good weekend

[mamajoan]

Had a pretty good weekend. Saturday, anotherjen and her daughter came to my mom's place and stayed with Isaac while mom and I went to see Jon Stewart live. Which ruled! :) When we got home we discovered that Ilana thought it was a sleepover and didn't want to leave. ;) I consider that a compliment although I know she doesn't give a shit about me, she's just enamored of my baby. ;)

On Sunday ww1614 came over with HER daughter, and they hung out and stuff. And Wendy, who has an uncanny knack for sensing when I am starting to think "Ack, Isaac is outgrowing all his clothes!", brought two huge boxes of her son's outgrown clothes, which is GREAT. We are pretty well set for much of the summer and part of next fall! Yay!

Then they left and we went out to eat. My mom has been on an epic quest to find a place to hold my grandma's 90th birthday party next month. It has to have a space for 12-15 people -- preferably a private room -- and it has to be reasonably priced, reasonably close to my mom's place, and a type of food that you can easily feed to a large group of elderly, non-adventurous eaters. So that rules out Indian or Mexican or any other cuisine that is particularly spicy or "weird." We've been visiting a lot of Chinese restaurants to sample their food and check out their side-room offerings.

Anyway, so the Chinese place we went to tonight was one that both my mom and I had hazy memories of hating, but several people whom mom trusts had recommended it to her recently, so we thought maybe our hazy memories were wrong. Alas, they were not. The place sucked. Well, the decor and atmosphere were nice, and the service was fine, but the food sucked. And it's not just me the picky vegetarian saying that; mom agreed. Alas.

The experience prompted me to mention to mom, and now to post, my restaurant-evaluation system. Over my many years as a vegetarian I've developed a set of rules or guidelines for evaluating a Chinese restaurant's vegetarian-friendliness, simply by reading its menu. Details follow, but bear in mind that the point values here are just meant to give an idea of the comparative importance of the rules. It's not like I actually sit there looking at the menu and tallying up points! *g* This is really just a summary of the things I look for immediately upon opening the menu.

Appetizers
If the appetizer section contains no (obviously) vegetarian appetizers: -2 points
If spring rolls, or scallion pie, are the only vegetarian appetizers: -1 point
If spring rolls are listed but contain shrimp: -1 (You have to ask the waiter about this. Some Chinese restaurants consider shrimp to be vegetarian.)
If dumplings/potstickers/Peking-ravioli are listed and the menu notes that they are available in a vegetarian version as well: +1 ½
If the Pu-Pu Platter (or other appetizer sampler) includes no veggie options: -½
If there is a separate appetizer sampler that's all-veggie: +2

Soups
note: Egg-drop soup is often the only potentially vegetarian (though obviously not vegan) soup. But it is almost always made with chicken broth (again, you'll have to ask).

If egg-drop is available but not vegetarian: -½
If egg-drop is available and is vegetarian: +1
If there is another vegetarian soup: +2

Specials
If there is a "chef's specials" section on the menu and at least one of the specials is vegetarian: +2

Entrees
note: Naming of the section containing the vegetarian dishes is key. The standard is "vegetables and tofu" - this is the minimum acceptable.
note: Use of the term "bean curd" instead of "tofu" is acceptable.

If the "vegetables" section is called "vegetables and noodles" or "vegetables and rice" or a variation thereon: -1
If there is a "vegetables" section and a separate "tofu" section: +2
If the vegetable section includes any dish containing meat: -2 (yes, this happens, often! A dish consisting of green beans and pork is the most frequent offender.) BUT if the section is called "vegetables and noodles" then only -1 for this rule.
If the name of the vegetable section actually includes the word "vegetarian": +1, unless the previous rule applies, in which case it's another -1.
If the menu includes a definition/explanation of what tofu is: -½
If the vegetable section contains zero dishes with tofu: -2
If the section contains only one dish with tofu: -1
If one of the above two rules applies AND the section contains any dish with "oyster sauce" in the name: -1
If the section contains one dish with tofu and that dish includes meat, or two dishes with tofu and one includes meat: -2

Other Sections
If the fried rice / lo mein / moo shi listing does NOT include vegetarian (i.e., if it says "you can get chicken lo mein, beef lo mein, or pork lo mein"): -1
If you have the option of tofu for any of the dishes mentioned in the previous rule: +½
If the restaurant offers brown rice in addition to white: +1

Miscellaneous
If the menu states that all dishes are cooked in vegetable oil: +½
If the menu has a system (e.g., a special icon or similar) to show which dishes are or can be made vegetarian: +2
If the menu includes any meat substitute other than tofu (e.g. seitan): +2
If french fries appear anywhere on the menu: -2

Of course, anyone who is a vegetarian should realize that when s/he visits a Chinese restaurant, s/he is probably ingesting some animal products, unless the restaurant (or its veggie dishes) is specifically and explicitly vegetarian. The sauces, the cooking pots, the grill, etc., are all most likely "contaminated." This is quite probably true at restaurants of other ethnicities as well, of course, but particularly at Chinese places. If a vegetarian really wants to be 100% pure of any animal-based contaminants s/he will have to either a) quiz the staff at great length or b) avoid mainstream Chinese restaurants. Dude, that's just life.

Anyway, the lengthy digression aside, that's my weekend. Whee. :)

Comments

[mishaslair.livejournal.com]

Why -1/2 if the menu explains what tofu is?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Because that usually indicates that the menu was written a long time ago, back when tofu was still a weird scary thing that no one had heard of. But only half a point because sometimes it can also mean that the restaurant is trying to educate people; so you have to make that distinction based on context.