So, I'm vegan. This can make going out to eat a bit more of a hassle for me than for most people, but it's never a huge problem. And no, I'm not one of those annoying vegans who just expects their servers to know what vegan means and provide it for me...I usually muddle through with the menu on my own, and if I have to make substitutions, I'm very clear, always polite, and a good tipper. But at Joey Tomatoes, they have a little notice at the bottom of the menu saying "Ask us about our vegan and vegetarian options!" Yay, I thought to myself, they know what vegan means!
So, our server got to our table and I said "So what kind of vegan stuff do you have?"
He replied "Uhh...I don't think we have anything vegan."
I sort of blink. "But it says here to ask about your vegan and vegetarian options."
"Oh. Ya, no, I think everything has fish sauce."
I blink again. Fish sauce? "Ok...what about this hummus wrap?"
"I think the hummus has fish sauce."
This is where I LOL'd inside. Fish sauce? In hummus? "Are you sure? Could you maybe check?"
He went off to check, and sure enough, the hummus did not have fish sauce in it. And it ended up being really delicious. I think the server was probably new, but it seems to me that if you put a note on your menu saying that you have vegan options, you should probably tell your servers that there are vegan options. :p