When dining out you may have noticed asterisks next to menu items denoting they are gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan. Special diet requests have become so common that chefs and restaurant owners are planning ahead by designing dishes that meet various dietary restrictions. It’s easier on the kitchen staff, and guests get what they want. Recently at JCT Kitchen & Bar our server described the seasonal vegetable plate, then added that it could be made completely vegetarian with no bacon and could fit stricter vegan standards with no cheese or butter.
Vegan options, including vegan handbags sold at Star Provisions and vegan leather dresses at area boutiques, are going mainstream. Vegan dishes are even showing up at places known primarily for steaks.
Davio’s Atlanta, an Italian Steakhouse, has added a vegan menu for fall. How about a chick pea salad with roasted red peppers or a whole wheat penne with asparagus, mushroom, spinach, cherry tomatoes and green beans?
General manager Claude Guillaume says they’ve offered vegetarian and vegan dishes for a while now but regular guests wanted more options. “Our executive chef got creative with quinoa and other ingredients for our new extensive vegan menu. This menu not only caters to vegans but it’s very flavorful for non-vegans who are interested in trying something new.”
Not just a nod to vegetable eaters by subbing mushrooms for meat in pasta, the vegan menu at Davio’s is an impressive selection of creative dishes including a Nicoise-style salad with beans, olives and tofu and an Italian vegetable ragout with chard, eggplant and white beans.
David Larkworthy of Five Seasons Brewing says his restaurants have always catered to vegetarians and do so now to a growing vegan crowd. “It a real commitment these folks are making and it can be hard to get enough to eat when you’re only consuming vegetables, so they need large portions. We understand that.”
E.J. Hodgkinson, executive chef at JCT. Kitchen & Bar, says, “Grains like farro are great for vegan dishes because they’re so filling.”
But what works for one special diet doesn’t always work for others. Mitchell Anderson, owner of MetroFresh, says, “For instance, barley is a healthy whole grain and OK with vegetarians and vegans, but it’s not gluten-free.” To help diners navigate their nutritional preferences, MetroFresh’s menu adds abbreviations next to items including Vg for vegetarian, Vn for vegan and GF for gluten-free. If you’re actually looking for meat and dairy, find the dishes labeled M and D.
Diet Definitions
Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, generally do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products. Source: The Vegetarian Resource Group www.vrg.org
