Sucky ... things.

[changeling]

So, Steph and I are going to a ball tonight, which is a story that I don't have all the words for right now, because I'm tired and with low blood sugar because there was NO MILK when I got up this morning, so I had no muesli ...

... anyway. It's organised by her work, and its a (HORRORS) buffet, which means heaps more options for "normals", but anyone with different dietary requirements (coeliacs, vegans etc) is completely buggered. There's no "special plate for table 5" with a buffet.

Here's the menu (Typos are theirs, not Steph's, who emailed it to me):

Tasmanian Oyster Tower - mounted on creushed ice, lemon wedges, five dressings
Platters of 'Nori' Hand Rolls - tuna, crispy chicken, pickled vegetable
Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast - curried water chestnut salad, cranberry jelly
'Sumac' spiced Calamari Salad - on smokey babaganosh, baby cress
Baby Gem & Tandoori Chicken Caesar Salad - coddled egges, shaved reggiano
Roasted Plum Tomatoes - marinated in aged balsamic dressing, buffalo mozzarella, vigin olive oil & basil
Soba Noodle Salad - Milawa three seed mustard mayo, spring onions, grilled pancetta
Wild Rocket - jinki blue cheese, toasted walnuts, pached 'nashi' pear salad
Mixed Salad Leaves - wild cresses, champagne vingerette
Blackened beef & Singapore Noodle Box - cripsy shallots & coriander
Smoked paprika scented salmon - dried tomato & olive crushed southern
gold's char-grilled spring onions lemon & basil dressing

Traditional self-saucing chocolate pudding - whipped navilla bean cream
cold set raspberry cheesecake - raspberry salas, Persian fairy floss
'Sharp' possets lemon & lime
Strawberries rubbed with toasted coconut, Yarra Valley clotted cream

For those of you paying attention, Steph and I can eat ... the mixed salad leaves. And probably pickled vegetable hand rolls. That's it. We'll probably be able to eat the roasted plum tomatoes, providing the mozzarella hasn't been melted over them. For dessert ... well, if the Persian fairy floss is a separate dish, and not part of the cheesecake (hard to tell – is it bad formatting, or culinary design?), we can have that.

I suppose those of you who aren't vegan would be saying triumphantly here, "I bet you just wish you'd eat like a NORMAL person, instead of expecting people to make a fuss over you!" and I'd say, "Not really," although I might add in my head that it might be nice if a few more people ate like us.

Steph and I try to be accommodating. If we're going over to someone's place for dinner, we'll usually offer to bring a salad or something, partly to help out, and partly because it's nice to know that you'll be able to eat more than white bread, tomato sauce and lettuce for lunch*. This doesn't really fly with balls, especially since we've paid $55 each for the privilege of watching the fish in a wall tank.

Plus I'm tired and cranky, and just in the mood for a big bitch, but there isn't another food-freak in the office at the moment. Well, there isn't anyone in the office at the moment, but that's just points on a technicality. I shaved my legs for this, dammit. They feel weird in my trousers.


* True story.

Comments

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

I suppose those of you who aren't vegan would be saying triumphantly here, "I bet you just wish you'd eat like a NORMAL person, instead of expecting people to make a fuss over you!"

Never. I'm vegetarian and I'm sick of people implying that everything is edible for me if I just took the meat out of it.

And surely... what if someone had allergies or religious dietary requirements? Their concerns about what's edible and what they can't eat wouldn't be dismissed that easily...

If we're going over to someone's place for dinner, we'll usually offer to bring a salad or something,

*nods* I do the same thing. And when vegan friends of mine come over, I at least try to make sure there are a few things around they can eat. (That said, vegan dips are bloody hard to find! Though I will, if I have to- it just seems kind of rude otherwise.)

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

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<iAnd surely... what if someone had allergies or religious dietary requirements?</i>

Exactly. Up until a month or two ago, they had a VERY strict kosher man working there.

Eh. We may not be allergic (well, Steph is intolerant), but not eating dairy means you lose the enzymes for digesting it. Which means it makes you feel ill.

As to dip ... hommus is pretty much always vegan. Baba ganoush OUGHT to be. Yumi's makes a (delicious) vegan Spicy Pumpkin Dip, and Aldi supermarkets also have a vegan dip ... it was either the spinach or the olive one. I think.

If you're happy to prepare it yourself, I've found that soy yoghurt makes a just-fine tzaziki.

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

Yumi's makes a (delicious) vegan Spicy Pumpkin Dip

Heh! I know- I've bought that one. (I love Yumi's food!)

Eh. We may not be allergic (well, Steph is intolerant), but not eating dairy means you lose the enzymes for digesting it. Which means it makes you feel ill.

*nodnod* I'm guessing it would be more pronounced if you're vegan too. I mean, I'm vego, have been for nearly ten years now. There has been the odd ocassion I've accidentally eaten something with meat in it, and I've been sick as a dog afterwards. :(

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

Man, I love tomato sauce sandwiches. That's so Sunday lunch!!

Has anyone else noticed that the vegan/vegetarian selection at dinners, bbqs etc goes faster than the meaty selection?

I think everyone secretly prefers eating the tasty tasty veggies, but doesn't want to embarass themselves by saying so, preferring instead to scream with bloodlust in public and then sneakily eat the salad or whatever when the time comes to dine.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

It made us ill. We hadn't had much breakfast, I think, and it was the middle of a scorching-hot summer's day. We'd been exercising a bit. And white bread is rather revolting once you're out of the habit of it.

It doesn't always, but yeah, it often does. I quite liked sneaking a veggie burger even when I was eating meat.

Mmm, salad. It's a good thing I've really been longing for one recently, because I think I'll eat my fill of it tonight!

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

Has anyone else noticed that the vegan/vegetarian selection at dinners, bbqs etc goes faster than the meaty selection?

YES. When I was at uni, the SU was trying to get the caf to do more veggie food because, well, some of us were vegetarian. But for the kids who needed Halal food and couldn't be sure of the mystery meat's mysterious origins, for the health nuts (we had Human Movement, Chiro and Chinese Med students who tended to be into the health thing) who were worried about fat content, and for the veggie kids, well, the vego options were awesome.

Even when we did BBQs with the SU, we noticed that the veggie burgers and sausages tended to go quickly because even the meat-eaters enjoyed them.

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

Weird that the meat eaters refuse to go to a barbecue with no meat, but once at an actual barbecue will happily eat the small number of veggie things available. *sigh*

[watersusurrus.livejournal.com]

I love that we're going somewhere displaying beautiful fish, and then people are going to EAT FISH... clearly I have gone fully over to the vegan-side because this weirds me out a bit.

I did put a note down to see we were vegan, so they might make up a special plate for us or something... sadly plastic wrapped at the end of the buffet.

What irritates me is that almost EVERYONE can eat vegan, so if they'd had a few more vegan-like dishes no one would notice; except people like us who would be thrilled.

Anyhoo, their menu design is bizarre:
Oysters and then nori rolls (making sense so far), then turkey with CRANBERRY SAUCE just to shake up your tastebuds from the raw fish, back to seafood with the calamary, then TANDOORI chicken, from India to Italy with the roasted tomatoes, "Soba Noodle Salad" almost sounds Japanese and therefore like it would fit in with the fish theme and then they've covered with with mayonnaise and cheese and so is just bizarre... and I can't even be bothered going on.

[watersusurrus.livejournal.com]

Scuse typos.

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

I love that we're going somewhere displaying beautiful fish, and then people are going to EAT FISH...

Oh, totally.

I keep fish, have had a pet yabbie, and seafood on the whole weirds me out. I also have pet chickens and the thought of eating them makes me feel weird.

But I think most people don't get it, or can't draw the connection between Nemo and the sushi they're tucking into. Seriously.

[eponis.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't "gold's char-grilled spring onions lemon & basil dressing" also be vegan?

I definitely understand your frustration, though. I'm not personally vegan, but I have several friends who are, so I always bring vegan dishes to potlucks -- as you say, everyone else can eat them, and vegans don't have to eat lettuce and rice.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right, I missed that one.

You're, like, the best friend EVAR. :D

[winikoff.livejournal.com]

Isn't that part of the dressing for the smoked salmon?
(it doesn't help when the menu has
randomly inserted
line
breaks).

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

You're right. Makes me feel better that I didn't read that as an option. :)

[winikoff.livejournal.com]

But everyone knows that vegans only need to eat salad to thrive ...

Sigh.

You could try contacting the venue and discussing with them, they may be able to do something separate for special diets. But don't be too hopeful. It can help to suggest specific ideas (e.g. antipasto for starters, pasta for main, and chocolate cake for dessert)

You might want to also say that you will scream if you get given vegetables in filo pastry for mains and fruit salad for dessert again ...

Leanne and I attend formal dinners at IVs and with one exception (Hobart IV in 1999) the vegan fare has ranged from bad to woeful. At the last IV we finally complained to the venue, resulting in a partial refund (which we haven't received yet). As we explained to the staff, the issue wasn't the vegan food, i.e. the quality of its preparation, it was the inadequate vegan menu.

The other option, if you aren't paying, is to eat before hand, and go for the social side of things, rather than the food.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Luckily for us, there was a rather delicious noodle dish, tossed in sesame oil with whole fresh shiitake and dried onions. Bit heavy on the oil for us, but Steph does love her sesame oil, so it made her happy. I had some of that, and seconds on the salad. I've been missing salad, what with it being winter an' all.