I love food. Fruits, veggies, meat, I like it all. And my love for food means I am always in the mood to try new things. So, I tried a meatless butcher with my only vegetarian friend. She takes her vegetarianism very seriously and has been one for 14 years now. I'm not a vegetarian, I wish I could be one honestly but I like chicken far too much. But like I said, I am always down to try something new!
So this place, The Herbivorous Butcher, is vegan. There are meatless meats and cheese-free cheeses (which makes no sense but okay), among other things. It was so interesting to see because almost everything looked like the real thing! I barely believed that it wasn't, until I tasted it. I then realized, it was not real, not even close. It was actually pretty terrible; extremely over seasoned, like they were trying to hide the fact that it's made out of plants, and super rubbery. I was kind of disappointed but at the same time also kind of expecting it. Can fake meat taste as good as the real thing? I could have gotten a bad batch of "meat" but so far I've concluded no, it can't.
This place was built out of our evolutionary necessity for meat and it's nutrients and shows just how much our society/culture loves and values it. So much so that we had to invent meatless restaurants so our vegan and vegetarian friends can consume meat-like substances without the guilt. They sincerely tried to recreate the greasy goodness us Americans desire. But why does it have to be an entirely separate entity? Why do we feel the need to segregate things? Should there be vegan options along with meat options at every restaurant? It could even be cooked on a completely separate stove/pan as to not contaminate the meatless meats. I feel as though we shouldn't have the need to build a vegan-only restaurant because we don't accommodate everyone at each restaurant. Although it isn't a terrible idea and there are some of us omnivores that could stand to try a herbivorous dish here and there. Is it unfair to segregate something like this? Or is it unfair that we don't have options for everyone at every food place?
I would try this place again since I now know what to expect, but maybe get something different.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about the Herbivorous Butcher from a friend who is vegetarian and have been meaning to go and try it. I am not technically a vegetarian but I don't buy or order anything with meat more on the basis of environmental reasons (i.e. I'll eat my roommates’ leftovers if they don't want them or a meal out if it was accidentally made with meat). Coming from someone who has really enjoyed eating meat my entire life it isn't always easy not eating meat. Sometimes I crave bacon burgers. One of the hardest parts, as you mentioned in this post is having options at restaurants. Depending on the place my options might be limited to cheese pizza, a salad, or an overpriced veggie burger. I would say that would be awesome if restaurants had more vegan and vegetarian options- to provide more options for vegans/vegetarians but to also make different meatless dishes more common. I've heard everything from, "I could never not eat meat so I would never try it." to, "It's not a real meal unless you eat meat." I, to some extent, understand the culture behind this. We produce so much meat in this country, we are fed more than we need in a serving when we eat out, and I'd also say it's a very masculine and American thing to do in this country. Reading this post made me think of the first time I tried veggie burgers. Short story- it was awful and as soon as I had one I didn't eat another for a while. It wasn't until I found a grocery store that sold cheap veggie burgers that I paid attention to the fact that there really were different options. Looking back at that now, I realize I didn’t like it because- surprise- I was expecting meat. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely veg. burgers that I still think are gross but, like you said, being open to trying different foods makes a difference and may influence whether you like the taste of something.