When Sean Heather first came to Canada, vegetarian was a dirty word in his vocabulary. Coming from the farming culture of Ireland, he couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t eat meat. While working at Benny’s Bagels, Sean encountered a massive football player who regularly ate vegetarian sandwiches two at a time. Amazed, Sean said to him, “Wow, you’re a professional athlete and you eat vegetarian? How does that work for you?” The football player replied, “I’m not a vegetarian. These just taste good, brother, you should try one.” Sean did and thought they were fantastic. That’s when he realized you don’t have to be a vegetarian to eat vegetarian food.
The thing about most restaurants is, they treat vegetarians as an after thought, not bothering to go out of their way to provide quality vegetarian and vegan options. Choices are either limited, or non-existent. In order to find GOOD vegetarian or vegan fare, you usually have to go to a restaurant that specializes in that type of cuisine. For a group of friends going out to dinner, it can be difficult to find a place that caters to one group without alienating the other.
Sean explains, “The Irish Heather’s menu has always had a good vegetarian component to it because a. it’s important to represent everybody, and b. because vegetarian food can taste just as good as everything else. I‘ve never met a vegan or a vegetarian who didn‘t like beer, and so, pubs are great venues for these folks, but if the food is not there to meet their needs, they won’t come back. More than anything else, it’s important to not just put a plate of veggies in front of someone, but to make an effort and create something special. In doing this, we’re taking their beliefs or choices seriously.”
So, if you are vegetarian or vegan, or even if you just want to try something new, come to The Irish Heather. We have a Vegan Pot Pie made in our own bakery that not only tastes and looks great, but works perfect with a pint of almost anything we have on tap.
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