It’s not easy eating out…

…well, it’s not easy when you want to go out for a meal and you’re a vegetarian πŸ˜‰

Last weekend we visited Cranbrook in Kent for a few days, our accommodation was a very nice little B&B (Church Gates, Cranbrook) who had no problem catering for our vegetarian breakfasts. When we went out for an evening meal is when our challenge started, on a Sunday night out of season our choice was limited to a couple of pubs (okay a pub and a hotel with a large bar area) and also an Indian restaurant. Now I like a nice curry, but the morning after can be a bit, how can I say, pungent; as we were meeting up with a friend on the Monday morning a curry was therefore not an option πŸ˜‰ Our choice was then between two pubs, one had football on the TV and people being somewhat enthusiastic watching it which put me off a bit so we went in The George.

The George had one item on it’s menu which was suitable for vegetarians, so our choice was a bit limited πŸ˜‰ Luckily the vegetarian option sounded edible to both of us and we sat down with our drinks and awaited the arrival of our food. A short while later the waiter returned to inform us they’d run out of the vegetarian dish πŸ™ In the end we picked something from the starters menu and added a bowl of chips to order. It was food, there is little else to say about it, it wasn’t horrible food, but it was not all that exciting either.

Monday night was different, we went to the Indian restaurant, well you can’t go wrong really, most Indian restaurants in England have various vegetable dishes cooked in different sauces; this restaurant was an exception, our only option was vegetable biryani, which would not have been my first choice but at least it was available πŸ˜‰ When it arrived it tasted very nice indeed, but it could have done with a few more minutes being cooked as it was quite cool. Not to be totally put off we went out on the Tuesday night to a winebar/restaurant called Tiffins.

Tiffins, was a totally different experience, they had quite a few dishes on offer which were suitable for vegetarians, and when the dish I selected was short of an ingredient (as it was out of season) they offered an alternative mix. If it had not been for Tiffins our short break would have been somewhat poor on the evening meal front; I won’t mention the cold and hard jacket potato we were served with at Leeds Castle πŸ˜‰

So, are we asking too much? Is being a vegetarian in 2009 so strange that restaurant owners have really no idea what to put on a menu for us to pick from? Having one item only on a menu does not give a choice, and when that item is not even available your options become non existent. Still, at least we had Tiffins πŸ˜‰

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