Are People Still Eating Vegetarian in Brooklyn?
Steve Simicich
Partner, The V-Spot (Vegan Restaurant and Wholesaler, Park Slope)
Business has been steady, but in a sense it can be described as declining. This is because we have promoted, raised prices, and now have a liquor license, yet sales remain very similar to how they have been for the last three years. It’s difficult to determine who our customers are, other than when we speak directly with them: vegans and vegetarians almost in equal amounts, with veggie being more popular just in the sense that there are more vegetarians than vegans. We have had a great influx of the veggie-curious, and we get many first timers because veggies often bring friends to try our food. Those that discuss vegetarianism are generally committed, but many are just interested in healthy food; some just like to do it once in a while. Recently, customers come in just because we are kosher-certified.
Jacques Gautier
Chef, Palo Santo (Eclectic Latin Restaurant, Park Slope)
At my restaurants we do our best to responsibly source our products. We serve food that I feel good about. I think that most of my customers appreciate this. There are a good amount of people who eat primarily vegetarian diets, but when offered sustainable fish and meat they make exceptions. For the hardcore vegetarians we also offer options. I think every restaurant has to in Park Slope. We put a lot of thought and effort into our vegetarian dishes so that vegetarians feel equally welcomed. At Palo Santo, on all major holidays and most special events—such as Valentine’s Day—we offer vegetarian options.
As a teenager I was a vegetarian. I even went to the Natural Gourmet—a mostly vegetarian institution—for cooking school, but when I started working in a restaurant kitchen I realized pretty quickly that continuing to practice vegetarianism was going to give me a serious handicap. For a number of years I gave up not only vegetarianism but also all interest in cooking food that was “healthy” or environmentally friendly. All I cared about was the art in what I was doing. I wanted nothing to hamper my creativity or get in the way of me taking the jobs that I wanted.
Ten years into the industry, I was in the right place and time to open my own restaurant. Palo Santo was entirely my thing and so I was free to do what I wanted. There was no way that I was going to go back to vegetarianism—that was no longer a part of my life—but some of the teaching of the Natural Gourmet remained with me. I wanted to find some way to incorporate the holistic nutrition and respect for interconnectedness into what I fed the public at Palo Santo without compromising my artistic integrity or the flavor of my cooking.
The images of factory farmed veal calves in small crates and battery cage chickens influenced me as a teenager to take up vegetarianism, but another type of agriculture has seen an incredible resurgence over the past few decades. Farms practicing traditional sustainable agriculture have made their products more and more available to restaurants in this city. Much credit is due to the NYC greenmarkets for this. In addition to the free-range chicken, grass-fed dairy products and heritage pork, there’s also more organic and sustainable produce available. If I had more access to sustainable-farm products when I was younger, I might have been less likely to have taken up vegetarianism.
John Avelluto
Co-Owner, The Owl’s Head (Wine Bar/Small Plates, Bay Ridge)
Vegetarian options, from a business standpoint, were a secondary thought and more instinctual for us. Vegetarian items entered the menu because, pragmatically, they would widen the spectrum of flavors, open up potential pairings, and necessitate a more diverse selection of beverage options. And we love the drinky.
We do have many vegetarian requests at the bar along with more and more gluten-free and vegan diets, which are more challenging to accommodate. I think that today’s ever-growing food/health-conscious crowd demands a more articulated menu, which is great when you’re in the business of mad flava!