¡Arriba with Pancho Villa!

Last night, my husband (also a three-day practicing Vegan) and I went on a double date to Pancho Villa's Mexican Restaurant in Jackpot, Nevada. Now, normally, Robbie and I would sit down, scarf down an entire basket (or two) of chips and then stuff ourselves with plates heaped with refried beans, rice, melted cheese, and an assortment of meats and vegetables. Then we'd spend the rest of the evening groaning and moaning about how uncomfortable we had made ourselves.

Last night was a wee bit different.

We were dining with my sister Adriana (who has decided to give being a lacto-ovo vegetarian a try) and her husband Brad. They immediately dug into the chips as soon as they were delivered to the table. Robbie and I decided to wait until we knew for sure that they weren't made with lard. We asked our waitress as she delivered our waters, and sure enough, lard chips they were! I was so proud of us: we didn't even have a nibble of them!

We scoured the menu, (see for yourself: http://www.ameristar.com/Files/CP_PanchoVillaMenu.pdf ) trying to find something that was vegan-esque. Not an easy task. The only thing we saw was guacamole fresco; however, served with the lard chips, there went that idea! We asked the waitress a variety of questions about how the meals were prepared: were the beans made with lard? is your rice cooked in lard? what about your tortillas? if we order this, can you leave out the cheese? She patiently answered our questions, although I'm pretty sure I saw some annoyance cross her face.

As I finished my order and as she began to take my sister's order, my husband leaned over and said, "You sound like a real snob when you order." I was taken aback: I asked him what I had done that was so bad. He explained that he didn't necessarily mean that I sounded like a snob, but that anyone who orders like that sounds like a snob. But in my defense, I asked him how else a person is to know how things are prepared unless s/he asks.

Katie has vented about similar situations that she's encountered in her travels and during meals out. Some companies/restaurants claim to be vegetarian friendly but turn out not to be, or some feign interest in accommodating her needs but then fail miserably . . . and without apology.

Short story long, Robbie and I were able to enjoy a nice evening away from home and even though we felt a little deprived (especially as my brother-in-law would announce each of his non-vegan bites, being sure that we watching with saliva-dripping desire) we were able to stay on course and had a surprisingly delicious meal.

Robbie had a bean burrito (minus the cheese) and black beans. I had a spinach and mushroom enchilada minus all cheese and sauce, served with black beans. When the server brought out my meal, I said "That looks pretty good." But, realistically, my plate looked like someone had scooped pond scum out of the canal, wrapped a tortilla around it and plopped it next to a pile of . . . well, you get the picture.

So, unless the server was wrong/lying about the flour tortillas being lard-free, we're doing great! My energy level is good, and I'm still excited about the program.