Eating Out....

Well, Andy asks a good question about eating out. It is true that pretty much ANYWHERE in the world a vegetarian can get a meal at an Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Nepalese, or Japanese restaurant. In the case of Indian, they do not use many animal products, but they do use Butter and other Dairy based sauces; so vegans need to be sure to ask for NO cream sauce or butter in their meals. Thai food is pretty heavy on the Fish Sauce or Oyster Sauce as they give the sauces (apparently) a good sodium jolt. If you go to a Thai place you HAVE to ask for NO fish or oyster sauce. Some places I have found know what vegetarian means and will automatically leave those products out. (Especially Asian places; if you say you are Buddhist, Jain, or Hindu they know to leave out all animal products) So, when I travel I tend to not say vegetarian, but Buddhist and all the places know what that means; even if they do not speak English. Vietnamese places also tend to have Chicken Stock as bases for their sauces and soups, so if eating at a Vietnamese place, be sure to ask if the sauce is vegetarian (which there are some). (Also be sure to ask them about fish sauce) Tibetan and Nepalese tend to fall alongside with Indian since they are both steeped in religions that accept vegetarianism.

It is generally a good idea to forgo American, French, German, or Latin cuisine. Whereas there are some places in these genres that have SOME veggie cuisine, they are all based on meat; even sauces. The only thing on an "American" menu that is good would be a veggie burger, but beware where it is cooked.

The exception to that rule would be Mexican. Most Mexican places know about lard and if you ask, most places have beans that have not been cooked in lard. Even in Mexico it was not hard to get a bean and rice burrito, or veggie fajitas, or a veggie quesadilla.

Italian Cuisine is relatively vegetarian friendly. Most chains like Olive Garden use Vegetable Stock for their Minestrone, but beware of Chicken Stock in soups elsewhere, including Minestrone (which is mildly humerous since Minestrone soup is known as a vegetarian soup; some people do not count the Stock as part of the soup....so ASK before eating). Also beware of Chicken Stock in their sauces; always ask if the sauce is vegetarian.