Potholes at Dinner

Last night Andrew and I tried to go to the new Mexican place very near our house. The old Mexican place very near our house was terrible. Our hope is that the new place will be great and we can walk to and from dinner to burn off some of the chips and queso.

The restaurant was closed, and there were no hours posted. There was a menu, and it had breakfast items, so perhaps it's a breakfast and lunch place.

Undaunted, we went to a big chain Mexican place. There were two vegetarian options. The author of the book that turned me vegetarian said that there will always be one vegetarian option on a restaurant's menu. Don't think too much about it; just order it. That's become my motto.

I ordered the spinach quesadilla, which came with beans and rice. The server asked me if I was vegetarian, and then said, "The beans have pork in them and the rice is cooked in chicken stock."

I'm afraid my mouth stayed open for awhile. She kindly told me the only two sides not cooked in meat, and that's what I had.

I had to talk myself down from a full-blown freakout though. I eat at Mexican restaurants a lot. I've never asked about their rice and beans because, well.... they're RICE and BEANS. I cook my rice and beans with water.

Now I'm wondering if I need to announce to every server at every restaurant that I'm vegetarian and specifically ask if the things I'm ordering have somehow been coupled with animal.

It's frustrating. I don't like drawing attention to myself.

That's all I have to say about that.