Vegan or vegetarian?

I am now in my 86th vegetarian year, or at least malo lactic vegetarian year, living quite contentedly on a diet that keeps me firmly away from red meat, but has no religious or ethical significance. I love vegetables and eat an awful lot of them, which Is why I have been interested to note the growth of vegan options on restaurant menus, as I would expect them to suit me. The other night, when it was my wife’s turn to choose our date night dining spot, I was interested that she selected a vegan restaurant, as she is by no means a vegetarian or vegan. The appearance of the place, which shall remain nameless, as I am sure they mean well, was distinctly different, the abundance of pseudo spiders webs’, may have had something to do with it. The clientele apart from us was no more than a third of our age, and clearly following a different dress code.

We entered and stood around, but no one offered us a place to sit so we sat at a table, and then realised we would have to go to a counter to order. We found ourselves a menu, and discovered that the principal choice was between Paninis, Warm Wraps, Hot Bowls and Cold Bowls. I know what paninis are, and also what wraps are the issue that remained is the choice of Hot or Cold Bowls. Does the hot/cold refer to temperature or spiciness? Without hesitation, my wife plunged for Coconut Curry: chickpeas, zucchini spirals, root veggies, kale, raisins, and pepitas. They must have forgotten the Coconut. Being braver than my wife, I ordered, also from the hot bowl area a Veta Vegetable Bowl: Zucchini spirals, tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, green lentils, red peppers, and tomato chili sauce. Zucchini spirals for heavens sake, it tastes of nothing anyway so when you spiral it it just leads to spillage and confusion. It had all been chopped up into tiny pieces or served out with a scoop, but everything was still raw. The Hot Bowl was cold.

Is it just me, or is there some giant conspiracy to not cook or undercook vegetables? Is there a giant conspiracy organised by dentists to wear out our teeth on uncooked or partially cooked veggies? Is this a response to the energy crisis, forbidding cooking things properly?

I shall never know, but I shall from now on approach vegan with more caution or open a can of baked beans.