Responses

Webmaster - 12/23/2007 13:33:47

Hi Groovyvegan,

Thanks for posting on this subject. We've been looking into the way the site works and may make some changes soon.
Did you still submit that Thai place to us? We do need to hold some standards of what's worth listing. "a separate vegan-friendly dinner menu with over 30 items," is much better than nothing. However, Folsom is quite close to Fair Oaks which does have totally veg. places to eats and if I were passing through I'd prefer that.
If Folsom is a decent sized city, I'd also be surprised if there wasn't a shop selling health food basics, or a farmers market.
If you live in that area, please help outt the guide and find out about them.

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groovyvegan - 12/23/2007 14:16:58

I did submit the Thai place, noting exactly how many items were on the veg menus and the hours. (And I called to verfify the hours, which was a good thing b/c they were changed somewhat than what was printed on the menu.)

I'm still in Folsom, but down with the flu and leaving tomorrow, so can't help out with leg-work, unfortunately. My omni fiance found the Thai place after much searching, while looking for vegan food he could bring me back to the hotel room. I will, however, call a friend who is a local to inquire about a farmer's market.

The population is 70,000 people, and they even have an REI. One would think it would be more veg-friendly, but it doesn't seem to be. The Chinese restaurant with definite vegan options has gone out of business. And my friend who is local knows of no natural grocers.

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gr8vegan - 03/07/2008 04:37:43

Its a really tough line to cross. I really only want to patronize 100% Veg restaurants but most cities can't support them. There are a lot of City specific veg friendly websites like the local Veg societies that run down all the places we can eat. I recently ate at Akasha in LA and its super vegan friendly, but probably doesn't pass the mustard for HC, but its the ONLY White Table Cloth hip place a vegan can eat in LA before hitting the town on a Friday/Sat night so it deserves mention. Just remember that your tofu lettuce wraps were probably cut on the same cutting board with the same knife as the chicken ones before you... I've had food poisoning 3 times at veg-friendly and never once in my life anywhere else. Support 100% Vegan establishments first and then have a listing for desperate eaters or link up to regional/city sites to help the starving vegans like me :)

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whole1 - 03/07/2008 10:30:48

webmaster, does that mean my organic bakery will not be listed on Happy Cow because we are such a small city and I am the only healthy game in town! Also, we have another friend who runs a vegetarian wedding service here called sacred Vow that I just got to join Happy Cow and she was hoping she would get better exposure to like-minded individuals who would appreciate my business as well as hers.

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webmaster - 03/07/2008 11:39:32

Hi Whole1,
Are there any farmers markets in your town? Or places selling organic produce? If so, then maybe the city can be added. Otherwise, you could advertise your place in the nearest cities:
http://www.happycow.net/advertise_buttons1.html
This would also be a good idea for your friend. She could also get her place listed in our catering guide: http://www.happycow.net/vegetarian_catering_directory.html
At this point we are hesitating to add places that are only bakeries or just juice bars because we don't have the staff to manage all the extra submissions that would result, and it would also require coding of a new section.
Why not add some vegetarian sandwiches or snack food to place and then we'd be happy to list you. If you make good ones your customers will also be grateful.

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tatiana - 03/07/2008 17:38:52

Yes, I think more brainstorming is definitely warranted in this area. I live in a very veg unfriendly area. Even though I live in the San Francisco bay area, the town I live in is very veg unfriendly so I have to drive far for good veg food. It would be nice to have options for people in more places. It would be kind of neat to point out veg friendly items on menus for places we wouldn't expect, either, like fast food or chain restaurants. I try to avoid them as much as possible and prefer grocery shopping or different restaurants, but many of us will find times when we don't have much other choice.

Adding in more places would definitely be massively labor intensive, then you ask, "where do we draw the line"? You could really go on forever adding more and more places but it would be nice to have a quick go to for choices in any city, whether veg friendly or not.

Just some random thoughts ^_^

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whole1 - 03/08/2008 13:43:33

Thanks, webmaster. We do have a brand new farmer's market open that we actually helped push hard for in this area. We support the market as one of their vendors. It is called the Bradford County Farmer's Market and it meets here in Starke at the health department on Saturdays from 8-12 noon. We who support sustainable local agriculture and healthy eating are continuing to work hard to bring more organic producers in as well. I have appreciated the services of Happy Cow in the past and it has saved me personally alot of driving around trying to find something good to eat when traveling. I simply want others of likeminded persuasion to be able to find me as well when they are in my neck of the woods(as far out in the neck as we are!) Any help would be appreciated. I am more than interested in providing a veggie friendly sandwich and am continuing to play with different items to get a highly nutritious veggie sandwich. As of this point in time a tomato, lettuce and sprout on choice of freshly milled bread is all we offer. I am continually frustrated by ingredients being added in to what is supposed to be healthier choices and I refuse to serve them as a good alternative. I am as fussy about that as I am about what makes bread healthier. To me it is not enough to have awesome tasting fillings if the bread is the same old dead so-called whole wheat. But I will continue to pursue a great veggie filling to honor my delicious breads with. The closest I have come lately has been with a lentil & almond burger. I will keep you posted.

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kindlizard - 03/08/2008 14:31:32

I think everyone would ideally like to see their area represented; but they can't create places in our area either. I sure don't want to see Taco Bell listed, as I have seen elsewhere listed as veg-friendly other places, b/c they have a bean burrito or some such nonsense. These guys do a great service for which I think we should all be thankful.

I know I am open to trying a lot of places listed here, having some faith in the process. I think limiting the establishments to quality places is more important than listing every place that serves a salad. I also think listing here places should be "veg friendly" in that when I ask them what is vegan or can be made vegan, I should not be told that they either don't know what that means or give me an attitude b/c they are busy. In considering "veg friendly", please consider what that really is supposed to mean. Perfect example is Health Haven or Black Forest Acres, 2 terrible health food stores in NJ. Their food is not vegan friendly despite being a deli in a HF store. I got a cold boca burger on cold bread with a stack of alfalfa sprouts at HH (not what I had in mind), and some other slop at BFA that I had to give back since they put mayo on. They both have a ton of meat samiches. Not really worthy of being listed as a place to grab a bite on the way through.

I think traveling takes planning. Bring things you can make in a pinch, and if you are lucky enough to pass by a place w a great vegan listing when you are hungry that much the better.

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gr8vegan - 03/08/2008 15:37:27

So the answer to this topic is "No, Happycow doesn't under represent veg-friendly venues" BECAUSE to include them all would dilute 100% veg places and hinder their survival. You can always post anything in the regional information area of your city. Check out my posts for St.louis, Mo / Kansas City / Tampa Fl for an example.

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tatiana - 03/08/2008 15:47:19

I think happycow fits a certain genre and that is that if we go to a place listed on the site, we expect to have some good veg options (as kindlizard said, not just a salad or cold boca burger). Now of course, sometimes we have to weed places out after we visit them (as there is no way Eric and Diana could know the value of the places they are emailed about to post on the site). I plan places on this site to visit when I'm out of town. For example, I will be going to LA soon and am very excited to go to Happy Veggie, which is listed as #1 on the highest rates restaurants. I know I will get quality.

As I had briefly mentioned above, I think it would be cool, possibly as a completely different website, as it might very well not fit the happycow site, to have a site where people can find more common places that are in many areas that they may be able to find a couple options (definitely not destination locations but places to go when you have to). This comes to mind not only for myself, but I have many vegetarian patients who also want to know where they can eat, and it would be cool if there were more options listed than just my personal experiences I can give them. Now if only I had time to start that website....maybe we can make it one of the groups on here? hmm

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whole1 - 03/08/2008 16:07:52

kindlizard, gr8vegan and as always tatiana: thanks for your insight. I certainly do not want to see Taco Bell listed in my area as "veg-friendly" they are nowhere equal to the quality nutrition level of my baked goods! gr8vegan, your point is well taken. I in NO WAY want to detract from the 100% veg places, either!! So what is the solution? For vegetarians, vegans and omnis alike, freshly milled whole grain bread is THE only kind we should be filling our bodies with. Would starting a "group" within Happy Cow be the answer? A place to possibly list "true" veg friendly places that do match the criteria for veg restaurants? Any additional thoughts? Because for a place like mine, just advertising in the local paper isn't going to bring those who already understand eating this way. Thanks for the interaction. I am eagerly awaiting more postings.

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kindlizard - 03/09/2008 01:02:00

Tatiana,
May I suggest to you and other travelers to carry a jar of nut butters, or some other very easy fix, as the only "fast food" option? Or if they are more prepared, throw a cooler in the car and put some salad or pre-done tofu that is quite lovely cold while traveling.

Also remind them that the left lane is for passing.

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tatiana - 03/09/2008 14:02:53

kindlizard - Yes, definitely! I bring energy bars, dried fruits, etc on all my trips with me. That, I would say, is a definite must have for veg's on any sort of trip! I have to keep my sanity while many of my friends make their stops at all those fast food joints.

So, you get lots of left lane hogs on your side of the country, too, huh? ;)

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kindlizard - 03/09/2008 14:31:21

Yes, but I wrote about it extensively, in song in fact, from living out West.

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tatiana - 03/09/2008 14:49:31

Wow, I'd love to hear it. I definitely live in it!

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webmaster - 02/26/2009 12:20:51

Here is the most current and comprehensive HappyCow guidelines for adding a meat restaurant that also serves some veg.

http://www.happycow.net/submit-veg-friendly.html

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