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.It can be a good way toopen up the door to changing people s perceptions and misconceptionsabout what it s like to not have meat and all sorts of other animal foodson their plate, and that s an important step toward stopping a lot ofanimal suffering.I have heard many non-veggie people make thestatement that   I could stop eating meat, but I would have no ideawhat to eat in its place.I don t want to eat beans and seaweed for threemeals a day!  or   I could give up dairy, but I can not live without icecream and cheese! For the general mainstream population, vegetarian has become ataste option, rather than a dedicated dietary choice.People might say,  Let s eat vegetarian tonight,  just as they say,   How about Chinesetoday?  But Bennett sees this as a positive sign for the future.I think that any time a person chooses to eliminate animal productsfrom their lives is a good thing, and certainly better than if they didn tinclude a   vegetarian night  into the mix to begin with.In a way, veg-etarianism has become just another taste option for some people, butcompared to the alternative of   meat seven nights a week,  it s a step inthe right direction and may actually serve as a regular reminder that theycould eliminate meat from their meals and it wouldn t be the end of theworld.As more people hear about the health effects of avoiding animalingredients, the more that   vegetarian night  might be expanded to two,40 Vegetarians and Vegans in America Todaythree, four, or more nights per week.For a long time, vegetarianism wasa fringe thing, and now it has become mainstream enough to become anoften-considered taste option.Chef Elaine Cwyner, who teaches a course on vegetarian cuisine atJohnson and Wales University, warns that chefs need proper training.  The danger is that if the chef is not adept at creating real vegetarianfood, there is the likelihood that meat products, like beef base, or gel-atin, could find their way into a vegetarian selection.  Cwyner s coursecovers the basics of vegetarianism, nutrition, food products used, andhistory, and concentrates on vegan, lacto-ovo, and macrobiotic diets.For their final project, the students research and create recipes for agrand buffet served to over fifty invited guests, and they showcase theirproduction and service skills, she says.But Cwyner says convincing conventional chefs poses a challenge.  I ve been endearingly called  Lightweight and  Tofu Tilly by chefs atschool, but as health problems have stricken my fellow chefs, they havechanged their tune and become more accepting of the alternative foodsthat are available.Most have been classically trained and will nevergive up duck or foie gras, but that is their prerogative.I just keep thedoors open and if they need information, our department provideswhat we can to answer their questions. The RestaurantsThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of restaurants, cafés, andbistros that serve only plant-based foods.Very few of them fall into thegourmet dining category.But Millennium Restaurant in San Franciscobreaks out of the pack by offering an animal product-free menu insurroundings that can compare with most gourmet meat-based es-tablishments.Millennium, located on Geary Street in the city s historic district,features entrées ranging from truffled white bean cassoulet (a con-coction of wild rice and parsnip griddle cake, sautéed broccoli di cicco,and shaved Himalayan truffles) to pecan-crusted polenta (creamyroasted garlic polenta with a sauté of mixed chicories and black olive-leek confit).Desserts include chocolate almond midnight (almondcashew crust, mocha chocolate filling, raspberry sauce, white choco-late mousse) and sorbets and cookies made in-house.The restaurantalso reserves dates for special events.On the second Wednesday ofeach month, patrons who bring in a meat-eating friend for Convert aCarnivore Day receive 25 percent off their total bill, and each Sundayclosest to the full moon features an Aphrodisiac Dinner.In 2004, re-spondents to VegNews magazine s annual Veggie Awards survey votedFood, Hospitality, and Business 41Millennium as their favorite restaurant, and their chef, Eric Tucker,took honors for favorite chef.San Francisco s Lisa Herzstein, who has eaten at the restaurantabout a hundred times in its decade of existence, offers a review:Most of the time I ve eaten there with omnivores, and all of them haveenjoyed the restaurant, including those who are accustomed to dining atfine restaurants.The dishes are creative with unique mixes of ingredientsfor unusual and delicious flavors, and the presentation is beautiful of alltheir foods.The service is friendly and responsive and the atmosphere isthat of a gourmet restaurant.Most people would not even notice the lackof animal products on the menu.There is an all-organic fine wine listalso.On the other end of the spectrum are the more typical restaurants,cafés, and bistros that serve food free from animal products smalland casual establishments where the owner often works in the kitchen,waits on tables, and might help out with the cleanup.On an early September evening in Melanie s Vegan Eden, tucked intoa street corner in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, RhodeIsland, several college students occupy three of the five tables, diggingtheir forks into their delights [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]