Vegetarian Dining

[sandynva]

(moderators, i wasn't sure if this should be in its own thread or not, so if it should, please dont hesitate to move it to wherever it's most appropriate) [ ]

As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, i loved the Post's food section yesterday. What was particularly intriguing was the article where Joe Yonan and Tom S. dined out together and had some wonderful veg. meals.  In the past, I have tried going to places where there was no veg option and asking if they could make me something  a few times and either gotten 1) steamed veg or something awfully close to it or 2) a plate of whatever veg sides they had, some of which weren't actually vegetarian (i.e. the rice with bonito-containing dashi stock i recieved at corduroy). Because it never worked out well for me in the past, i haven't done it in at least 3 years, these days i'll either check the menu options online, or call ahead to see if they have a veg option. This somewhat limits my dining options, and those of my friends (b/c i won't go somewhere where there's no veg option listed).

so, i found this article intriguing. Tom and Joe seemed to have great success asking places to make them things. has this been your experience? i'm wondering if times have changed in the past few years (this would be great!!) or if the restaurants just did this because they knew who was dining with them (Mintwood seems to have acknowledged that this is the case, but i'm not sure about Range and Marcel's).

If you have done this successfully, is the proper protocol to call a day ahead and let them know? i've tried noting that vegetarians were dining when making opentable reservations, but this doesn't seem to make a difference.

finally, can anyone confirm that Komi has a vegetarian menu? i've tried calling them twice to ask if it was possible to dine there if you were vegetarian (though admittedly the last time i called was over a year ago) and both times the person answering the phone said something to the effect that they didn't have vegetarian options for people who don't eat seafood.

[cheezepowder]

...so, i found this article intriguing. Tom and Joe seemed to have great success asking places to make them things. has this been your experience? i'm wondering if times have changed in the past few years (this would be great!!) or if the restaurants just did this because they knew who was dining with them (Mintwood seems to have acknowledged that this is the case, but i'm not sure about Range and Marcel's).

I think the restaurants all knew who was asking. Joe Yonan's not anonymous and his picture's on his twitter and the Wash Post site so it's easy to identify him. As you mention in the article, Mintwood not only acknowledged they knew but admitted they wouldn't have done it for anyone else, which made me skeptical as to how useful this article was. But, the chef of Mintwood tweeted yesterday that the vegetable napoleon would be on the menu last night because everyone's a VIP so the article seems to have had some effect.

...finally, can anyone confirm that Komi has a vegetarian menu? i've tried calling them twice to ask if it was possible to dine there if you were vegetarian (though admittedly the last time i called was over a year ago) and both times the person answering the phone said something to the effect that they didn't have vegetarian options for people who don't eat seafood.

That's weird. I wonder if they've changed their policy. The last time I was at Komi was a couple of years or so ago, but at that time, there was no problem getting a vegetarian menu with no seafood or other meats. (My husband is vegetarian). This was after they switched to the multi course menu that doesn't have the choice of entrees like they used to do. I just asked for the vegetarian menu when I made the reservation.

[acgator]

finally, can anyone confirm that Komi has a vegetarian menu? i've tried calling them twice to ask if it was possible to dine there if you were vegetarian (though admittedly the last time i called was over a year ago) and both times the person answering the phone said something to the effect that they didn't have vegetarian options for people who don't eat seafood.

I can vouch for Komi having no problem accomodating a vegetarian diner (or any diner for that matter). Last spring my friend, his gluten free wife and my vegetarian girlfriend had a wonderful meal to celebrate the end of the school year. Each course had three different preprations, all equally dazzling and delightful. The only thing I would say is that I definitely gave them notice when I called for the reservation.