Got Veg?

All vegetarians have favorite restaurants close to home. But when we hit the road for work or play, most of us still waffl e between wanting to be open to new places and cuisines or sticking with the tried and true (pasta, anyone?) to be sure we don’t go hungry. Here, tips on how to get a great (and healthful) vegetarian meal anywhere, anytime.

Fine-Dining Finesse
High-end eateries tend to be the scene for big social occasions and business dinners, where you want attention focused on the people at the table, not your struggle to get a decent vegetarian meal. This used to mean ordering pasta or an assortment of side dishes from the menu of “regular” entrées. Not anymore, if you’re willing to do a little legwork.

• Ask those in the know. When visiting a new city, phone the local natural food store to ask for restaurant recommendations, advises Leslie McEachern, owner of the vegan oasis Angelica Kitchen in New York: “If I explain what I’m looking for and what neighborhood I’ll be in, someone working at a natural food store can usually tell me where to eat.”
• Call ahead. When making a reservation, state that some or all of the members in the dining party are vegetarian, McEachern suggests: “In a high-end restaurant a large percentage of the restaurant’s philosophy rests on hospitality. They’re there to please.”
• Be up front with your companions. “We’re not at all shy about explaining what our business is and why having dinner in a steak house wouldn’t work for us,” says Rory Freedman, coauthor of the vegan diet book Skinny Bitch. “We’re passionate about veganism, and it goes way beyond the fact that there wouldn’t be much for us to eat,” she adds. “But in order to be effective, we always try to be as diplomatic as possible. We save the tough talk for the books.”
• Share and share alike. If you fi nd yourself the only vegetarian at a table full of omnivores, invite your tablemates to sample what’s on your plate. “I use it as a great excuse to share my kind of food,” says Skinny Bitch coauthor Kim Barnouin. “I order more of it, and usually people are curious about trying something they wouldn’t have normally ordered.”
• Go easy on eatery staff. When menu options are limited, don’t take it out on your server. “Think tolerance,” advises vegan dietitian Dina Aronson, RD. “After all, we are vegetarian out of compassion and respect (whether for the animals, the planet, and/or our health), so exercise that compassion and respect toward others.” You can approach the owner or chef about your concerns at another time.
• Tip well. “It doesn’t hurt to leave a huge tip for those who go out of their way to please a vegetarian palate,” Aronson points out.

Ethnic Ins and Outs
Certain ethnic cuisines may seem like safe bets because of a meat-free religious heritage (Indian food) or a long vegetarian column on the menu (Chinese restaurants). But not all establishments have stringent cooking practices, and certain nonveg ingredients can easily slip under the radar. The solution? This cuisine-by-cuisine list.

• Chinese: Check that the restaurant’s vegetarian options are truly veg. Chinese soups often contain beef, poultry, or fi sh base, and you may see dishes with oyster sauce (which is not vegetarian) on the vegetarian portion of the menu.
• Ethiopian: Though not strictly vegetarian, Ethiopian cuisine is a safe bet because it’s rich in vegetarian and vegan options. Vegetable dishes are served on injera, large vegan “pancakes” that you eat with your hands.
• Indian: For stress-free selection, order the vegetarian thali: a sampler plate of vegetables and dal (bean dishes), usually served with pappadam, naan, and dessert. Vegans should request dishes that are prepared with oil, not ghee (clarifi ed butter).
• Japanese: Order edamame, seaweed salad, ohitashi (boiled greens, usually spinach), yu dofu (boiled tofu), gomae (boiled greens in sesame dressing), miso soup, and white rice. Ask if anything is prepared using dashi, a soup stock made with bonito (fi sh) that’s present in many Japanese dishes.
• Mexican: Go for whole beans (pinto or black); stay away from refried beans (often made with lard) unless they’re specifi ed as vegetarian. Ask about ingredients in guacamole (sometimes made with sour cream); rice, which might be simmered in chicken broth; and fl our tortillas, which are traditionally (but not always) made with lard. Corn tortillas are vegan.
• Middle Eastern: Hummus, baba ghanoush, and other appetizers can be ordered without fear, but make inquiries about anything deep-fried that isn’t falafel.
• Thai: Most Thai cooking is dairy-free, but fi sh and oyster sauce are used to season almost everything. Ask for spring rolls without shrimp, and when you order entrées, stick to the classics: panang or green curry, pad thai (which almost always contains egg), and pad se ew with vegetarian duck (aka seitan).
• Vietnamese: Many dishes contain either meat or fi sh or both (pho, for instance, is made with beef stock). Your best bet may be to fi nd a Vietnamese restaurant that serves strictly vegetarian fare.

Diner Delights
Gone are the days when diners were strictly greasy spoons with various meats cooking on a griddle. As patrons request more healthful choices and speak up about what they want, these all-day eateries can be cheap, easy places to dine out as a vegetarian.

• Have breakfast for lunch or dinner. Don’t underestimate the all-day breakfast option available at almost every diner, says health-food guru and Moosewood Cookbook author Mollie Katzen: “If you’re worried about getting your protein and vegetables, an omelet—or eggs with a large salad or a side of cooked vegetables— can be great alternatives for ovo-vegetarians.”
• Just enjoy. Ryan Kellner, owner of Mighty-O Donuts, an eco-conscious doughnut shop in Seattle, opts to go with the fl ow when he travels. “Though I live a predominantly vegan lifestyle, and eating conscientiously is very important to me and my family, when I’m on the road I usually indulge in the local fare and take it as a cultural lesson, even if—especially if—it’s an old greasy spoon establishment that doesn’t have a clue about organic vegan food.”

Fast-Food Fixes
When McDonald’s plants enough lettuce on a billboard near Chicago’s Wrigley Field to form the words “fresh salads,” you know the fast-food landscape is changing— though there’s a long way yet to go (McDonald’s fries still aren’t vegetarian). That’s just one more reason, beyond convenience, to compel you to pick up a drive-through dinner. Recently, a convincing argument was posted on PETA’s Web site in favor of giving chain veggie meals a chance: If vegetarians and vegans don’t support these options, they will disappear. So when speedy service counts, here are a few good bets:

• Subway’s Veggie Delite is a vegetarian standby for those in a pinch. For a vegan version, avoid the wheat bread and deli roll, which both contain honey, and ask the sandwich maker to hold the mayo and cheese.
• Burger King’s BK Veggie Burger, though not vegan, is cooked in a microwave, so you need not worry about it coming in contact with meat on the grill. Feel free to “have it your way” with more toppings.
• The Fresco Bean Burrito at Taco Bell is Aronson’s favorite. “Add extra lettuce and tomato and throw in a side order of guacamole, which is high in essential fats and antioxidants. And if you’re still hungry, I recommend an order of fresco-style Mexican rice,” she says.

With all these options and an increasing awareness of dietary preferences, vegetarian dining gets less stressful every day. The one last bastion? Airport boarding areas. Freedman recalls being stranded at the airport where her only dining option was a deli sandwich stand: “I just got a roll with lettuce, tomato, peppers, onions, mustard, pickles, oil, and vinegar. And I’m not going to lie: I had a bag of Sun Chips with it. Was it organic? Defi nitely not. Was it healthy? Not so much. Did it keep me from being an uncivilized maniac screaming from hunger? Thankfully, yes.”

S. McCarthy heads into any territory armed with healthful snacks, such as nori (seaweed) strips, Lara Bars, and wasabi peas.