Hi Val,
I miss Vegetarians Paradise 2. When I was in school, and vegetarian, that was one of my favorite restaurants. Yes, it’s certainly easier to navigate Manhattan than Los Angeles. But I’m not sure our cost of living is that much less than yours. Thanks for the support!

Hi Chrissy,
I hope I didn’t annoy you too much with my whining. Your situation sounds really tough. And while we too have saved a ton of money eating out less than we did as omnis, some days we’d be happy to trade a little of that cash for a bit more variety. Make sure to let us know when that lottery ticket comes in. We’ll be happy to visit your establishment!

Hi Sue,
Hey, I’m a man… It’s certainly not all of us. There are a number of guys who comment here… although we seem to be in the minority.
Yes, I’m looking forward to the day when it’s really all mainstream and easy. It feels like we’re moving forward. I just wish we were there already. (More whining, sorry!)

Hi Beth,
We live in the Pasadena/Eagle Rock area, so there are plenty of restaurants nearby, just not veg*n oriented. Taste of Life isn’t close by… but next time we’re in the area I would love some lasagna.

Hi FoodEater,
Nah, it’s food option frustration. I absolutely cannot walk out of my door and find anything in walking distance… nevermind vegan fare. Driving distance, we’re close to tons of restaurants, but only 2 of them are vegetarian/vegan, and I’m tired of Fatty’s and Jane is tired of Cinnamon.
I don’t hate you for saying that we’re lucky. I know we’re lucky, and I don’t really have a right to whine. I mentioned it in the post. But I miss the days of being able to order something off the menu and not have to worry about it, and, I’ll say it again. I’m sick of veggie burgers as “the” option.
Thanks for the suggestions. We generally do well in Thai or Chinese restaurants, but I’m never really convinced that I’m getting a truly vegan meal (fish sauce). I’m usually willing to take that leap of faith.
Your posts on the joys of Portland made me long for the day when those options are everywhere.

I can’t walk more than a mile out of my front door without bumping into something vegan that I can eat. Since we live in the same metropolitan area I’m really surprised to hear you say you don’t have many choices. Both my parents are meat eaters and I go out to dinner with them frequently. Sometimes they’ll let me take them to one of my veggie places (my dad loves the nut burger at Follow Your Heart!), but most of the time they’re dragging me along to one of their restaurant choices. Their have been very few “normal” restaurants we’ve gone to where I wasn’t able to find a few vegetarian options that could easily be veganized. True, it’s a pain in the ass to have to ask “hold the cheese, hold the butter”, etc… but as an onion hater I’ve had to be vigilant in restaurants all my life anyhow to make sure they don’t put onions on my food. For me asking for them leave the cheese off of the salad or to leave the butter off of the steamed/grilled veggies hasn’t felt like too much of a hassle. Just last week they dragged me along to some chain restaurant near the Northridge mall that I really didn’t want to suffer through. Much to my delight, right on the menu was a cheeseless pizza with seasonal grilled vegetables (and it was delicious). The veggie fajita I had at Chili’s of all places was surprisingly good too (I asked if they’d make me the fajita with their grilled portabello mushrooms instead of steak, and hold the cheese… and they were happy to oblige). It seems like more and more of these regular places are becoming more healthy conscious, and in turn, more vegetarian & vegan friendly.

Please don’t hate me of saying this, but I think that if you spent a week somewhere that doesn’t have even one vegetarian restaurant for hundreds of miles in any direction, I think you’d realize just how totally lucky and spoiled with vegan options we are here in Los Angeles.

I don’t know how helpful this suggestion will be, but maybe you’ll find some new and exciting stuff in your area if you start exploring some of the ethnic food places nearby or even go back to “normal” restaurants that don’t advertise as being vegetarian and vegan. Some of my favorite vegans foods in this city come from places that don’t cater to vegans at all.

And I totally hear ya on getting bored with the veg places around here. We need more non-asian places (not that the others aren’t awesome, they’re just practically the only options out there!)

When it’s just the husband & I, it’s still difficult, for the same reason. I’m just resigned to it, I guess. And I didn’t even know that until I started going out with a group of vegans about once a month. The first time I saw a menu where I could order anything on it, I was pretty much paralized with indecision.

I wish I had an answer for you…for all of us, actually.

When I became vegetarian 25 years ago, I got so sick of lettuce as my primary meal anytime we went out for dinner that I just stopped going out. Things have gotten better, but now we live in a small town with pretty limited options…and boredom is back on our dinner plates.

That said, we’ve had some luck speaking to the cooks and chefs and waitstaff at the restaurants near us, and asking if they could make a variation from the single item. Most are happy to accommodate, especially when we tell them we’re happy to eat their experiment. Not the perfect answer, but it helps.

Hi LisaMarie,
We’ve been vegan for a little over a year now. Jane also makes food ahead, and neither of us has a problem eating leftovers… But it’s nice to be able to say, nah… I don’t feel like having XYZ for dinner, let’s go out instead. So how long did it take you to get past the desire to eat out?

Hi Nicole,
We have that problem with our friends as well. Most people have a negative perception of what vegan food is going to taste like, and are therefore unwilling to try it. We find that going out for ethnic foods is usually the best bet.
But the prices often don’t reflect the lack of meat. And, as you stated, it’s really frustrating to pay $$ for things you can easily make at home.