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• Vegans, move along unless you just want drinks

On a mission trip with several other people, we went to this place twice in a week. The ambiance is beautiful. First night - pasta. Average at best. Second night - disaster. I attempted to order the portobello mushroom burger with no cheese. The waiter did not speak English, so I explained in my limited Spanish, "no meat, no eggs, no milk, no butter, no cheese." He said he understood, then brought an English-speaking waitress over to clarify the order. Our group's translator spoke with both of them explaining fully and clearly what being vegan means and what modifications were needed. Confirming one more time, I asked the waitress if there was egg or dairy in the bun, and she decided we needed to switch to basic white sandwich bread. Half of our group had already received their food and finished eating by the time the rest of us got our meals. Mine looked awful - like a kids meal with wonder bread. Fortunately I cut into the sandwich/burger before taking a bite - it was covered in melted cheese. My fiance found the waiter and asked to have the meal remade. Two minutes later the guy returned with the exact same gross-looking plate of food (same smushed bread cut in half), and they had just pulled cheese off. Initially I said to him that I wanted a box, as everybody else was already finished eating their meals by that time. It occurred to me as he walked away that I didn't need to try to be polite and take home a meal I would never eat. I got up and followed the guy to the bar to let him know I didn't want it. Not realizing I was standing behind him, he talked trash about me to his coworker while I stood there waiting for him to turn around. The whole thing was a fiasco and was pretty humiliating. It is already a challenge to dine out as a vegan, but especially so in another country traveling with a group of omnivores I was just meeting for the first time. It was also upsetting to leave a restaurant without eating.