When I was going to school in Portland, Oregon, I found it difficult to raise a forkful of meat to my lips without a surprised look from someone at the table. “Wait, do you eat meat now?” they’d ask.

While I did have a stint as a vegetarian during high school, I had long rejoined the omnivore ranks by the time I moved to the Pacific Northwest. The problem was that while I lived there, whether I was cooking at home or eating out, the vegetarian options always seemed more tempting.

In Portland, I found that I craved TLTs (tempeh, lettuce and tomato sandwiches) while I wouldn’t go near a BLT. At New Season’s Market, I constantly ordered their homemade veggie burger, despite the free-range beef, turkey, or chicken burger options.

This was partially because I’m a bit of a health nut. I loved the idea that I could get my protein from a lentil-based, fiber-filled patty rather than meat, which contains more calories, fat, and cholesterol than vegetables, even if it is free range.

France doesn’t know how to feed vegetarians

Since moving to France, no one has mistaken me for a vegetarian. It’s not that I’ve given up on my nutritious aspirations, but more that exciting veggie options have essentially ceased to present themselves in my daily life. Most vegetarian meals that I find in France seem more like a meat dish with the main ingredient missing.

For lunch, most boulangeries have a variety of baguette sandwiches: prosciutto and brie, ham and cheese, turkey, chicken, roast beef. And stacked next to them is the pitiful “fromage beurre” sandwich, who’s name makes it seem like they’re trying to trick us into believing that butter is an important ingredient that adds quality to this cheese sandwich.

Meatless boulangerie sandwiches almost always consist exclusively of cheese, sometimes with a bit of lettuce, but none of the veggies that we put on subs and never any sort of meat substitute.

In bigger cities you can find a little more vegetarian selection at noodle, sandwich, and bagel shops when you’re looking for a quick lunch on the go. And I find that a cheese and mushroom crêpe or a chevre panini are more satisfying than a cold cheese sandwich, even if equally nutritionally lacking.

How to eat meat-free

Dinner out in France can also be difficult for vegetarians. If a restaurant has vegetarian items they’re rarely on what’s called the “menu.” At most French restaurants, it’s cheaper to order the fixed-price menu, where you get an appetizer, entrée, and dessert for one price. Oftentimes when you order à la carte, one dish costs the same as the entire three-course menu.

If you speak a little bit of French you can often get around this unfortunate economic situation. Appetizers are more likely to be vegetarian, so you could order a chèvre chaud salad (a salad with little pieces of toast topped with baked goat’s cheese) for the appetizer, then a feuilleté de fromage (a puff pastry filled with cheese) or a quiche for the main dish. Often the waiter will then offer to add a side dish to the second appetizer so it’s more like an entrée.

In general when ordering vegetarian, watch out for lardons, little pieces of pork, from the same cut of meat as bacon. Dishes that at first appear to be entirely vegetarian are often hiding pork. It seems that the French have a hard time imagining a life without pork products.

On the website of a French vegetarian association, the definition of a vegetarian explains that it’s “a person who doesn’t eat animal flesh … red meat, poultry, fish, and even ham, lardons, and seafood!” I’ve met people who claim to be seafood-eating vegetarians, but the need to highlight the necessity that vegetarians avoid ham seems particularly French.

When possible, French chefs are often willing to adapt a dish to accommodate their clients. But avoid using the V-word, because sometimes the use of the word vegetarian prompts a blank stare and waiters claim to have nothing that you can eat. If you specifically ask about a dish that seems simple to tailor to vegetarians, it may be easier to get what you want.

Eating vegan? Don’t eat out

Vegans, on the other hand, are going to have an extremely difficult time eating out in France, even in Paris, due to the extensive use of cheese and other dairy products in French cuisine. Even vegetarian restaurants (which are almost exclusively located in Paris and other big cities) have menus that rely on cheese-based dishes.

That said, cooking vegetarian or vegan in France is fantastic. French markets and supermarkets are full of high-quality produce. They tend to offer only what’s in season, so though you won’t see asparagus in November, when you do find it, it’s sure to be firm and flavorful.

Produce also tends to be grown closer to home and most stores (even little corner shops) have signs indicating the region or country of origin for their fruits and vegetables. Tofu and tempeh can be bought at Bio stores (organic health food stores).

So, while French restaurants may have limited vegetarian options, there are ways to manipulate even the most meat-based menu. And though French vegetarian dishes may tend to be high fat and low fiber, you’ll never find a quiche crust or puff pastry like you get in France, and in my opinion, they merit at least one try. Otherwise, try out one of the open-air markets found all over France and take matters into your own hands.

(By Chelsie Yount for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

Subscribe to our RSS feed | Weekly e-mail updates | Comment link below

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 and is filed under Food miscellaneous, Foreign stories (non-U.S.), Vegetarian and vegan diet. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.