Restaurants

[Lanoushay]

Hello everyone! So since I started my job (a pharma rep), I need to wine and dine these doctors to some really nice restaurants. I get so tempted when i go because these restaurants are soooo upscale! I don't know what to dooo! help!:mad:

[juliebove]

One good thing about upscale restaurants is that you can usually get a good salad in them. But you might need to have them leave some things off. Like cheese and candied nuts. But from there it can get tricky. There seems to be two kinds of chefs. One that will go out of his/her way to accomodate you. And one who considers it an insult to change any of his/her recipes or to make special food for people. Luckily most are willing to accomodate. I don't personally like most upscale restaurants simply because I don't like most of the food they serve and I feel uncomfortable in them. But I do remember one in Canada that made me really happy. They had a vegetarian plate on the menu that could be made any way you wanted it. With rice, with pasta, with potato, steamed vegetables, raw vegetables, whatever. The menu listed out what all was available and you simply told the server what it was you wanted and how you wanted it prepared.

One thing you might do is find one or two restaurants that are the most accomodating to you and try to stick to dining at those places. You could call them ahead of time, explain your diet to them and see if they can come up with something for you. This is what I do, although not necessarily fancy places. My daughter and I have food allergies, so dining out can be difficutl, especially for her! She is allergic to more than I am. Even bananas. So ordering a fruit plate for her can be a bad thing. Once we become regulars at a few places, they know what we can eat and are eager to point out anything new they have that we might be able to eat.

[hypnocmt]

I eat out with my doctor friends all the time. :)

Salads are always super good in the best restaurants. So many have wonderful, vibrant mixes of greens and uncommon produce like kumquats and star fruit. YUM! Plus so many of the best chefs choose organic food for it's superior flavor.

Many have beautiful gazpachos in the summer too!

You can't get more chic-looking than being the girl with the pelligrino (slice of orange or lime on the rim) in the goblet, daintily eating the salad and raw bisque...

Just see the choice to eat raw and lean as a display of elegance rather than restraint. You will appear very in control..and the person in control cuts the best deals.

[spicyfull]

What about calling ahead asking if something as simple as Mushroom, garlic and Soy Sauce can be prepared. Even a Special Salad. You know its the Squeaky wheel that gets the oil..........

[DavidZaneMason]

The above suggestions are great. It's NOT unusual for people on 'special diets' to pack their own small meal in a container and bring it to a restaurant. I personally do not turn over my health to some one else preparing my food. I would call ahead to the various restaurants and ask if I was allowed to entertain clients at their establishment - while bringing my own 'special diet' in a container. At that point, they would either allow it.......or offer to re-create my
'special diet' without me even having to ask. Very convenient. I've been all-raw for many years....and been to hundreds of restaurants, weddings, business meetings, etc., and NEVER had a problem bringing and eating my own 'special diet'.

-And by the way: I never call ahead! Ha! ha! I just bring it anyway.....and eat when I get there. No one has ever kicked me out of their restaurant! :)

-Just a suggestion or two!

-David Z. Mason

[monkeyboy]

Oh Boy,

David Mason you rebel....too much sun down in Florida I guess.

I do not suggest you bring your tuperware to a restaurant when you are trying to close a deal.

Take them to a nice place and do call ahead.
You are going to drop a couple of hundred on the Am Ex.
Just tell the manager or lead kitchen guy what your situation is.
Kitchen guys love to show off.

They have mixed greens, romaine, spinach back there.
Veggie of the day, and fruit for pies and garnish.

I've had meals at some of Americas best steakhouses and never had trouble eating raw. For example.

Close the deal and enjoy your meal. (I made that up)


Peace and Chicken grease,

M. B.

[JGex]

Nevermind.....

[monkeyboy]

Dearest J Gex,

Don't generalize.



We all need to make a living.

Plenty of rawfooders have trouble with the record industry.


Peace,

M.B.

[Elizabeth]

Dearest J Gex,




Don't go there.

We all need to make a living.

Plenty of rawfooders have trouble with the record industry.


Peace,

M.B.

:) you said that so nicely.....:)

[JGex]

Dearest J Gex,

Don't generalize.



We all need to make a living.

Plenty of rawfooders have trouble with the record industry.


Peace,

M.B.

Point taken.

I don't work for the record industry:p

[monkeyboy]

Sorry JGex,


You work "with" the music industry. (beckla thread about martin sexton)

My bad.

Peace,

M.B.

[JGex]

lol, it's confusing, I know.... I dislike the music industry myself. We do art work for mostly independent musicians and promoters.

[Veganforlife]

The above suggestions are great. It's NOT unusual for people on 'special diets' to pack their own small meal in a container and bring it to a restaurant. I personally do not turn over my health to some one else preparing my food. I would call ahead to the various restaurants and ask if I was allowed to entertain clients at their establishment - while bringing my own 'special diet' in a container. At that point, they would either allow it.......or offer to re-create my
'special diet' without me even having to ask. Very convenient. I've been all-raw for many years....and been to hundreds of restaurants, weddings, business meetings, etc., and NEVER had a problem bringing and eating my own 'special diet'.

-And by the way: I never call ahead! Ha! ha! I just bring it anyway.....and eat when I get there. No one has ever kicked me out of their restaurant! :)

-Just a suggestion or two!

-David Z. Mason

I so agree! I take my foods with me all the time. And I've never been kicked out either.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hello everyone! So since I started my job (a pharma rep), I need to wine and dine these doctors to some really nice restaurants. I get so tempted when i go because these restaurants are soooo upscale! I don't know what to dooo! help!:mad:

A big pharma rep will really be shaking up the doc's world. What will they think when you are promoting drugs yet eating a raw food diet? Will there be a mixed message somewhere in there?

Just curious if you feel there might be a conflict of interest, is all!

I agree with the others, though, the nicer the restaraunt, the better the ingredients. You'll get top quality produce presented in the nicest way. If you are hesitant to explain exactly what you want, you can always ask for one of their entree sized salads with everything on the side.

[JGex]

Hmmmm, I'm not the only one curious....

[Veganforlife]

Oh I'm curious - I couldn't be a pharma rep - my big mouth would get me in trouble! :eek:

[JGex]

Oh I'm curious - I couldn't be a pharma rep - my big mouth would get me in trouble! :eek:

Yeah, me, too... but I'm sure most of you already know that..... you know, I have a big mouth. :o

[Veganforlife]

Yeah, me, too... but I'm sure most of you already know that..... you know, I have a big mouth. :o

There ain't nuthin' wrong with that! It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. I'm in my 50's, I've got a lot to say, time is running out, and if you can't deal with it, build a bridge and get over it! ;)

[juliebove]

The above suggestions are great. It's NOT unusual for people on 'special diets' to pack their own small meal in a container and bring it to a restaurant. I personally do not turn over my health to some one else preparing my food. I would call ahead to the various restaurants and ask if I was allowed to entertain clients at their establishment - while bringing my own 'special diet' in a container. At that point, they would either allow it.......or offer to re-create my
'special diet' without me even having to ask. Very convenient. I've been all-raw for many years....and been to hundreds of restaurants, weddings, business meetings, etc., and NEVER had a problem bringing and eating my own 'special diet'.

-And by the way: I never call ahead! Ha! ha! I just bring it anyway.....and eat when I get there. No one has ever kicked me out of their restaurant! :)

-Just a suggestion or two!

-David Z. Mason

Might be legal to do where you're at but here it is a health code violation and any restaurant that wants to stay open will not allow it. You can't bring your own food in restaurants here.

[sbaker]

if you frequent the same places and leave a nice tip they are VERY accomodating for the most part. my mom and her man go out every night in the napa/bay area and have about 5-6 places they go to, and when they walk in they have a table ready, and a bowl of sugar ( the man likes his sugar) and ice tea on the table in about 2 seconds.
they may take offence when you try to change around your salad when they dont know who you are, but i bet if you are in their regulary and treat their staff well... they will quickly adapt to you. i've found in those nicer places they like to keep their staff turn around low ...so you will get to know the people fast too.
the only place i have EVER had trouble was chez penez (sp?) in berkely, its suppose to be one of the best places in the country, its even on a trivial pursuit card.... but the waitor freaked on me when i asked to have the salad without the cheese on it, and quickly pointed out the "no substitutions" sentence on the menu. he was a dick, and the food was NOT worth the 200$ my mom and i dropped there for lunch. lesson learned!!

[sbaker]

as for the pharm rep thing....
i would have a hard time doing it too..i think thats the only purpose of Dr. is to write out drug prescriptions... BUT
i know you make tons of $$ so let the pharm company you work for pay for all your organic food and your lifestyle:)
turn the evil $ clean... and live long and healthy so you dont become one of their customers;)

keep you enemies close....

[hypnocmt]

I'm not sure I could work in the pahrmaceutical inductry. Inherently, there is a conflict of interest between the ideology at the heart of raw foodism, and the pharmaceutical BIG BROTHER- BIG BIZ practices., imho. BUT, we all have to live and pay some bills. A work life and home life which cause a conflict of consciousness will eventually need to be sorted out, and priorities adjusted to suit the individual. So there's that.

I wonder how much good we can do by regarding the doctors as adversaries? True, they are there to dole out 'scrips. However, they have diagnostic materials and clinical exopertise available to them that can serve their patients very well; it has been mentioned here that symptoms can look like one illness and indicate another. Accurate diagnosis is essential to accurate treatment. They're not perfect, but I can assure you that alt. med is not either. In the middle way is wisdom, right? So allopathic medicine has it's place.

If we were in more of a position to INFORM doctors about alternatives, and could provide them with scientific proof of those alternatives' viabililty, we could make real progress in shfting the westerm doctors' toolboxes to becoming more inlcusive of a variey of remedies, from massage, to meditation, to herbs and even vibrational healing.

Many of them are eager to learn more, but one has to speak IN THEIR LANGUAGE...which is the language of science.

(BTW: those of you who are raw food educators- if you feel strongly about instigating change, why not offer to speak at grand rounds in your local hospital?? THAT could be a miraculous means of creating awareness!)

If I were offered a job with a pharmaceutical co. I would take it as a way to learn the ins and outs of the business, gain tribal knowledge and then later use it infiltrate and reorder the cabal. Change has to start with a gentle touch sometimes. Maybe you go over to the other side, and then start to coax them to YOUR side. I dunno. Just a differnet way to approach things, I guess. :p

Many docs,once they are patients (as they ineveitably are due to job stress and BAD health practices) come around to WANTING to reunite with their original intentions- to heal themselevs and others. This is when they have a great opening of consciousness and become quite receptive to intelligently presented suggestions for paradigm change.

If nothing else,. at least you can take pleasure in draining the pharma company's expense accounts!