Jul 20, 2016 3 min read

Here’s the problem: You’re taking a guest out to dinner, but your guest has a restricted diet. Maybe he’s a vegetarian, or even a vegan. Maybe she is unable to tolerate dairy products like milk and cheese. Perhaps her digestive system cannot tolerate gluten.

Where will you take your guest, and what will he or she be able to order from the menu? If you have been in this situation, then you know that about the only choice your guest has at most restaurants in this area is a tossed salad.

Obesity is a national problem, and people will continue to get fatter and fatter unless they exercise more and change their eating habits. Eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and less meat and pizza – at 375 calories a slice – helps greatly. Yet menus in Washington and Greene counties offer little if anything in the way of vegetarian meals.

Farmers’ markets like the ones in Washington and Waynesburg are highly popular and feature produce – some of it organic and all of it fresh – from local farms. The interest in eating healthier and more nutritious food is there, yet local restaurants have not picked up on the trend. Their menus in late July are the same as they are in late January; your cheeseburger topped with a pale, tasteless slice of tomato grown weeks ago thousands of miles away.

We are not a metropolis here, and it may be too much to hope for a restaurant offers seasonal and vegetarian dishes. But local eateries ought to be aware of how many people have restricted diets and offer them more menu choices.

It was noted in Tuesday’s edition that Whole Foods is hoping to open its new store across Route 19 from South Hills Village by Dec. 5. The store is well known for offering organic produce and groceries and other foods not commonly found at supermarkets. Whole Foods, called “Whole Paycheck” by some sarcastic customers, is popular with health-conscious people who are careful about what they eat. The store is being built on the former Consol Energy headquarters in a complex that will feature upscale retail and restaurants and 33 residential units. Although two of the restaurants planned for the complex will emphasize fresh food, it’s ironic, given their proximity to Whole Foods shoppers, that they will be serving up pizza and burgers.

Aren’t there enough of those places already?