I recently went traveling in Europe and I didn't exactly have a hard time but I was really missing my home staples. I went into a restaurant in London called Tabernacle (very nice aesthetic too) and there were no vegan options on the menu but I told my server I was vegan and he got the chef. The chef simply said "oh you are vegan? I'll fix you something" he came up with his on creation of curry veggies and rice and beans. Something similar to what I would make but also so much better than what I can do in the kitchen. The chef seemed excited to be able to go "off book" and create me something and I was so grateful :) such a wonderful experience
EmiPerks that happens to me all the time. They often love to do something different (: And I have literally done that everywhere. Especially in service areas on highways. They have been the kindest people and have always prepared something for me.
That´s usually my experience when I go out to my family of allergics: we usually call ahead because we combine so many different allergies but they pretty much always try to be helpful and fix up something gorgeous.
Same thing happened to us in a little fish shack in Exuma. My daughters, both vegan, were resigned to just getting French fries. I happened to mention it when the waitress seemed a bit confused that they only ordered fries. She said "oh, you're vegan? One sec". And she went into the kitchen. A moment later the chef came out. He was vegan too. He made them the best curried stirfried veggies over roasted potatoes. He even walked to his house up the road to get these potatoes he wanted to use for them. It was truly a very memorable experience.
Download vegan amino. It's amazing app where you can post recipes, ask questions, make polls etc. I see over 10 people asking for help with transitioning a day, you're certainly not alone. Ayways good luck!
Almost every restaurant will prepare a vegan dish if you call ahead. I've done that and when I was at the restaurant and the server took out orders, all I had to say is that "the chef already has my order, if you could let him know that I'm here. That'd be great" I've never ran into an inconvenience with it. Plus it helps them to know I'm coming as a vegan 😁
Rachael DeLashmit Agreed! Just make sure to ask if they put bacon grease or meat in the beans because that is common in my experience with many Mexican restaurants in San Antonio, TX
Something I'd love for you to talk about is making mistakes as a vegan. I've been a vegetarian for four years and a vegan on and off through out that time, but I committed about a month ago and I'm not looking back. I'd say since becoming a vegan I've messed up 2-3 times, as in accidentally eating something that contains animal products, in situations where I'm eating out/someone else is cooking/etc. So I guess I'm curious about how you avoid slip ups and how to not be too hard on yourself when you do.
THANK YOU!!! Yes, I'm a server and it is honestly more stressful than my internship! I'm vegan and take all of the extra care in special orders because I'm the one that special orders when I go out as well!! But just be nice and friendly. I've been treated like GARBAGE because a gluten free burger came out wrong (which I'm not even in charge of, the kitchen and food runners are) and then they didn't tip. Let's leave a good impression on the world and give vegan a good name by being polite and not rude!💕
Audrey Roland I am a server as well and vegan. I’m curious if you feel weird about being vegan but also serve meat. I almost feel guilty somehow. I love my job, but I feel bad every time I bring out that plate full of animals :(
That sucks so much when you are depending on tips.... In the Netherlands you have a full salary and tips rarely happen. that is because basically the tips are included in the food prices so everyone has a fair salary and is not depending on people. Let's face it. Not al police men, office workers or any profession are hard workers, so why reward them but let waiters work for their money. loveee your videos video!
Maybe its different in my country but servers receive a full salary from their employer. The tip is a kind gesture which the customer chooses to do or not to do; not something the server is entitled to as part of their salary.
April most all servers in the US earn significantly under minimum wage as their salary so the majority of their pay comes from tips. However, it is common practice to under-tip servers based on service quality. The whole system is bullshit to me and completely subjective to the customer. Why I would never want to be a server in the US.
Same for me, I tip because i want to and tip higher as appreciation for good service but it's not a must where i live. If people are paid poorly and tips are part of their income that might explain the "rule" Caitlin detailed. They should get paid better though:/
bri annamaya no but I just eat beans, rice, and bean burritos (: I'm from tx. I also don't mind driving 2 hrs to the big city (Dallas) once I'm a while like twice a week and I eat vegan over there
I honestly think ur so beautiful. Inside. Outside. ALL SIDES. Ur one of the sweetest honest ppl ever and i love and appreciate u so much. Like if u agree this girl beautiful😉❤️
Hanna K XD Same reaction. It's like the time I had a fully vegan pizza (vegan cheese) and a $6.50 drink, and the total was a little over $30 😖😖😖 I nearly had a heart attack XD
Aspyn Ovard mentioned you in one of her latest vlogs! SO great to see you being appreciated. I have been watching your channel for awhile now & have loved how you have progressed over the months. You seem like such a genuine person! Keep producing quality content!
Do you have any tips for going to friends houses as a vegan? Sometimes it's uncomfortable when they or their family makes food and you have to turn it down
Asian restaurants are my favorite! You do have to be careful of Indian curries because there are some that use yogurt and cream EVEN in their coconut curries :/ Vietnamese restaurants usually offer veggie spring rolls (my fave) and the best stir-fries!
I feel so so bad for waiting staff in the States to rely so much on tips. It's bizarre to think that people don't make a living wage for doing a job that can be so incredibly stressful. Please tip your server!
I'm a server and I really appreciate u addressing tipping!!! Usually someone who asks a ton of questions or asks for a complicated order tips accordingly but I have had people who take up a ton of my time while I'm keeping other customers waiting who end up not tipping what I may deserve. I'm in NJ and we make $2.13 per hour and literally rely on tips. I do want to also stress that if the chef or kitchen staff will not modify a dish or create a vegan dish it definitely SUCKS but that is not the server's fault as some customers believe. Loved this video! As someone transitioning to vegan your videos are so helpful! Thanks! 💕
thank you so much for including the bit about tipping appropriately!!! it is very frustrating when customers don't believe in tipping and punish the server as a result. Also i think a lot of people are simply unaware how much of a difference 10% vs 20% makes when tipping is your main income!!! Thank you for this!!
I usually have no problem finding vegan food at steakhouses. My mom's favorite steakhouse has a 4 for $10 option: choose any four sides for $10. They have 7-8 veggie sides, so it is worth it! A local seafood restaurant was my worst vegan dining experience: there was not a single vegetarian entree or side, let alone anything which could be veganized.
I really love your videos Caitlin! You make delicious food and have great tips for new vegans. But I've started to notice that your videos sound really scripted and like you're reading from a paper. The rise and fall of your voice doesn't sound very natural, and it kind of becomes distracting from what you're actually saying. Maybe it's just me, but I honestly love your videos, but sometimes I don't watch them because they sound to "scripted." I wish you would talk to the camera like you would talk to a friend.
Your tips are good, but here you are mostly speaking of big restaurants with lot of information available and that you can contact with a smartphone. I'm vegetarian, i'm actually thinking of reducing slowly my dairy and egg to tend to be vegan. I prefer going to small restaurant, with local veggies. Those can't be contacted through apps. Here in french cuisine restaurants, if there is a vegetarian dish on the menu it will mostly be based on cheese :) And going out to only eat vegetable makes me sad, I would love to have a nice meal too. I guess the day I will be ready to be fully vegan I will assume more my choices and accept to sometimes eating boring food, but for now on I am making progress with home made food (which is where I eat 95% of the time !)
That's me in case of the pizza!! I mean I always do pizza by myself instead of ordering but I feel like without that cheese and just enough suuuper delicious veggies it tastes even better than a pizza which you can't even taste anymore bc of all the dairy cheese...
Great video Caitlin...I'm vegan and I suffer from the 8 food allergies so I'm afraid to go out and eat, so yesterday I had one of those days were I went to a restaurant and I couldn't eat anything...didn't know anything about Grubhub, so thank you
Super late comment, but i thought you were out of your mind when you said you could order pizza and not miss the cheese. Side note i am not vegan, but have recently been ordering my pizza without cheese and OMG it is so much better!!! I recently tried pizza with cheese after having it three times without and it was so gross! LOL i never thought i would be saying that.
I really like and enjoy this series!!! I think it would be a good idea to do a video in staple vegan (more "weird") aliments such as nutritional yeast, kale, spirulina... etc at which not everybody is used to!
Thank you so much for this advice!!! I am not vegan but I have always wanted to be I just wasn't sure how it would go if I get stuck needing to go to a restaurant. You are such an inspiration and I am looking forward to using all of this helpful information! thank you for being amazing!
I loved how passionately you spoke about being polite to your server and tipping appropriately. Before you even said it I knew you must've worked in the industry - people who haven't never really understand the struggle!!
I went to a Texas ribhouse about a month ago with my family and I called ahead of time. When I got to the restaurant the chef came to our table to say that he liked the "challenge", because I was the first vegan to have ever visited the restaurant. The staff did an amazing job and were super friendly. They even told me that they always thought vegans were annoying and naggy people. Please remember that the impression you leave as a vegan on a restaurant's staff is going to make or break their impression of the vegan community!
Pointing out how important it is to be respectful to servers is sooo important. I don't get how some people go in with the mentality of being able to behave however they want just because they're paying. No, they bring you the food that you're going to consume. It's so foolish to think everyone is honest enough not to retaliate by doing something to it. There are some servers who have been caught doing inappropriate things to food unprovoked. And, it's just respect. I've never been a server, but I feel it's just common sense to be nice to people who are serving you food.
I like this video . its helpful . I started eating plant based back in september 2016, I remember feeling a little stressed about asking servers to make accomadations to my meals or even if id find options at certain places, especially because prior I was never very particular about adding or taking ingredients out of meals.now its easier and not so stressful.
I’m a vegan in the south and it’s a nightmare. Every restaurant I go to almost everything on the menu is cooked with butter and covered in cheese or some kind of mayonnaise based sauce. It’s like. “oh goody......salad it is......again.” Asian restaurants are a little easier because I can get vegetable or tofu sushi and rice or something. Anything else is pretty much impossible unless I get a salad and sometimes they don’t even have a dairy free dressing option so I literally have to ask them to put olive oil on it.
Adding to Tip 3, if you don't want to talk to people on the phone, a lot of restaurants have a Facebook page or another social media where you can message them directly and ask what vegan options/accommodations they can make!
#4 is my go to! My grandma doesn't quite have her head around the whole 'vegan' thing, and one of her favourite restaurants is a steak house, and they have the most amazing roasted chilli potatoes that are totally vegan - that plus a side salad and steamed veggies is perfect!
I love your videos! I live in Mississippi and it's so hard to find options for food. I have to drive an hour just to get groceries for the week. Your videos have definitely helped!
I really appreciated this video. I really avoid eating out mostly bc of my kids but also bc there aren't many options for us. this video definitely made me think twice and I may order pizza for dinner bc your pizza looked incredible!!
Hi I am in I am a Vegan in Miami too- and I find that a lot of restaurants use so much oil and salt that I don’t enjoy the food. Which pizza place is your favorite?
thank you for the tip! I usually put background music on my recipe videos, but wasn't sure if it would be annoying or not for these that are all talking
Thanks for the video i actually do most of this stuff like calling ahead to the restaurant so i can be sure i can eat a good meal and not have to be worrying about asking all to be vegan while i'm there ;)
I wonder if anybody is as freaked out like me when u dont know what they use to cook with and if there was meat in the pan before and its not proper cleaned
You're ADORABLE!! Such a chill, passionate and down to earth person who really wants to help without forcing anything upon your viewers or spreading the well-known “I'm right, you're wrong” attitude. Go Caitlin!
