I had lunch with a colleague today. We went to an Indian restaurant he knew of, very close to our meeting site, which was important since the weather wasn't cooperating much. The restaurant shall remain nameless, since it isn't one I care to refer to anyone!
Regardless, our server was great. He helped me find a vegan meal and as our food was being brought to the table, he grabbed my naan (an Indian flat bread usually served to help sop up all the delicious sauces), and said he'd provide a vegan alternative for me. Apparently, naan is made with milk and eggs. Who knew?
Again the food was actually pretty bad, but the service was stellar. I was really impressed that this person cared enough to ensure that my dietary requirements were being met. He certainly would not have suffered in any way if I'd been served the naan, and quite frankly, I never would have known it wasn't vegan.
So, once again I've learned you cannot make any assumptions... ASK, ASK, ASK!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Naan - It Isn't for Vegans!
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6 comments:
Oy, yes. I'm mid vegan/ gluten free challenge week (I do self-imposed dietary challenges from time to time, and felt my system needed a break; I can't pretend to be so disciplined the rest of the time.) I asked a Mexican restaurant we were at about the tortilla chips, and what they were fried in. He said no meat. Took a bite: definitely lard.
Yuck!
Good thing it wasn't a religious or ethical requirement for me, just a preference.
By the way, I've left a couple of comments, and I don't at all want to sound sanctimonious/ condescending-- I was vegetarian/ nearly vegan for 5 years, and have done a lot of research to trick my meat and potatoes beau into eating real food without complaining, and I've got a couple of good cookbooks that I'm willing to give you if you're interested-- sounds like you just made the switch?
Lovely to be reading your blog (which I read abouton Fruitarian) - my dh and I have been veggie for eons, but ditched the eggs and dairy altogether about 4 or 5 years ago (I know it's strange, but the changeover was gradual and therefore the 'altogether' part is non-recorded).
Keep up the good work here! I'll add this link to my blog and return here often!
Sorry - that wasn't Fruitarian; it was Vegan on Care2 *duh*
Btw, our local Indian restaurant also warned us last year about naan bread. I thought it was very thoughtful of them because, like you, we might not have been able to smell/taste the egg and dairy in it with all spices going on in the meal. They explained that they catered to a lot of Indian vegetarians and vegans, so . . . .
Hugs to you for passing this on to everyone!
Tanya -- The challenge week sounds interesting. I think it might be harder overall to do something like that for just a week. It was a huge effort for us when we first started vegan-eating. Now, we feel like we've gotten the hang of it. We still need to scrutinize our food choices, but it's gotten easier, and feels "normal."
I'm sure we've had a few non-vegan things inadvertently when eating out, but we feel that we're giving this a real effort and that the occasional slip won't be detrimental.
And as for the cookbooks... we'd love to have them. I'm not sure how to contact you directly...
-- Jane
Hi River,
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments.
I completely understand about the "altogether" comment as I have no idea when I stopped eating 4 legged animals... Some of our changes are gradual, others are dramatic and therefore more memorable.
-- Lane
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