There is more to vegan and vegetarian grub than an uninspiring mountain of leafy greens and raw vegetables.
But according to some diners, this is not always the case.
Earlier this year, we reported on how one vegan was disappointed after being served a plate of dry rocket leaves and fruit slices at a wedding.
The plate which was captured by the attendee went viral on the internet. The photo was of a plate with a handful of dry rocket leaves, three small pieces of rockmelon and honeydew melon, and a few drops of what looked like balsamic dressing.
The dish was re-posted on Reddit, where it caused an outcry among users.
Vegan option at a wedding 🙄 pic.twitter.com/2EOTOz2FOl
— herbiwhore🌱 🏳️🌈 (@nerdzrope) January 22, 2022
One person wrote: “That’s embarrassing. I’ve worked in catering for a long time and we always bring a vegan option for plated dinners. Successful catering is all about proper planning and this screams ‘afterthought’. What a failure smh.”
Another person wrote: “Man I’d have just left. When you consider how much weddings cost, venues are really lazy at catering for the guests with specific requirements. It's not hard to make amazing vegan food.”
Other people agreed that the newly weds should have been more attentive, as one person said: “As a die-hard carnivore, even I know how much vegan food has improved in the past few decades. This is just pathetic.”
Now, also going viral on social media is a diner claiming she was served bland vegetarian food at some French restaurant.
Taking to Twitter, Erin L. Thompson shared a picture that showcased a plate with rice, spaghetti without sauce and some sliced vegetables.
In her tweet, she lamented, “Went to a restaurant in the French countryside for lunch and asked if it was possible to get something vegetarian. I got rice, vegetable peelings, and spaghetti without sauce."
The tweet instantly garnered attention with over two million views, thousands of likes, and hundreds of retweets. The comment section of this post was flooded with mixed opinions from people.
Went to a restaurant in the French countryside for lunch and asked if it was possible to get something vegetarian. I got rice, vegetable peelings, and spaghetti without sauce. pic.twitter.com/UnxEvIHfLh
— Erin L. Thompson (@artcrimeprof) July 13, 2023
One user wrote: “Went to a restaurant in the Czech Republic for dinner and asked if it was possible to get something vegetarian. I got the answer "No.”
Another person commented: “Some restaurants straight up don't even try, they'll just make a face and say they don't have anything vegetarian.”
But a third person noted, “You're in the French countryside. You were lucky to get anything.”
You can read the latest Food digimag here.