Being a Vegetarian on holiday

Bettie

kathrynha wrote: »

And a lot of places in this country don't use proper parmesan, but cheaper alternatives, and most places in Europe have their own local cheeses that are similar

i

If it's labelled Parmesan then they shouldn't be using anything other than that. Some places use a hard Italian that's vegetarian and say that on the menu but if it's on the menu as Parmesan then it should be. Otherwise trade description can be called in. For me, it's best to stay away from any cheese that doesn't have a v sign on.

pelirocco

Spendless wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's input. This is being really helpful. We holiday in France frequently but haven't done so, since DD stopped eating meat, so have never scrutinised their menus for veggie options.

One of the things I've found hardest, with both this years and last years holidays is that my plan b if nothing was on the mains section, was for her to eat some meat free starters or sides, only to find neither place really offerred them, or only meat loaded ones.

Something I pointed out to her when she wanted to become vegetarian was how restrictive it would be when eating out, but I was taking about menus in the U.K. I hadn't realised they were good compared to other places.

So, from the comments for Europe, Spain is a maybe. We have a spanish tapas restaurant here, I'm thinking we may go for my birthday next month and see how she gets on trying the food.

Greece sounds fantastic for food for her. I've been to Greece once when I was in my early 20s and really hated that you couldn't flush toilet paper down the loo. Some years later, I struck up conversation with a Greek bloke and he told me it's to do with the rock below Greece and the plumbing they're able to have. It puts me off going back. Sorry, I know I've just thrown another 'problem' out there for suggestions.

Re-read the thread. Sounds like Turkey is a possibility too.

I am surprised you think eating out is difficult for a veggie in the UK , Its pretty easy tbh , Its rare you wont find a veggie option or two , and if they dont appeal ( thinking of chains who serve over processed veggie items) you can always ask for veggie friendly items on other dishes , or starters as a main meal
She does sound like she may be a fussy veggie eater ?
Google vegatarian restuarants you will be surprised how many places there are

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a bin for toilet paper btw ,
Dont let minor difficulties put you off visiting soe wonderful places

Spendless

pelirocco wrote: »

I am surprised you think eating out is difficult for a veggie in the UK , Its pretty easy tbh , Its rare you wont find a veggie option or two , and if they dont appeal ( thinking of chains who serve over processed veggie items) you can always ask for veggie friendly items on other dishes , or starters as a main meal
She does sound like she may be a fussy veggie eater ?
Google vegatarian restuarants you will be surprised how many places there are

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a bin for toilet paper btw ,
Dont let minor difficulties put you off visiting soe wonderful places

?? Is that a typo and you meant U.S? I've always been a meat and fish eater but have had a few friends/workmates who are veggie. When eating out, I'd always noticed their lack of choice compared to myself. When DD arrived home from school one day announcing she was vegetarian it was something I pointed out. That there would be a lack of choice (in the U.K) not there would be no choice.

Having never taken any notice of menus abroad to see if they were the same, I'd not considered that the U.K was better in that respect. I'd thought there would be the same amount of choices. I discovered last year in Belgium that that wasn't the case, but really thought that this year in America would be better.

Yes, I did say she was faddy, I mentioned it in my opening post, but that wasn't the issue. It wasn't that the only veggie options listed she didn't like, it was that there wasn't many veggie options, other than the pizza.

Dr.Rock

I've been veggie for over 15 years and travelled extensively. The UK is excellent for vegetarians as is most of Europe (Spain, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Holland) and North Africa depending on the type of establishment you go to. Obviously a Steakhouse will have few, if any options, but most major cities have more than one specialist veggie restaurant.

South East Asia and Japan were also good, but China was a different story. The tofu is not even vegetarian as they often put pork in it! Be very careful unless you speak the language and can ascertain exactly what is in what you are eating, and be prepared to skip a few meals when everything except the green vegetables contains meat.

North America (US & Canada) is very contrasting. The cities and more cultured areas (Toronto, Vancouver, NYC, San Francisco, Nashville, etc) are no problem for veggies but in small towns, especially the midwest, they are generally farming communities and the concept of vegetarianism may be regarded as sacrilegious. "You don't eat meat? I think we done got us a commie here!"
Places with large student populations will offer the most choices.

My best advice would be to think of where you want to go and then look on Happy Cow for what restaurants, cafes, specialty shops there are.

EconomicsGirl

My daughter is 11 and vegetarian but also doesn't eat fish. The biggest issues it causes for us are in France and DH is French! She has even been shouted out once for being vegetarian in a French restaurant as well as by MIL who sees it as a lack of discipline by us. When we've asked for just the veg in French restaurants you get half the portion and full price and generally no non Fish veg options. Even Burger King doesn't offer vegi burgers. In an area with many English tourists you may fare better.

Rest of Europe never had much problems. This year went to Costa Rica and it was fine esp as we were in an all inclusive so can choose. Stayed in all inclusives in Spain, absolutely fine. Italy no problems. Finland no problems. France can get round by self catering.

Thomson also wouldn't give vegetarian meals on their flights under 12 to Costa Rica but we negotiated one on way back. For that I would order an adult veg meal and swap, little difference between kids and adult meals.

System

Spendless wrote: »

Hi, Thanks for reply. Ideally we'd like to go somewhere in Europe eg Spain.

I hadn't thought of Italy, that would make sense them having more vegetarian options.

Last year, I was in Rome and the restaurant I went to had veggie and vegan dishes (pizzas etc). It was about five minutes walk from Termini station.

I would avoid Spain and France. My veggie friends lived on chips and Spanish omelettes.

I googled and found this website which lists veggie and vegan places around the world.
Www.happycow net

vegasvisitor

I've been veggie for about 27 years, and travelled quite a bit. In Florida (not Orlando though) it was fine. Mainly ate in Italian places I think. Italy can be a bit of a mixed bag, as you often find that the tomato based dishes contain some parmesan. The restaurants don't list this, but then there's cheese gathering on the fork as you eat. Spain, depends where. In the beach resorts plenty of pasta etc. Barcelona, I found difficult. Thailand I ate fine, but because I ate mainly Indian food. Thai curry often has fish paste in it, so I avoided that. I can't really think of anywhere in the world that I would specifically avoid, although I get that veggies end up eating pizza, pasta, cheese etc when eating out. We often go to Vegas and I find the buffets good, as I can get lots of salad and then some bits of other stuff.

jazz

We spend lots of time in Spain and it is now getting better for veggies (which we both are) even our local menu del dia restaurant now has a veggie set meal but it is an exception. Wherever you decide to go have a look at happy cow website - they give reviews of veggie and vegan restaurants all over the world.

sarah69696pink

I'm a veggie and can understand your issues with US - although think it depends where you go - Miami for example is much more veggie friendly than Orlando.
I would echo that SE Asia is best for veggie food from anywhere I've been.
Hardest place I've been though is Hong Kong.
In Europe find Italy the best for wide selections, followed by Greece. personally don't mind Spain all that great, as so much tapas is meat and fish and it can get pretty boring after a while.
To be honest though I've never massively struggled anywhere. Yes you have issues like the McDonalds thing, but generally found that stating in advance you eat no meat (and if you go somewhere non english speaking have it written on a piece of paper) restaurants and staff will try and accomodate and help you. Big hotels and chains are generally worse than small local places. For example in Malaysia last year stayed in a big 5* hotel explained did not eat meat and repeatedly served chicken and they did not understand this was still meat. Went off the beaten track to a local place (may be off putting for some as a bit 'rough and ready' looking but full of locals) - had a few strange looks at first for being only westerners in there but they served us up lots of wonderful veggie options. I generally find chatting to staff and going local the best way to do it.

GwylimT

pollypenny wrote: »

It's vegetarian, but not vegan, as it's not flesh.

I don't see rennet as bring any different from milk, from which all cheese is made,

No it isn't, milk doesn't contain the stomach contents of a dead animal, parmesan does.