Just caught up on Top Chef, and remembered why I don’t watch it, which is mostly because it’s more aggravating than relaxing to watch what you’re around every day for a living. The nugget from this week’s episode, built off of a vegetarian entree challenge, was definitely actress Natalie Portman saying, “I’m walking into restaurants all the time that don’t have vegetarian entrees, and chefs have to improvise.” A collective look of “oh, shit” rang out from the contestants, and a ravaging of the vegetable cooler commenced. First off, seriously? These chefs didn’t come in with a few veggie entrees in their cap? I find that hard to believe. This happens all the freaking time in restaurants, but on the other hand, the moral of this reality-TV story is that you can minimize your possible dissatisfaction, real world vegetarian, if you give chefs a fighting chance to really cook for you.We don’t have this problem as much in Seattle or on the West Coast because every restaurant worth its salt has a vegetarian dish or more on the menu or something easily made so; and many of these dishes are also vegan-convertible. Some restaurants, like the steakhouse in this episode, are just not built for vegetarians. So if you wait until you’re at the table ordering food from the waiter, you’ve limited yourself, your dining experience, and the ability of a chef to cook for you. The greens already are creamed.So, dear vegetarian and vegan (and also allergic-to-garlic guy and peanut-allergy person), you can help restaurants better serve you by giving a simple heads-up. Remember that old chestnut, “Phone first, you’ll always know?” It will ensure you get the best meal possible, not half-assed attempts like some of those stupid veggie plates served up on Top Chef this week. Leeks as scallops? Nimrod. It will also keep you from, as I hear my vegetarian friends complain, another GD grilled portabello mushroom cap.Forget that it’s just the courteous thing to do. Any time you can give a kitchen any advance notice as to your special needs–even if it’s at the host desk–it will pay off for you. The best payoff comes when you make a note with your reservation. That way the kitchen may be able to offer more options for you by holding a few things back during prep (not parcooking vegetables with meat stock, butter, or cream, or creating a meatless gravy, and so on). Everyone’s a winner.