It's not always easy being a vegetarian in Texas. This is a land of barbecue joints and 72 oz. steaks, and sometimes it seems there's little room for the voluntary herbivore.
I gave up meat a couple of years ago when I decided I could live just as well without it. Modern techniques of meat production are atrocious, and I'm all for animal rights, but my choice was simple: don't kill it if you don't have to.
Since then I've eaten tons of awesome vegetarian food, so I know it exists. I'm perfectly happy to munch on naan and dal in a little Indian joint, or dine on meatless pad kee mow at any Thai restaurant. And I have to admit that I make a mean tofu sandwich.
The vegetarian options at UTD are nothing exceptional. The Subway sandwich with just the veggies is good enough, and there are a couple of other things in the Comet Café I can eat. The Pub offers some vaguely Asian-style vegetable rice bowls and a cheese quesadilla, and there's always the salad.
Food options at UTD aren't great for anyone, but at least meat-eaters have more than three or four things to choose from. I'm generally stuck with Subway, which is serviceable but uninspiring.
Chartwell's, UTD's food service vender, should expand its vegetarian offerings. I don't expect a dining experience worthy of a Michelin star, but it would be nice to be able to pick the best of two options rather than the least bad.
There are a lot of vegetarians at UTD, and as foregoing meat becomes more popular and economical, there will likely be more. Whether motivated by health or karma, vegetarians need more good stuff to eat.
As a reformed meat eater and someone with taste buds, I know how delicious meat tastes. I don't need Chartwell's to remind me of that by giving me food that tastes like cardboard. It's really not that hard to make good vegetarian food.
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