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A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

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Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#71

Post by [deleted] »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #34
DoreenMichele wrote: post #28

I'm kind of a food snob. I don't eat burgers. They're horrible. I don't eat hotdogs. They're horrible. Reading this article tempts me to want to say "Newsflash: Tasty food sells!" but I'm sure that would be flagged to death as low content snark. Also, it's possibly stupid saying anything at all because people who eat stuff like burgers and hot dogs will get all mad when you give your honest opinion that it isn't exac…

> I'm sure that would be flagged to death as low content snark. Also, it's possibly stupid saying anything at all because people who eat stuff like burgers and hot dogs will get all mad when you give your honest opinion that it isn't exactly gourmet health food. Tastes differ between people. I eat burgers and hotdogs because they're tasty, and their tastiness for me is inversely proportional to the amount of vegetabl…

[deleted]

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#72

Post by hannob »

coldpie wrote: post #46
_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

I travel to Europe about once a year and I've noticed they're far behind the US in terms of vegetarian options. In the US it's been easy to get a high quality, vegetarian meal at almost any restaurant for at least a decade (edit: at least in metro areas; perhaps rural areas are different, although I haven't noticed this personally). Meanwhile in Europe it's almost impossible to get anything resembling a full meal. Li…

Which country? It highly depends. More veggie friendly: Germany, Sweden, UK. Less veggie friendly: Denmark, France. And then it depends on the region. (And with my few visits in the US I didn't find it particularly rich in vegetarian options, with the exception of San Francisco.)

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#73

Post by athriren »

coldpie wrote: post #46
_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

I travel to Europe about once a year and I've noticed they're far behind the US in terms of vegetarian options. In the US it's been easy to get a high quality, vegetarian meal at almost any restaurant for at least a decade (edit: at least in metro areas; perhaps rural areas are different, although I haven't noticed this personally). Meanwhile in Europe it's almost impossible to get anything resembling a full meal. Li…

I would say this is probably a slight overstatement of the situation in the US. In California and New York it has been very easy for a decade, but the midwest (St. Louis, Lawrence, Omaha) has only recently become nearly as easy as the coasts within--my perception is--the last three years.

However, I agree with the overall point of your comment. The US is comparatively much easier overall than Europe is, and the quality of the restaurant options in the US has improved quite rapidly over the past 5 years.

Edit: I would note this really only applies to western cuisine options. Indian and Thai food have been widely available for quite some time and have a lot of vegetarian options.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#74

Post by wastedhours »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #30
_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

I'm a meat eater myself but have I have 4 vegan family members. It's amazing how the range of vegan / vegetarian food has exploded in the UK over the last few years, I think this has made it much easier to maintain a vegan diet because socially it's much easier to eat almost anywhere rather than having to pick somewhere specifically for the vegetarian options.

Read a stat from one of the industry trade bodies that vegan takeaway order volume in the UK grew over 300% last year.

Admittedly, they didn't share the actual volumes themselves so will be a low base - but there's an (shameless pun) appetite for it.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#75

Post by duxup »

> “wild mushroom, roasted butternut squash and sun blushed tomato risotto with parmesan”

I'll probabbly be a hold out when it comes to most of that, at least as far as ONLY eating that goes.

I'd be happy to eat a meat substitute that tastes like meat.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#77

Post by gridlockd »

superpermutat0r wrote: post #45
geggam wrote: post #35

Would someone who is a vegan answer this question I have and I mean no offense by it. Why do you want to eat vegetables that are fake meat or made to taste like meat ? It seems silly to me.

I like the taste of meat, I like the taste of eggs, texture of yogurt, I like the taste of practically all foods. I do not like the fact that cow, chicken, pig, dog, have to die for my tastebuds to feel nice. Given that I like the tastes I like and do not want to give them up, I'll rather be calm and eat something that tastes like meat but there's no death of an animal. That's it. Could I live without veggie sausages…

> I do not like the fact that cow, chicken, pig, dog, have to die for my tastebuds to feel nice.

Not only do they have to die, they also have to live. If everyone went vegan, those animals would never have existed.

If the standards of living for the average farm animal were really good, would that be worse than them having never existed?

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#78

Post by nfoz »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #20

I always found vegan movement oddly close to religion. At my work, guy drives a car that has a custom VEGAN plate. I am not sure why I should know his dietary restrictions. I don't like liver. Do I add bumper indicating my dislike for liver consumption? Can someone rationalize it for me? Is it like sub-culture?

Veganism is often a moral/ethical stance rather than a dietary restriction. It's not a food preference, it's a worldview. So this can be an attempt to attract attention to the movement and normalize it.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#79

Post by Sharparam »

coldpie wrote: post #46
_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

I travel to Europe about once a year and I've noticed they're far behind the US in terms of vegetarian options. In the US it's been easy to get a high quality, vegetarian meal at almost any restaurant for at least a decade (edit: at least in metro areas; perhaps rural areas are different, although I haven't noticed this personally). Meanwhile in Europe it's almost impossible to get anything resembling a full meal. Li…

What countries? Remember that Europe consists of many countries and the cultures/cuisine differ greatly.

In Sweden we have a pretty good selection of vegetarian options, at least according to my vegetarian friend.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#80

Post by screye »

_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

Even vegan restaurants hardly sell good food.

In their attempt to make a shoddy substitute for meat dishes, they completely butcher the innate capabilities of the vegetables.

I know that sounds a bit snooty, but western cuisines simply do not lend themselves well to vegetarian ingredients.

India is obviously the most familiar with good veg food, but most cuisines in Asia have good vegetarian offerings. Everything from China, Thailand, Iran, Lebanon and even Eastern Africa have some if not many great veg offerings.

Any cuisine that is based around spices (not necessarily the hot ones, but spice in general) is much better suited to vegetarian ingredients.

What we need is for people to become slightly adventurous in the way they eat, and stop living in their food bubbles.

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