Wren

If you really want to eat dog, go to Switzerland. The Swiss eat more dog per capita than any other country. Their dog of choice: Saint Bernard. Method of preparation: Sausage.

No problem here with fomer Vegetarians who eat meat so long as it's concealed (i.e. chicken stock) just those who continue to refer to themselves as Vegetarians as they do.

Thank you Kel for pointing out that Vegetarians don’t eat fish, I especially dislike the term Pesco-Vegetarian and am glad more people are using pescetarian. So many people don’t understand that Vegetarians don’t eat fish, lobster, poultry, beef, buffalo, ostrich, caviar, etc. Any basic Nutrition 101 book will explain the four different types of Vegetarians: Vegan, Lacto-Ovo, Lacto, and Ovo (rare). I actually met a woman who claimed to be Vegetarian as she devoured a half pound beef burger because she had to get her protein from somewhere and another “Vegetarian” who said the chicken soup she was having was ok because she fished out the chicken chunks before eating and very often I’ve run into omnivores who mistakenly think fish is vegetarian. Here in LA, most people who say they don’t eat meat mean that they don’t eat red meat. Suzanne F’s marinated Portobello mushroom suggestion is a very good one because it’s almost impossible to fuck up. As for TVP burgers, I’ve never had a good one but if you want to eat it, more power to you. Garden burger is a whole 'nother story. Veggie burger is not an oxymoron. To make a good one at home, finely chop mushrooms, bellpeppers, onions, any of the dryer veggies, i.e. no tomatoes (will make the burgers soggy), sauté with garlic, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, a bit of tomato paste then add crumbled very firm tofu (paper towel off the surface moisture before crumbling). Pat into patties and grill or bake. Delicious!

There is also firm PRESSED tofu, which has more the consistency of a meat product like chicken breast. It comes in blocks, and is usually cut up into julienne strips and stir fried with veggies and meat. Very frequently used in a lot of chinese and thai dishes. I don't think you can buy pressed tofu, or at least not big commercial versions. Perhaps some Asian groceries have homemade pressed tofu. Here in LA, Trader Joe's carries what they call "Organic Baked Tofu" in two flavors, Thai and teriyaki in the prepared foods section (not where the regular tubs of tofu are usually kept), it's actually pressed tofu and delicious, not to be confused with the unflavored "Organic Baked Tofu" which I have yet to try and looks to be wetter. The tofu is identical in texture and appearance to the pressed tofu at Chinese restaurants. The flavoring is very mild.

Yes, this is a discussion about vegetarian food and that includes the question of what IS vegetarian food. But agreed the topic of what is a Vegetarian has gotten old. Let us move on! And thank you for your thoughtful answers.

Hi Wren, thanks for your comments and welcome to eGullet. I used to agree with you about terminology. I felt that people who ate fish were eating animal flesh and shouldn't use the "vegetarian" term. I felt that it simply confused everybody else as to what consisted of a vegetarian. But now I see the utility of the term pesco-vegetarian. It's simpler than saying "I don't eat meat or fowl, but I do eat fish, dairy and egg foods." My partner is a pesco-vegetarian, and he sometimes uses the word "vegetarian" without the prefix to describe himself. It makes sense when so many fish preparations in restaurants use bacon, proscuitto, chicken stock and other meat or fowl foods. At least this way he won't be served those other foods, and he has no problem with eating vegetarian without fish if it simplifies things. Besides, I'm a big believer in letting people label themselves. It doesn't really hurt anything, and if you go about questioning peoples' labels it's a slippery slope leading to all sorts of hairy issues. See my above examples of vegetarians who eat fish sauce, gelatin, etc. Does anybody really want to have their every motive questioned? I accept peoples' food labels at face value, and generally only question them in the context of figuring out what I can cook for them. It's the only safe bet. Labels do not define us but they do give the world a glimpse into how we view ourselves. The utility of terming oneself a Pesco-Vegetarian or even just a Vegetarian while still eating fish may be obvious but simpler isn’t always better and in this case it is not. What it does do is lead to confusion and the bastardization of the word Vegetarian. Your partner is of course entitled to call himself a Pesco-Vegetarian or even a Vegetarian but the fact is he is neither. Questioning people’s labels is a beautiful thing, even when it gets ugly because in the process of questioning we are defining our “labels” and in that process sometimes with an open mind we see that we have mislabeled ourselves. And regarding your question: Does anybody really want to have their every motive questioned? Obviously the answer is no. But your every motive isn’t being questioned. Knowingly misusing the term Vegetarian is a disservice to those who prescribe to that lifestyle.

It appears that there are two other ...errr... items that are not authentic in that picture. ~Tad

I've never had the opportunity to taste burnt leather so I can't compare the two. Malawry's answers were indeed excellent but they don't answer YOUR reasons for your previous statement. But really, no need to answer. I am not a fan of faux meats myself but don't have a problem with it either. I don't find anything contradictory or offensive about them or anyone who eats them.

Malawry, thank you for taking the time to write such an excellent piece. I especially loved the pictures and the tomato-zucchini tart looks delicious! Stocking a Vegetarian Pantry section was particulary excellent. I hate the term Pesco-Vegetarian. I know it is widely used and unfortunately it leads people to believe vegetarianism includes the eating of fish.

Please explain why in your experience: faux meats are a bad idea (specifically which faux meats, brands, which have you tried?) "vegetarian food should be unabashedly vegetarian" (also what is unabashedly vegetarian?) vegetarians might be easily offended (have you had many personal experiences?)

so we can count that as just one more piece of misinformation fueling this mess. thought so. No it wasn't the critic's thigh, he was feeling up some anonymous blonde woman's thigh while sitting with her and several other women. He excused himself after declaring he was becoming aroused. I say he's easily aroused, but then I guess most men are.

SWoodyWhite, I enjoyed looking at the websites you linked. Geoffrey's wins the award for most interactive website. The link to Mori Sushi is a restaurant in NY, is the WLA Mori affiliated?

Thank you for taking the time to write such an excellent review! I’ve been meaning to try Melisse for their vegetarian prix fixe but have always put it off because of their reputation for spotty service. I’ll definitely try them now. I don’t know if you and your wife have tried Sona but they do a wonderful 6 course vegetarian tasting menu. My husband who is not a vegetarian orders the regular 6 course while I have the vegetarian 6 course. We’ve dined at Sona 4 times now, 3 of those times I’ve had the tasting menu and every course but the celery root ravioli filled with burrata cheese was different. One major caution: the service has been perfect on slower days (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) but my last visit on a Friday night was a lesson in patience plus the man who was assigned the duty of replacing the silverware before each course dropped every piece from one inch off the table...strange edit: for misplaced emoticon

Kate, wow you're one BIG tipper a whole $3 dollars on $30! I hope you don't tip 10% at restaurants where you're a regular, unless of course you're fond of spit. If the balance is $30 leave the extra $1.50 to make 15%. That extra $1.50 or even $3 (20%) surely means much more to your hard working server than it means to you.

Hello, This is my first post. After reading Lizziee's review of Sona, I made a reservation, and had a wonderful dinner there earlier this week. My husband and I tried the 6 course degustation menu...so delicious and beautifully presented. The BEST service in town. I think I may have had the same soup that vidia had (artichoke soup) but it definitely wasn't too salty. Two dessert courses and the petit fours were a very nice way to end dinner. Made another reservation for this weekend. Sorry about the short post, I will hopefully have more time to write about my second visit to Sona.