I got my parents to eat a completely vegan dinner for my birthday—and they liked it! Only a few nights before I made some sauteed spinach, only to have my mom poke at it and ask, “where’s the meat?” and my dad quickly get a couple of hard-boiled eggs from the kitchen so they could eat a “complete” meal. I know it wasn’t as amazing as I’ve made it in the past—I didn’t have all the spices and ingredients I use at home. The way they attacked those eggs and sighed with relief was kind of funny in one way, but still…I don’t want to force them into vegetarianism, but I’m rather concerned about their belief that a meal is somehow lacking because it doesn’t have any discernible animals parts. I’ve written about this before, so I’ll simply say that it’s not true. I tease them about their meat obsession like they tease me about my weight and not eating “enough” fat—it’s all rather lighthearted. However, I wanted to show them that a animal-free meal can be just as satisfying and “balanced” as one with animal parts. So I had them hostage at a vegan restaurant for my birthday 😀 (I thought taking them to a raw vegan restaurant would probably be too extreme for them, so I broke my raw diet, yet again).
We went to Vegan World based on the great reviews at Yelp (though the 60% off gift certificate didn’t hurt). I’m not a fan of faux meats (especially since they usually taste nothing like meat and have a rather unappealing flavor/texture). But, I wanted to try what Vegan World had to offer, so we ordered Orange Chicken and Golden Shrimp as appetizers. It goes without saying that anything fried is tasty, but I was impressed with the taste, especially the shrimp. It was soy-based with a flavor and texture reminiscent of lobster, wrapped in a wonton, and fried. My mom ordered the Spicy Chicken Fried Rice and my dad had Miso, since he’s never had it before. My mom loved her dish and said the chicken tasted like the real deal. I got the Spicy Pumpkin, which came with a Fresh Spring Roll. I also wanted to find out what all the fuss is about kombucha, so I got a bottle of it. It didn’t seem all that special—it tastes like the juice I bring with me for work at the end of the day. $4 for rotten juice seems a bit pricey (I could make my own for much cheaper).
Overall, the meal was great; the portions were generous, the food fresh, and very reasonable priced (the most expensive dinner plate was $9.95), and the waiting staff friendly. We left with full bellies and happy faces. For anyone in the LA area, I’d highly recommend a trip to Vegan World—or order online and have it delivered.
Green Liberationist 
My dad lives in Nigeria, has for more than half my lifetime (since the late nineties) so we don’t know one another all that well. Anyway after I sat with him (an incredibly rare occasion, something that happens maybe thrice a decade) and my siblings at an Indian restaurant in Metuchen, where I only ate some salad, at some point later he asked when I was going to stop my vegetarianism, informing me that he knew of a vegetarian that ate fish. It was kind of absurd and funny to me since, though my memory gets fuzzy sometimes, I believe that this interaction occurred early this very year, my eleventh of straight uninterrupted veganism. But the struggle for me is to see it from his perspective, which is problematic but understandable.
Very cool that you could persuade your folks to check out a vegan restaurant. I have never once gotten either mama or papa to a vegan restaurant in all these eleven years. Though nowadays restaurants may as well be way out in the Atlantic, haven’t been to one in years. But still – you stay being you plus keep decent links with your fam. Props for that.
LikeLike