On being a vegetarian in Manchester, NH

When I moved to Manchester, NH, in 2004, I did not eat meat. And I probably would’ve remained vegetarian had my new friend Glenn not tempted me with what he swore was as “THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD:”

 

Maybe my body was craving animal proteins. Maybe the shock of the New Hampshire winter had me craving something more hearty and substantial than a vegetable sub. In any event, I let myself be talked into ordering the above-shown nacho-crusted chicken sandwich on my first visit to the Wild Rover Pub.

And it was, truly, everything Glenn promised: “THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD.”

But it came with a price. Like Pringles, I found afterwards that couldn’t eat just one meaty meal. The nacho-crusted chicken sandwich was like a gateway drug. Indeed, it marked the beginning of a slippery slope back to into omnivorous dining. So it goes.

In recent months, however, the missus and I have decided — mainly for environmental reasons — that we’d like to give vegetarianism another go. No more steak teriyaki pizza from Olympus Pizza. No more bacon and leek scones at Jewel and Beanstalk. No more duck poutine from Z Food and Drink:

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Who says Manchester has no culinary diversity?

About a month ago I was eating lunch with a group of co-conspirators in a Vietnamese place in Dorchester, Mass. I was midway through an unbelievably hot bowl of pho when one of my dining companions uttered something that nearly caused me to drop my spoon.

“Manchester needs some ethnic restaurants,” she said.

Truth be told, this woman wasn’t the first person I’ve heard bemoaning the city dining scene’s alleged lack of diversity. But the more I hear it, the more it annoys me. Granted, Manchester is not Boston and it’s certainly not New York. So yes: it’s much easier to find a grinder in this town than it is some decent falafel. But for a city of 100,000-plus, I think we’re doing pretty well.

By my count, there are more than a dozen ethnic cuisines represented among the city’s eateries, from the Quebeqois cuisine served up at Chez Vachon to the excellent Nepali cuisine at Café Momo to the mouth-watering paneer shahi korma at India Palace, Manchester’s culinary offerings span the globe.

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