years. If I want to take them out to dinner one evening where can I take them? This is all new to me and I want to respect their beliefs, but it seems very difficult to pick anywhere that would cater to their needs. Any suggestions?
There is a place called Sweet Tomato, they are very good. They cater to everyone. I love it. You might try looking online and seeing if one is in your area. You could try calling around to resteraunts and seeing if they have vegan dishes. You might try going to some type of community website or even a community phone book and see if they have any listings for vegan/vegetarian places.
I wish you the best of luck. If all else fails just ask them for some sugguestions since this is all new to you.
Good Luck!
avoid the steak houses
I would politely ask them
a Chinese vegetarian restaurant but it can be expensive.
look them up on the internet search the term marcobiotic restaurants
there are several vegan places in California (Los Angeles). But unless you can easily find a vegan place you might not be able to make them happy. Maybe find something non-food related. Those vegans are picky! (I can't believe he converted to veganism for his wife!!!)
Look into menus or ask them, but lots of Indian restaurants do vegan stuff. So do places like Wagamama's and The Hare and Tortoise.
ok slow down and think for a moment...do all meals contain meat...most Eastern Indian cooking has some vegetarian items and also there are loads of non meat items on every menu...Asian cooking comes to mind with its tofu dishes
Make some phone calls to several of the good restaurants in your area. Some are eager to work on a special dish if they know when you are coming. Make arrangements ahead of time and it will go much smoother. Also, this will show your friends that you truly cared about their food choices and went out of your way to accommodate them. Very nice of you to want to take them out.
there are plenty of vegan resteraunts. i dont know where you live, but here in LA there are many and im sure if you just google it you will find something near you. if you are taking them to a fancy restaurant then im sure they will have a few vegan dishes, you can always call your favorite resteraunts and ask if they have anything (and make sure its not just one or a couple dishes) vegan friendly.
Take them to Ponderosa, you can eat your steak and they can graze at the salad bar.
Yes, as they are friends of yours you simply explain to them that as you are not a vegan or a vegetarian you would really appreciate some help as to where to dine as you want to give them a really good night out. For goodness sake, they are friends after all and I am sure once you get the right restaurant(s) from them you can then relax and enjoy yourself knowing your friends are not going to be faced with anything that they can't or won't eat because the restaurant will cater to their tastes.
go to
http://www.vegdining.com
or
http://www.happycow.net/browse.html
and search the cities in your area.
I've never had a problem finding a dish on a Mexican or Asian menu. I just make sure they don't include anything suspicious.
The websites Krister mentioned will help you find a vegetarian or veg-friendly restaurant anywhere in the world. If there's not one near you, try going to an Asian or an Indian restaurants. Most will have vegan options for your friend and his wife. If he lives in the area, surely he can tell you a place he likes to go.
You can ask them wehre they would like to go, or you can always just make a vegan meal for them at home and have a nice dinner for them. A good vegan recipe site is veganmania.com
Also you can maybe look up any vegan or vegetarian restaurants around you, if there are any.
I'm vegan and go out to eat all the time.
No place has to "cater", it's seriously not hard to order a vegetable plate, replace meat with beans, or say "hold the cheese."
It's great that you're being such a caring friend!
Take him out alone ... after being a vegan for 3-4 years, I'll bet he'd like to tear into a thick, juicy, char-broiled steak.