Pescetarianism. It's a word that has only been part of my vocabulary for a year or so, and I have yet to stumble upon anyone who's familiar with it. It actually describes a person that has adopted a vegetarian diet that includes seafood and fish.
I respect vegetarianism, and any other dietary restriction that one chooses, whether it be for reasons of religion, politics, health, or simply personal taste. At one point in my life, I adhered to a diet known as pollotarianism (though I didn't know it at the time), where I chose to eat no meat with the exception of fowl- predominately chicken.
Virtually every vegetarian I know considers themselves a “vegetarian that eats ____” (fill in the blank with whatever exception you can imagine). But, that in itself is a dietary choice known as flexitarianism, which describes someone that is almost always a vegetarian, but makes occasional exceptions for whatever reason.
Let me say first, that vegetarians do not eat any meat, be it fish or fowl-- at all. The most common vegetarian is the lacto ovo vegetarian, who does not eat meat, but does eat eggs, honey and dairy products. Or, there are variations on the vegetarian theme that follow stricter guidelines. There is lacto vegetarianism, which avoids eggs, ovo vegetarianism which avoids dairy, or straight up veganism wherein ALL animal products are forsaken. There are many other variations on dietary restrictions, including the macro-biotic diet, the turn of the century's craze revolving around the raw food movement and the recent upswing in the regional diet known as localvorism. One of the most extreme of any of these has to be fruitism or speciesism, where only fruits, nuts, seeds and other items that are gathered without harming the plant are eaten.
I've heard twice in the last few months from media sources that vegetarianism is on the decline. Perhaps the numbers differ depending on how the poll qualifies vegetarianism. I know at least a dozen vegetarians, only two of which fall under the latter guideline mentioned above.
Either way, Buffalo has a pretty solid vegetarian population, which, in all likelihood, increases every fall with the massive influx of college students. So why is it that we don't have a strictly vegetarian restaurant? How is it that our community has decided that a Boca burger cooked on the same grill as a Black Angus patty is an acceptable option? Amy's Place and the Main Menu are both good examples of restaurants that have incorporated sturdy vegetarian elements into their menu, but certainly a well-located vegetarian restaurant serving delicious and fresh food is an opportunity just waiting to happen. Even the most voracious carnivore can enjoy a well-prepared vegetarian meal.
And yes, that is smiling lunch meat....