Only one person said "self-inflicted disease" and "nobody likes vegetarians" was JOKE.

Kailani, this forum is not for the faint of heart.

Kailani - suze if right. It was a joke! I'm sure there are a few people who like vegetarians (that is another joke).

Personally, I admire and respect vegetarians. I wish I had the willpower to be one. BUT this is one petty incident to play victim too. If we could all be so lucky.

As mentioned prior, this really has nothing to do w/vegetarians at all. Just those self-important people who seem to occupy every restaurant, I've ever ventured into.

My wife is allergic to Capsaicin(chemical in peppers-that makes them hot). She loves mexican food. Going into Emerils and asking them for a vegetarian pasta dish would be like her going into a mexican place and asking them for salsa without the jalapeno's. And then being upset because it was denied. Food alergens are one thing, but just being catered to is another. She is almost always able to find something there that she can eat.

This is like Pork n Beans without the pork. lol, they do actually make it though.

I say Beef Its What For Dinner at least at our house tonight. and if any vegetarians show up-

Would this have not been a good choice for your friend?

Salads:
Arugula, Endive & Radicchio
Tossed in a Walnut Vinaigrette with Maytag Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts
$11

Or, as someone said earlier, how about this dish without the escargot?

Sautéed Escargot
with Orecchiette Pasta, Sundried Tomato Pesto, Parmesan and Mint
$11

Johanna

I think he just wanted what HE wanted and expected the chef to make it for him so he wouldn't have to "settle" for a vegetarian dish he didn't want. At least that's how it sounds to me.

Well, then, that's his problem.

I'm sure Emeril is not losing any sleep over this.

I'm with mlgb, gracie04, LoveItaly, MikePinTucson, and others here. There are two salads, a pasta dish, several desserts, and several cheese offerings that would be fine for a vegetarian on Emeril's online menu. Am inclined to think the OP is a troll here -- certainly wouldn't be the first time it's happened.

I don't know if he's a troll, but his dog is really cute.

I’m amazed at how judgmental many of the replies have been to this posting. Many of you assume that Jack went into the restaurant with an attitude; he didn’t. I’m the one in the family with attitude. He went to Emeril’s because his business associates really wanted to go there. The menus on the internet were not the menus in use the night they were there. Many seem to have fixated on my mention of pasta. There was a pasta dish on the menu; he asked if he could have it without the sauce. He'll eat anything that doesn't have meat in it; I'm the demanding diner. It's a challenge to go out to eat with him because I feel guilty having a great meal while he eats something I would hesitate to feed to my dog (more about him later). They declined. A salad is not a meal to my way of thinking, nor is banana cream pie.

Somebody asked twice about ordering a steak at a vegetarian restaurant. That, to me, is a person with an attitude. Emeril doesn’t advertise as a Carnivore Only restaurant. He does everything he can to lead people to believe that he’s there to cater to their desires.

If this were a chain where they pull the entrée out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave, I would completely agree with all you. It is not. It is a restaurant that cooks your meals; granted many of the ingredients are started ahead but not everything is preassembled. My neighbors who own and operate a successful restaurant handle this situation by putting a few vegetarian entrees on their menu because they were afraid people would hesitate to ask for something not on the menu. Their philosophy is that they will do everything they can to satisfy their customer’s desires. That’s probably why they are so successful.

Anyway, Emerils agrees with me and not most of you. They apologized profusely and indicated this was not normal and that they truly regretted it. If I could now change the caption on this posting, I would.

Whether I’m a troll or not is for you to decide; but mlgb is right, my dog is cute!

You might want to make a new post telling how the restaurant made things right with you?

Suze

They didn't make things right; they apologized. The evening was still spoiled. Hopefully, it will not be spoiled for others in the future.

Suze is correct, your title is inflammatory & misleading (to say the least). Most of our 'judgements' were based on what you said. Oft times when we need someone to 'blame', we need only look in the mirror. If the evening was spoiled (as you say) then I am thinking we look to Jack for that, of course you weren't even there, so this is your interpretation of someone elses' story, yes ? Perhaps Jack should tell his version ?

Get over it. We don't have to cater to every picky eater that enters our door. Its nothing personal, its business. It COSTS to make something not planned out on the menu. It interrupts the flow of the kitchen because someone has to "create" something special. How do you think the rest of the diners would feel if they knew their menu item was going to take 15 minutes longer because someone wanted something not on the menu? Don't judge until you have actually worked in a kitchen.

HAL: >>We have NEVER been to a restaurant that refused to make a vegetarian meal until Emeril's>>


I agree Hal, a restaurant is in the service business. I can't imagine why they wouldn't accommodate a paying patron. How easy would it be to prepare pasta with olive oil and parmasean cheese - or with a white sauce and grilled veggies or a salad....

I've been at restaurants where I've ordered Ice Coffee and was told we don't have iced coffee on our menu. I then ask for a cup of coffee and a large glass filled to the top with ice.

My husband once asked for a grilled cheese sandwich. They only had grilled cheese with ham or something. They said they could not make a plain grilled cheese sandwich. So he ordered a grilled cheese with ham (like the menu said) and asked them to hold the ham.

Having it their way rather than having it your way is much more common in Europe than here.

Trying getting your coffee _with_ rather than after dessert.

In Aix we ate in a Vietnamese restaurant where the proprietor refused to serve the appetizers they had selected to the couple next to us because "they didn't go together."

If you can get a cappucino after 11 AM in Italy, you can be pretty sure you are in a restaurant that serves a lot of tourist. The staff will be shuddering as they make it, if they will make it at all!