Veg food at Espace pour la vie: good or bad?
Est Media ponders how the Espace pour la vie has ordained vegetarian menus for the snack bars at the botanical garden, the Planetarium and the Biodome. The argument that “tourists won’t like it” doesn’t have much force this season, but apparently it’s still a thing.
How can this even be an issue? How childish can people be? It’s perfectly logical if you’re a “space for life” that your offerings should be vegetarian. It isn’t going to kill anyone to eat a veggie burger for once, or, if they’re truly convinced they need to eat some dead animal at every meal, to wait till they leave the site. And I say this as a non-vegetarian myself.
MarcG 09:54 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
A family member of mine was disappointed when they couldn’t get a generic corporate beer at a tourist place in Vermont – all they had was their “weird craft beers”.
Myles 10:26 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
In my experience, people are so stubbornly resistant to any sort of change in their habits that some even have trouble seeing me eating vegetarian and minding my own business. The very sight is annoying to them.
Ian 10:44 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
I’m more concerned that the snack bar offerings at the Biodome are second rate quality and grossly overpriced… I already got the vegetarian offerings because I don’t trust that the meat complies with standards of hygiene and freshness.
Ephraim 10:46 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
@Myles – It’s called the Technological Adoption Cycle and we are living it, with the masks. You go from early adopters to the last two groups, the late majority and finally the laggards (the other term for laggards are phobics). And basically people want to hold on to the old and not change, they feel comfortable and you are pushing them out of their comfort zone. The laggards are very happy with their VCRs, flip phones, etc.
@Ian – Do you think they have a real kitchen or are they just getting it all frozen from a vendor? You know, the test of freshness at a restaurant… if it says “no substitutions” it all came from a commercial kitchen and they are just rewarming it.
Ian 10:48 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
It depends, there is the snackbar by the ticket counter or way in the back there is a cafeteria that isn’t always open. In both cases the prices are through the roof, and that kind of trying-to-be-fancy-but-not-that-good you often get from catering at corporate events.
EmilyG 11:12 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
Yeah. People who aren’t vegetarian can still eat vegetarian food.
Alex 11:24 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
Storm in a teacup…
JP 11:58 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
I certainly don’t mind an all-vegetarian menu. That said, I do sometimes choose, for example, a chicken burger instead of a veggie burger, because of my digestive issues and the fact that a chicken burger is easier for me to handle from that perspective. Nevertheless, I totally get that they can’t cater to every possible sensitivity or allergy.
Ian 12:15 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
Well if you’re really in an utter panic because you can’t get meat at the Biodome or Planetarium there’s always the Star Cité theatre by the metro, I am sure they have some kind of greasy horrorshow you can shovel down your gullet if that’s the only thing that will do. If you’re at the Botanical Garden there’s even a Belle Province a block or two away from the Sherbrooke & Pie IX gate
JP 12:35 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
If it’s just me, I also just sneak in snacks. My justification at the movies, for example, is there really are no healthy offerings.
dwgs 13:02 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
Fart in a windstorm…
Kate 13:09 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
OK, it’s not the most exciting news, but I have to work with what I find on any given day, and I like to see what the smaller independent news sources are looking at from time to time.
Michael Black 13:25 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
But it’s not unlike the “mask problem”. Those people simply don’t want masks (and some may object because there’s a rule) but they bring up side issues, like they are hard to breath.
I suspect very few people are outraged that they can’t get meat, but since there’s now a policy, they object. It’s the policy, not the lack of meat.
In 1984 I was at Canada’s Wonderland for.much of the day. They checked bags going in, not outside food among other things. But I looked at the menu and there was nothing without meat. Well there must have been French fries, but no alternative to burgers or hot dogs. That’s the reverse, except it meant I could get nothing, rather than there wasn’t what I wanted.
Ian 18:51 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
Well there’s always poutine but it’s not vegan.
One thing about La Ronde (since you mention Canada’s Wonderland) that I like is that the food offerings are actually pretty good. There are a couple of Subways so if you want a vegetarian sandwich or a salad you can get one, there are some fancier places, there are some places that are halal… you can also get the crappy pizza/poutine/pogo stuff if that’s what you want.
The Biodome/ Botanical Garden complex has pretty crap food and always has, vegetarian or not. It’s always felt like a bit of a tourist trap to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Botanical Gardens, but I remember when they were free – and the Biodome is basically a second-rate zoo you can get to on the metro.
MarcG 19:39 on 2020-07-23 Permalink
“The BIodome: A second-rate zoo you can get to on the Metro”. This is a billboard I would not want to see in flames.