I think the following situations occurred because I wasn't choosing the eating venues - I was with friends - but it was so funny I must pass this on.
The great 'up' was in Tynmouth where we went to a sort of car boot sale at Tynmouth Metro Station on the Sunday (apparently it happens every Sat and Sun). Had a great time rummaging around, though it was a cold and damp day and I never seemed to get warm. On the platform is a wonderful cafe where I had hot chocolate and toasted tea cakes. Looking at the menu they did a full veggie breakfast and a wonderful main dish of a vegetable melt. I was very impressed. Later, in the same town we began looking for somewhere to have lunch. There was a guy handing out flyers advertising somewhere offering a three course Sunday lunch for a set price. My friend's partner asked about a veggie option. The guy stood there mulling it over and came back with......'an extra Yorkshire?!' We fell about.
The first 'down' came when we looked at a menu outside somewhere else but there seemed to be no vegetarian meals. My friend's partner went in and came out with a menu saying they would do any starter as a main and there was one item so we decided we'd try it. Well, our waiter did not have the best customer service skills and we already felt like we were being tolerated! We ordered. When asked if one main meal being ordered came with vegetables the waiter gave a look like we were mad but it was a reasonable question as it wasn't clear and some restaurants you have to order vegetables separately. Then I ordered my starter as a main minus the Parmesan (which is never vegetarian).....another look! The food arrived. Mine was okay but not quite what I expected.....it wasn't hot......a bit like when you order brochette. My friend tucked into her mince and dumplings and went into a coughing fit. Something rather spicy was getting to her. She and her partner swapped dishes and he found something like 30 peppercorns in the mince. He picked them out and lined the rim of the bowl with them then ate the rest. He then complained. A waitress (much nicer than the guy we had before) took it back to the kitchen. It turned out that the chef poured them in thinking the peppercorns were gravy granules! We did wonder why a posh place like that would even use gravy granules but they were most apologetic, gave us money off the bill and the chef had to throw away his mince dish and start again.
Finally in Newcastle on Monday we ventured in the Carluccio's for lunch before I caught the train home. I really fancied soup. It looked hopefully. There was a nice sounding soup with green beans on the menu but I queried with the waitress whether it was fully vegetarian (meaning the stock it was cooked in). She thought it wasn't but would check. No, it wasn't vegetarian. She then asked if I would like to see the vegetarian menu. I looked up in surprise.....'do you have one?' I asked brightly. 'Of course,' she replied as if it was a foregone conclusion. She presented me with it and I burst out laughing. One of the soups was the same as on the main menu, minus the bacon and at the top there was a warning that 'all the cheese dishes were made with cheese using animal rennet'. How bloody silly. How insulting. Laughable. Never will I go there again. I did have mushroom soup which was vegetarian and very nice but there was so little edible on the menu for me. I guess we should have gone to Pret a Manger!
I really thought cafes and restaurants were upping there game on vegetarian choice but some places are still in the dark ages and just don't have a clue. On the other hand, the day I arrived we went to The Sage at Gateshead to listen to some free jazz over drinks. Here they were able to offer soya milk to go with my tea. Most impressed! Definitely gets the thumbs up.
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