Don't want to eat mystery meat at restaurants; how do I not be annoying?
March 26, 2016 9:09 PM Subscribe
When I go grocery shopping I am willing to pay more for meat that is humanely raised (not factory farmed), and fish that is not overfished. I don't need it to be labeled organic. But when I eat at restaurants, this becomes difficult. I realize that restaurants operate on the thinnest of margins, and if the menu does not state something about sustainability (as a selling point), then I figure the meat is factory farmed. But how do I ask about the meat sourcing (and convey that I care about it) without being annoying to the waitstaff?
I would like to avoid having a vegetarian-at-restaurants policy, so am looking for ways to find meat that is not "mystery meat" at restaurants. I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat. I realize that there is an entire range of meat sourcing, but have no way to know where a restaurant lies in that range. When I've asked waitstaff questions like "Where is the beef from?" I feel like I am being annoying, because they often don't know, and have to go into the kitchen and ask. Then, I have to delay the ordering process and Google the meat source, which in itself is often futile because there are seldom clear answers on the web. I don't want to be like those annoying customers from Portlandia with the chicken named Colin, but I do care, and am willing to pay more.
BTW, I'm in Seattle, and am also open to restaurant recommendations that fit the above criteria. (e.g. Mashiko)
I would like to avoid having a vegetarian-at-restaurants policy, so am looking for ways to find meat that is not "mystery meat" at restaurants. I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat. I realize that there is an entire range of meat sourcing, but have no way to know where a restaurant lies in that range. When I've asked waitstaff questions like "Where is the beef from?" I feel like I am being annoying, because they often don't know, and have to go into the kitchen and ask. Then, I have to delay the ordering process and Google the meat source, which in itself is often futile because there are seldom clear answers on the web. I don't want to be like those annoying customers from Portlandia with the chicken named Colin, but I do care, and am willing to pay more.
BTW, I'm in Seattle, and am also open to restaurant recommendations that fit the above criteria. (e.g. Mashiko)
I don't want to be like those annoying customers from Portlandia with the chicken named Colin
I genuinely do not want to be harsh about this, but you are like those customers.
Anyhow, I think your best bet may be to look for places that are overtly very serious about local sourcing or farm-to-table kinds of arrangements. I'd be surprised if that didn't exist in Seattle, given its trendiness elsewhere, but if it's anything like what you find around here, it's not an especially budget-friendly way to eat out.
posted by brennen at 9:15 PM on March 26, 2016 [46 favorites]
I genuinely do not want to be harsh about this, but you are like those customers.
Anyhow, I think your best bet may be to look for places that are overtly very serious about local sourcing or farm-to-table kinds of arrangements. I'd be surprised if that didn't exist in Seattle, given its trendiness elsewhere, but if it's anything like what you find around here, it's not an especially budget-friendly way to eat out.
posted by brennen at 9:15 PM on March 26, 2016 [46 favorites]
In San Francisco it would work to check the website + menu before going - if they list info about sourcing, which some do, it's usually because it's humane, sustainable, and/or local.
posted by asphericalcow at 9:16 PM on March 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by asphericalcow at 9:16 PM on March 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
Best answer: There are basically no restaurants that are using well-raised meat and not telling you about it, either by naming the farm on the specific dish, by putting an overall notice on the menu about humanely raised meat, or by being an obvious farm-to-table place. If you have to ask...
If you really have to ask, this is something to do in advance. Check the website -- it may not have today's menu, but if it lists sourcing for meats, then you can be reasonably sure that today's menu will also include similar sourcing. If there's no note on sourcing, then call (or email, but lots of restaurants do not pay attention to their email, like at all) ahead and ask about it. Generally, if you call restaurants between 2 and 5, you're more likely to get to talk to someone who doesn't need to get you off the phone immediately so they can get back to the rush they're in the middle of.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:20 PM on March 26, 2016 [19 favorites]
If you really have to ask, this is something to do in advance. Check the website -- it may not have today's menu, but if it lists sourcing for meats, then you can be reasonably sure that today's menu will also include similar sourcing. If there's no note on sourcing, then call (or email, but lots of restaurants do not pay attention to their email, like at all) ahead and ask about it. Generally, if you call restaurants between 2 and 5, you're more likely to get to talk to someone who doesn't need to get you off the phone immediately so they can get back to the rush they're in the middle of.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:20 PM on March 26, 2016 [19 favorites]
Best answer: If they don't explicitly say where their meat comes from, assume it comes off a Sysco truck from bad places.
I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat.
You cannot do this. You can support the restaurants that use decently-sourced meat and do your bit to ensure they stick around in an environment where restaurants get their meat off the Sysco truck.
posted by holgate at 9:21 PM on March 26, 2016 [41 favorites]
I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat.
You cannot do this. You can support the restaurants that use decently-sourced meat and do your bit to ensure they stick around in an environment where restaurants get their meat off the Sysco truck.
posted by holgate at 9:21 PM on March 26, 2016 [41 favorites]
Agreed with everyone else: if the restaurant doesn't lead with it, I wouldn't expect asking to get me anywhere. You might consider poking them on social media about it if you think they'd be open to changing. I have to imagine Seattle has other people who'd support such a culture shift.
posted by teremala at 9:22 PM on March 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by teremala at 9:22 PM on March 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
Agree with above posters...if the meat were locally sourced/humanely raised, the restaurant would state it very clearly all over their menu, because 1) it's a selling feature for many people and 2) they'd want to explain why their prices were higher. If you are in the position of having to ask, assume it's not what you're after.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:34 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:34 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
I agree that if they're using humane meat, they're going to be bragging about it. But as someone who was a server for ten years, I'll tell you that if you want to ask about a particular restaurant, call in advance and ask to speak to a manager. And call between 2:30pm and 5pm. Any other time, they won't have time to talk to you.
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:41 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:41 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
Best answer: I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat.
The way to do this is not by talking to the servers when you're in the restaurant. The servers have no power, and all you're doing is delaying your fellow diners and ruining the server's day. If you're going t have any influence at all (and I agree with folks above who have said that probably, you're not going to, but it doesn't hurt to try), the way to do it is to write a politely worded letter to the owners letting them know that this issue is important to you and other consumers, and that you would like to patronize their restaurant, but you can't because of their practices, and that if they changed their practices, you would intend to become a frequent customer.
I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, and I've shot off a lot of emails over the years to places where I ended up having trouble finding something to eat on the menu that I could eat. I rarely get responses. A few local places have responded to say that they're sorry and making suggestions like, "you could just have two side salads" or "the soup only has chicken broth, so that doesn't really count." I can remember exactly one place that has actually changed their menu after I asked; it's a place I frequent 3+ times a week, and they know me there, and they removed my go-to meal from the menu, and I wrote to them asking them to put it back, and they didn't do that, but they did add another vegetarian dish, and then the manager came up to me the next time I was in to point out the new dish to me. So yeah, I wouldn't have high hopes for this strategy, but it is marginally more likely to work than peppering the server with questions.
Also, when you ask the server a bunch of questions about your food, assume that the answers are probably either incorrect or lies. Because if they don't know, they or the chefs are going to make something up, and they're going to try to tell you what they think you want to hear so that you'll order lots of stuff and leave a big tip. Unless it's in writing or already advertised before you ask, assume that it may not be true (even if they advertise it, it still may not be true, but it's at least somewhat more likely to be accurate if they decided themselves to talk about it instead of coming up with it only after you asked). So yeah, probably a lot of the meat they've assured you is free range or whatever is actually from Sysco. Assume that all restaurant food is from Sysco until proven otherwise. Sorry.
posted by decathecting at 9:52 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
The way to do this is not by talking to the servers when you're in the restaurant. The servers have no power, and all you're doing is delaying your fellow diners and ruining the server's day. If you're going t have any influence at all (and I agree with folks above who have said that probably, you're not going to, but it doesn't hurt to try), the way to do it is to write a politely worded letter to the owners letting them know that this issue is important to you and other consumers, and that you would like to patronize their restaurant, but you can't because of their practices, and that if they changed their practices, you would intend to become a frequent customer.
I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, and I've shot off a lot of emails over the years to places where I ended up having trouble finding something to eat on the menu that I could eat. I rarely get responses. A few local places have responded to say that they're sorry and making suggestions like, "you could just have two side salads" or "the soup only has chicken broth, so that doesn't really count." I can remember exactly one place that has actually changed their menu after I asked; it's a place I frequent 3+ times a week, and they know me there, and they removed my go-to meal from the menu, and I wrote to them asking them to put it back, and they didn't do that, but they did add another vegetarian dish, and then the manager came up to me the next time I was in to point out the new dish to me. So yeah, I wouldn't have high hopes for this strategy, but it is marginally more likely to work than peppering the server with questions.
Also, when you ask the server a bunch of questions about your food, assume that the answers are probably either incorrect or lies. Because if they don't know, they or the chefs are going to make something up, and they're going to try to tell you what they think you want to hear so that you'll order lots of stuff and leave a big tip. Unless it's in writing or already advertised before you ask, assume that it may not be true (even if they advertise it, it still may not be true, but it's at least somewhat more likely to be accurate if they decided themselves to talk about it instead of coming up with it only after you asked). So yeah, probably a lot of the meat they've assured you is free range or whatever is actually from Sysco. Assume that all restaurant food is from Sysco until proven otherwise. Sorry.
posted by decathecting at 9:52 PM on March 26, 2016 [10 favorites]
YES - please assume unless otherwise stated it comes off a Sysco truck (and btw - haven't they rebranded or something with a new name?)
I'm so sorry. Only eat meat at specifically farm to table restaurants or cook at home, or ply your friends who are awesome chefs with booze/expensive ingredients/love/sex to cook for you at home. Please, please don't bug the waitstaff or managers or owners - they already know and either can not control it or don't care like you do.
This is why I went into business for myself. I don't eat out very often, unless it's salad or all veg. Actually, this works out great and I have been doing it for years! Once you make the adjustment, you can't go back. It's OK. You'll be OK.
Eating pain and misery sucks and once you know that flavor *shudders.*
posted by jbenben at 9:58 PM on March 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm so sorry. Only eat meat at specifically farm to table restaurants or cook at home, or ply your friends who are awesome chefs with booze/expensive ingredients/love/sex to cook for you at home. Please, please don't bug the waitstaff or managers or owners - they already know and either can not control it or don't care like you do.
This is why I went into business for myself. I don't eat out very often, unless it's salad or all veg. Actually, this works out great and I have been doing it for years! Once you make the adjustment, you can't go back. It's OK. You'll be OK.
Eating pain and misery sucks and once you know that flavor *shudders.*
posted by jbenben at 9:58 PM on March 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I only have a few specific farm to table recommendations in Seattle (it's not something I seek out but notice it in places). They are also centered in Ballard because that's where I go out the most. I was able to search for farm to table in yelp and saw more than 20 results.
Places I've been:
-Pork chop & co
-Stoneburner
-Bastille
-High life cafe
-Skillet at Ballard
posted by toomanycurls at 9:58 PM on March 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
Places I've been:
-Pork chop & co
-Stoneburner
-Bastille
-High life cafe
-Skillet at Ballard
posted by toomanycurls at 9:58 PM on March 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Restaurant rec that might fit: Local 360. If I remember correctly, they have a chalkboard talking about sources in the restaurant, so you could walk in to check and not have to ask anybody manually. You could do the call and ask to 8 oz Burger Bar, they talk about sourcing quality and locally.
posted by foxfirefey at 10:00 PM on March 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 10:00 PM on March 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
The extended version: if you care about sourcing, then you ought to stop going to restaurants and instead spend restaurant-meal amounts of money on well-raised meat and then cook it properly yourself -- and if there are local cooking classes that are built around well-sourced meat, go to those.
If you feel the urge to ask when sitting at a table, when in all honesty you don't expect a positive answer but instead mostly want to make a statement, then yeah, you're sort of heading into Portlandia territory, and doing so is hectoring the waitstaff who are themselves working jobs that are their own variety of shitty. If you like a restaurant but are put off by their meat sourcing, email them or do a social media thing.
posted by holgate at 10:02 PM on March 26, 2016 [18 favorites]
If you feel the urge to ask when sitting at a table, when in all honesty you don't expect a positive answer but instead mostly want to make a statement, then yeah, you're sort of heading into Portlandia territory, and doing so is hectoring the waitstaff who are themselves working jobs that are their own variety of shitty. If you like a restaurant but are put off by their meat sourcing, email them or do a social media thing.
posted by holgate at 10:02 PM on March 26, 2016 [18 favorites]
Best answer: Homegrown has an increasing number of locations and is very Portlandia-esque about telling you how local and sustainable everything is. I find their food to be kind of an acquired taste but I get the feeling that you have already acquired it.
I haven't been there in a while but I think Serious Pie and Biscuit also does the locally sourced thing, though that might be more on the produce side and less on the meat side. They are pretty swank when you get past the chill PNW facade and I'm sure would respond to an inquiring email or phone call about their sources.
Oh! And of course, down here in West Seattle up the road from Mashiko is the Swinery, which is a sustainable butcher shop and restaurant that is just... intense. Prepare yourself. Wear elastic waisted pants.
posted by Mizu at 10:24 PM on March 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
I haven't been there in a while but I think Serious Pie and Biscuit also does the locally sourced thing, though that might be more on the produce side and less on the meat side. They are pretty swank when you get past the chill PNW facade and I'm sure would respond to an inquiring email or phone call about their sources.
Oh! And of course, down here in West Seattle up the road from Mashiko is the Swinery, which is a sustainable butcher shop and restaurant that is just... intense. Prepare yourself. Wear elastic waisted pants.
posted by Mizu at 10:24 PM on March 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Hi, my spouse and I raise livestock for meat just outside of Puyallup, though we don't sell to restaurants. I eat much like you do when eating out.
Tilth, in Wallingford, is a good bet. The chef, Maria Hines, has several other restaurants now, but I haven't been to any of them.
Sitka and Spruce in Madison Market in Cap Hill is also good. Chef Matt Dillon also has other restaurants. (There's also a good local butcher shop in Madison Market, called Rain Shadow Meats, as well as a cheese shop, Calf and Kid. Oh, yeah, and Homegrown, the sandwich shop Mizu mentioned.)
Tacoma has Marrow and Primo Grill, among other things. Puyallup has Arista Pasta. Bainbridge has Hitchcock (I haven't been in a few years but I used to go very often and it was very, very good), Marché, and the Harbour Pub, where their burgers are from a local grower. Hitchcock also has a deli in Georgetown. Seabreeze Farm on Vashon has an associated restaurant, La Boucherie.
But in general, these are pretty fancy places, not "I don't feel like cooking, let's go out" places. As others are saying, the easiest way to do it is learn to cook the good meat yourself, and resign yourself to eating vegetarian when out.
And note that not everything from these restaurants that I and others have listed is going to be happy and local. The sandwich that's always on the menu is probably not, but the special that changes daily probably is. Even better if it's the kind of thing where they run out of it. Think about the supply chain -- if they're buying a whole animal from someone like me, they are gonna have only as many pork chops, or whatever, as that animal has on it. But if the corned beef sandwich is a staple of the lunch menu, they're going to make sure they can meet demand with that, and get the meat somewhere else.
... which brings up another thought -- generally if a place has a daily special, or, even better, if the whole menu changes daily, it is way more likely to feature local meats (and produce). Our target market of restaurants (when we have enough supply to actually, you know, target that market) is places that change the menu daily and put farm names on the menu.
You could also go to the farmers' market and ask the vendors which restaurants they sell to. Skagit River Ranch has some restaurant accounts I think, and Olson Farm(s?) might too. They are both at the Ballard market; SRR is at Uni but I don't know if Olson is.
Also if you want to buy meat let me know. We market direct to consumer.
posted by librarina at 10:43 PM on March 26, 2016 [24 favorites]
Tilth, in Wallingford, is a good bet. The chef, Maria Hines, has several other restaurants now, but I haven't been to any of them.
Sitka and Spruce in Madison Market in Cap Hill is also good. Chef Matt Dillon also has other restaurants. (There's also a good local butcher shop in Madison Market, called Rain Shadow Meats, as well as a cheese shop, Calf and Kid. Oh, yeah, and Homegrown, the sandwich shop Mizu mentioned.)
Tacoma has Marrow and Primo Grill, among other things. Puyallup has Arista Pasta. Bainbridge has Hitchcock (I haven't been in a few years but I used to go very often and it was very, very good), Marché, and the Harbour Pub, where their burgers are from a local grower. Hitchcock also has a deli in Georgetown. Seabreeze Farm on Vashon has an associated restaurant, La Boucherie.
But in general, these are pretty fancy places, not "I don't feel like cooking, let's go out" places. As others are saying, the easiest way to do it is learn to cook the good meat yourself, and resign yourself to eating vegetarian when out.
And note that not everything from these restaurants that I and others have listed is going to be happy and local. The sandwich that's always on the menu is probably not, but the special that changes daily probably is. Even better if it's the kind of thing where they run out of it. Think about the supply chain -- if they're buying a whole animal from someone like me, they are gonna have only as many pork chops, or whatever, as that animal has on it. But if the corned beef sandwich is a staple of the lunch menu, they're going to make sure they can meet demand with that, and get the meat somewhere else.
... which brings up another thought -- generally if a place has a daily special, or, even better, if the whole menu changes daily, it is way more likely to feature local meats (and produce). Our target market of restaurants (when we have enough supply to actually, you know, target that market) is places that change the menu daily and put farm names on the menu.
You could also go to the farmers' market and ask the vendors which restaurants they sell to. Skagit River Ranch has some restaurant accounts I think, and Olson Farm(s?) might too. They are both at the Ballard market; SRR is at Uni but I don't know if Olson is.
Also if you want to buy meat let me know. We market direct to consumer.
posted by librarina at 10:43 PM on March 26, 2016 [24 favorites]
Best answer: Faced with a choice of mystery meats & no further information on any given menu, you can make a rough guess at the amount of suffering endured in each case based only on the species.
Game will not generally have suffered that much - obviously wild game least of all. Even farmed venison, boar etc will have lived a more-or-less natural life. You just can't rear those animals intensively with any success. Lamb is somewhere near a mid-point on the scale - sheep being more or less left alone in a field for the majority of their lives. Beef is a lot more intensive, typically - and chicken & pork is fully intensive & factory-farmed unless specifically stated otherwise. That scale of suffering is also arranged in increasing order of the likelihood of finding a given species on a given menu - which is no coincidence.
Once you set off down a utilitarian path, where specific quantities of suffering can be calculated & weighed against each other, then probably the only consistent position you can ever take is the one that Peter Singer described in Animal Liberation. Anything short of that is a half-measure.
Sometimes, of course, half measures are still worth taking.
posted by rd45 at 5:51 AM on March 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
Game will not generally have suffered that much - obviously wild game least of all. Even farmed venison, boar etc will have lived a more-or-less natural life. You just can't rear those animals intensively with any success. Lamb is somewhere near a mid-point on the scale - sheep being more or less left alone in a field for the majority of their lives. Beef is a lot more intensive, typically - and chicken & pork is fully intensive & factory-farmed unless specifically stated otherwise. That scale of suffering is also arranged in increasing order of the likelihood of finding a given species on a given menu - which is no coincidence.
Once you set off down a utilitarian path, where specific quantities of suffering can be calculated & weighed against each other, then probably the only consistent position you can ever take is the one that Peter Singer described in Animal Liberation. Anything short of that is a half-measure.
Sometimes, of course, half measures are still worth taking.
posted by rd45 at 5:51 AM on March 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
I want to second choosing game meats. The easiest to find is venison, elk is also delicious and not being factory farmed anywhere at all. While buffalo is farmed, it's usually pretty decently, and there's a ton of buffalo farmers in WA so it would be actually easier to get it local.
posted by corb at 6:56 AM on March 27, 2016
posted by corb at 6:56 AM on March 27, 2016
I realize you don't want to resort to a "vegetarian at restaurants" policy all the time, but from what I heard from my tour partner last Fall (she lives there), Seattle has some stellar vegan restaurants, which might help you enjoy eating out/rest easy at least some of the time.
posted by Gymnopedist at 7:24 AM on March 27, 2016
posted by Gymnopedist at 7:24 AM on March 27, 2016
Best answer: The way to convince restaurant to use more local meat is to vote with your feet. Patronize restaurants that do use it, and avoid restaurants that don't. Get other people who agree with you to do the same.
There are two types of restaurants in the world: places where someone actually owns the place and cares about, and corporate chains with offices in some office park by a freeway in an exurb somewhere. The former are generally run by people who care about food. They've spent their entire lives in kitchens and have a real interest in serving their guests the best food. Some of these places are already sourcing humane meat locally. The ones that don't, have probably considered it and decided not to (cost, most likely). The chains, on the other hand, just care about making money. The only way they'll care is if it's profitable to care. And the way to make it profitable is for them to lose business to places that do what you want.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:44 AM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
There are two types of restaurants in the world: places where someone actually owns the place and cares about, and corporate chains with offices in some office park by a freeway in an exurb somewhere. The former are generally run by people who care about food. They've spent their entire lives in kitchens and have a real interest in serving their guests the best food. Some of these places are already sourcing humane meat locally. The ones that don't, have probably considered it and decided not to (cost, most likely). The chains, on the other hand, just care about making money. The only way they'll care is if it's profitable to care. And the way to make it profitable is for them to lose business to places that do what you want.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:44 AM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Restaurants in my town always list the farm meat (and eggs and basically anything that they know of) is from on the menu. It's totally ok to call in the afternoon and ask if there's somewhere you want to go and it's not listed on the menu.
posted by betsybetsy at 8:21 AM on March 27, 2016
posted by betsybetsy at 8:21 AM on March 27, 2016
Best answer: I know you rejected the vegetarian-at-restaurants idea, but I do want to point out that it is at least marginally effective in getting a bit closer to your stated goals. It encourages better veg entrées instead of the one tired thing involving grilled eggplant or portobello mushrooms ("served on a bed of flavourless couscous, $22"), which will encourage more non-veg*ns to have a veg*n meal; it keeps restaurants conscious of things like not unnecessarily using meat broths in otherwise veg-oriented soups...
i have never eaten meat and am forced to be the tedious person who makes menu inquiries; I try to be polite -- 'I'm ready to order, but I'm vegetarian; sorry for the fuss, but please let me know if I've picked anything that's not vegetarian? Dairy and eggs are fine!' -- sometimes this sends a server back to the kitchen to double-check a dish, and while I don't like being the person who creates extra work, at least the message is getting out: there are vegetarians who want to eat here. Vegetarians wield a lot of power when going out; I can be the one to say 'Poutine? Well, we'll get it here, they're the only ones with a vegetarian gravy' and thus steer many orders to one establishment...
So by simple dint of requesting veg*n dishes, you may be helping the restaurant industry to stop using meat where there's no point to using meat, resulting in less demand for factory-farmed stuff. Whenever a fast food place advertises a new vegetarian thing on the menu, I make a point of making that place my next stop when I want fast food; I really want to send the message that, yes, there is a demand for a whatever with no meat. If it is good I will Tweet or post on their FB wall and tell them as much. By using "are there meatless dishes on the menu here that I actually want to eat?" as a restaurant-choosing metric, and posting on their social media that you went to their restaurant because of delicious veg dish X because you only eat meat at farm-to-table restaurants, you would still be meeting your goal of "I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat."
They buy a lot of cheap meat because there is a lot of demand for cheap meat. But it is certainly easier for me to eat out now than it was a quarter century ago when they didn't even have the stupid grilled eggplant, because enough veg*ns made clear that they would order meatless dishes if restaurants sold them. Unfortunately a big part of the answer to reducing inhumane meat production is lowering demand for poor-quality meat. I think you are doing a good thing here; I also think you are roughly where vegetarians were in the 80s -- barely registering in the public consciousness, fringe weirdos who went to special restaurants. These things take a long time to change, but they do if people politely persist and spend appropriately.
posted by kmennie at 8:37 AM on March 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
i have never eaten meat and am forced to be the tedious person who makes menu inquiries; I try to be polite -- 'I'm ready to order, but I'm vegetarian; sorry for the fuss, but please let me know if I've picked anything that's not vegetarian? Dairy and eggs are fine!' -- sometimes this sends a server back to the kitchen to double-check a dish, and while I don't like being the person who creates extra work, at least the message is getting out: there are vegetarians who want to eat here. Vegetarians wield a lot of power when going out; I can be the one to say 'Poutine? Well, we'll get it here, they're the only ones with a vegetarian gravy' and thus steer many orders to one establishment...
So by simple dint of requesting veg*n dishes, you may be helping the restaurant industry to stop using meat where there's no point to using meat, resulting in less demand for factory-farmed stuff. Whenever a fast food place advertises a new vegetarian thing on the menu, I make a point of making that place my next stop when I want fast food; I really want to send the message that, yes, there is a demand for a whatever with no meat. If it is good I will Tweet or post on their FB wall and tell them as much. By using "are there meatless dishes on the menu here that I actually want to eat?" as a restaurant-choosing metric, and posting on their social media that you went to their restaurant because of delicious veg dish X because you only eat meat at farm-to-table restaurants, you would still be meeting your goal of "I am also looking for ways to influence restaurants to use less feedlot meat."
They buy a lot of cheap meat because there is a lot of demand for cheap meat. But it is certainly easier for me to eat out now than it was a quarter century ago when they didn't even have the stupid grilled eggplant, because enough veg*ns made clear that they would order meatless dishes if restaurants sold them. Unfortunately a big part of the answer to reducing inhumane meat production is lowering demand for poor-quality meat. I think you are doing a good thing here; I also think you are roughly where vegetarians were in the 80s -- barely registering in the public consciousness, fringe weirdos who went to special restaurants. These things take a long time to change, but they do if people politely persist and spend appropriately.
posted by kmennie at 8:37 AM on March 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
But how do I ask about the meat sourcing (and convey that I care about it) without being annoying to the waitstaff?
You don't. This isn't like one of those "Oh hey is there gluten in this?" questions where staff might be expected to have an answer, it's one of those "Do your homework beforehand" questions. The good news is that you're in the PacNW where there are probably more than just one or two restaurants that fit this bill. And yes agreeing with the other posters, if this is them, they will be advertising this fact. I'm pretty lucky, I live in a small town in Vermont and we have five restaurants and two of them are farm-to-table-ish. But they started out this way, as do most restaurants that offer this option. It's pretty difficult )though not impossible) to encourage a restaurant that is not doing this that it would be a better business choice. Think about what makes it a genuine option for the restaurant (i.e more customers, not just "better for the chicken") and go from there.
Since it's pricier to offer meat this way, the presumption on your part is that if they're doing this they will highlight that fact. So do your homework and if you want to agitate for more humane treatment of the eating-meats, do that work outside of the routine of going out to eat. Servers do not have the leeway to pass your suggestions up the chain any more effectively than you do yourself by contacting the restaurants directly.
posted by jessamyn at 10:07 AM on March 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
You don't. This isn't like one of those "Oh hey is there gluten in this?" questions where staff might be expected to have an answer, it's one of those "Do your homework beforehand" questions. The good news is that you're in the PacNW where there are probably more than just one or two restaurants that fit this bill. And yes agreeing with the other posters, if this is them, they will be advertising this fact. I'm pretty lucky, I live in a small town in Vermont and we have five restaurants and two of them are farm-to-table-ish. But they started out this way, as do most restaurants that offer this option. It's pretty difficult )though not impossible) to encourage a restaurant that is not doing this that it would be a better business choice. Think about what makes it a genuine option for the restaurant (i.e more customers, not just "better for the chicken") and go from there.
Since it's pricier to offer meat this way, the presumption on your part is that if they're doing this they will highlight that fact. So do your homework and if you want to agitate for more humane treatment of the eating-meats, do that work outside of the routine of going out to eat. Servers do not have the leeway to pass your suggestions up the chain any more effectively than you do yourself by contacting the restaurants directly.
posted by jessamyn at 10:07 AM on March 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for your thoughtful responses and ideas. Lots for me to think about and research. I do shop at the Swinery from time to time and was hoping Mizu could clarify the elastic waist pants thing.
posted by oxisos at 3:12 PM on March 27, 2016
posted by oxisos at 3:12 PM on March 27, 2016
Their restaurant is technically called the Courtyard Grill. An example from their menu:
posted by Mizu at 5:57 PM on March 27, 2016
Swinery Spectacular $13.50Basically in my experience you're gonna want to be plenty hungry.
Pulled Pork, Cured and Smoked Ham, Crispy Pork Belly, Swiss Cheese, Dijon Aioli & House Pickles
Danger Fries $7.00
Swine Fries Smothered in Bacon Blue Cheese Béchamel Sauce
posted by Mizu at 5:57 PM on March 27, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
If it comes from a local farm you'll normally know because they will tell you.
posted by ReluctantViking at 9:13 PM on March 26, 2016 [16 favorites]