Vegetarians: What dish could (briefly) turn you back to meat?
For me, it was the Chef's Tasting Menu at The French Laundry.
Just curious!
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23 Comments:
i was a vegarian for a while in college but then the cravings for cheeseburgers were too strong and i had to dig in. its been meat from then on.
ceforrester at 4:51PM on 01/29/08
I still eat fish, but I can't imagine much that would make me eat meat. Maybe if I was traveling, and refusing the meat would register as some huge insult to am impoverished people, or I was starving (literally starving, not "I haven't eaten in three hours starving"), or I was at El Bulli. Though I'd probably just not eat at El Bulli.
KarynMC at 5:52PM on 01/29/08
I'm the same as KarynMC. I'm "technically" a pescatarian, but avoid fish whenever possible. I think the only thing that really tempts me now and then are Buffalo wings.
lizpetty at 6:06PM on 01/29/08
I've heard that the smell of bacon wafting though the air is torture for most veggies.
seyo at 6:16PM on 01/29/08
My daughters were both vegetarians (one usually only eats raw foods and has a piece of fish on a rare occasion). The other hadn't had meat in at least 10 years when she ate a hot dog of all things!
She is a mother now and does eat some meat on occasion, but we still laugh about the weiner. What a thing to eat after all those years.
PerkyMac at 6:31PM on 01/29/08
Seyo - I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I don't believe in bacon as the vegetarian dealbreaker. My family eats bacon-in- BLTs every day during the summer (or every other day, they eat many burgers, too) and I'm never the least bit tempted. I don't really consider bacon food.
KarynMC at 6:47PM on 01/29/08
I'm so, so sorry.
seyo at 6:53PM on 01/29/08
@seyo- I honestly never liked bacon. Or sausage. Or ham. Why should you be sorry that I don't eat something I dislike? I'm allowed my own tastebuds, just like you're allowed yours.
KarynMC at 7:02PM on 01/29/08
During my early and mid-twenties, I was a pescetarian. It wasn't any kind of a statement or lifestyle thing. I simply went through a phase where the taste of meat did nothing for me, and the taste of chicken was downright repulsive to me. It was very weird.
Anyway. My return to meat involved a pregnancy where I craved, of all things, fruit and Double-Double burgers from In'N'Out Burger. I'd go to work with a paper grocery bag that was literally half full of fruit. On a typical day I'd eat a whole grapefruit, two or three bananas, an apple, an orange, some grapes, maybe some melon, etc. Then, about once every couple of weeks, I'd get this overwhelming craving for a Double-Double. Problem was, I couldn't tolerate onions during that pregnancy, so I had to get the burger without. Since I always eat Double-Doubles with raw onions, the craving was never properly satisfied, because it didn't taste like a "real" Double-Double! I ate many unsatisfying burgers during that pregnancy. It was a terrible, vicious cycle!
But I've been eating meat ever since.
;-P
LoCo at 7:12PM on 01/29/08
I grew up a vegetarian though am now a meat eater. I got through phases, where I won't eat meat for, like, years, happily. But the the thing that is guaranteed to get me every time is grilled hot Italian sausage. I am helpless before it. And I gotta tell ya, having your first meat product after over a year of not eating meat be that? Not such a good thing for your tummy. Do I care? Nope! It's totally worth it.
chisai at 10:01PM on 01/29/08
When in doubt, ask a bunch of vegans. I did. The majority (of those that I asked) miss bacon.
I guess I'm in the bacon-ambivalent minority. :)
KarynMC at 10:04PM on 01/29/08
i was a vegetarian in college and for a few years after. i had a job traveling all over and staying in hotels. what did it for me finally was a prime rib buffet in kansas.
cybercita at 10:24PM on 01/29/08
I had a friend that became a vegetarian because of a girl he started dating and it turned into a long relationship (two years) that ended badly and we were out at a 24 hr. diner in Ann Arbor and he made a declaration that he was "liberating" himself totally and ordered a chili cheese hot dog against our many pleas to not pick this time, or this choice of meat to end his two years of vegetarian living. He did not listen and needless to say, we were right. Have no idea how this ties into the thread at hand, but it came to mind immediately, sorry!
radley24 at 11:16PM on 01/29/08
Two of my best friends are vegetarians, which is in stark contrast to my drastic omnivorism. Since they have no religious or medical reasoning (just some vague ethical and perceived health reasons) and because they are close enough friends, I feel ok about trying to undermine this part of their lifestyle which I see as inconvenient.
I have found hope in their newfound love of Portuguese custard tarts. They discovered them on their own without any interference from me and they certainly didn't consider the lard content. I wasn't sure if I should tell them, but decided that honesty was a good policy.
Can a refined animal product (from a pig of all creatures) be the trigger for the collapse of their food system? Regretfully, I hope so.
I must stop using internet as a confessional.
drastic at 11:44PM on 01/29/08
I've been a vegetarian for 18 years but have occasionally tried a bite of a new meat or preparation if it's presented, in case it's the best thing ever. rattlesnake and kangaroo didn't do it for me, fois gras in barcelona definitely did. i'd eat meat now at el bulli too, which i'll never get into anyway, or the fat duck.
mendicity at 11:50PM on 01/29/08
I honestly can't think of anything. Even when I ate meat I hated fish and barely ate red meat. Spicy breaded chicken sandwiches used to be my favorite when I was hungover but...really, I can't think of anything that would make me switch back!
emes1 at 11:56PM on 01/29/08
Totally off-topic, as I'm not a vegetarian at all, but I had blocked all memory of portugese custard tarts--and how they are the most delicious things in the world-- until reading this thread.
guess i'll have to learn how to make them.
renzata at 12:18AM on 01/30/08
When I was a vegetarian (which I had to quit for medical reasons), I dreamt of french dip sandwiches. Honestly. They are a weakness. Even today.
Traveller at 10:47AM on 01/30/08
i think there must be two types of vegetarians. one is like me, who gives up eating meat for ethical reasons and/or health reasons but always feels deprived and struggles against it, {and in my case, finally gives up and gives in} and the other is like one of my dear friends, who thinks that meat is nasty and disgusting and prefers not to go near it.
cybercita at 11:27AM on 01/30/08
I've never eaten meat but bacon and roasted chicken both smell pretty good when they are cooking....
sloppy at 12:11PM on 01/30/08
while I often classify myself as a vegetarian because its simply easier to do so, I enjoy eating meat when I do. I have given in to temptation with my mom's bbq pulled pork many times. She always makes it specially for me, because she loves meat, loves to tell me she loves meat, and loves cooking meat knowing the family 'vegetarian' will eat it.
allistew at 1:13AM on 05/09/08
A NY Strip steak, lovingly cooked to medium rare or less, is a thing of beauty.
That, and anything you shove in front of me when I've been drinking. I get the booze munchies. Usually it's hot wings that get past my veggie filter in this state.
Strange that my meat concessions should be some of the bloodiest/boniest options, instead of something barely meat-seeming like a burger or chicken nuggets.
(Vegetarian for objections to the meat industry. So actually that farm-raised, ethically treated, happy cow that becomes my steak at a fancy steak place is fine with me.)
veggiesattva at 1:29AM on 05/09/08
I am a vegetarian for a lot of reasons, so I no longer eat meat at all. For the first year or two, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I would miss it, but now I don't "crave" any sort of animal protein.
Okay, maybe ONE THING still gets to me --- the smell of pancetta sauteeing in a pan, but even then, the smell has to be enough, because as much as I'd love a taste, I won't take one. Really. I swear. Honest and truly.
Brownie at 9:25AM on 05/09/08