Great Drink Options to Compliment your Vegetarian Meals

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The right drink can make the meal. It happens all the time in restaurants. Your server will approach you and offer the perfect complimentary wine for the dish you have chosen to eat. White wines go with chicken and most seafood. Red wines go with beef and pork. Wine is not the only drink that compliments foods well. Milk is almost always a must with cookies. Coffee goes with cake and breakfast pastries. The list goes on. The point is that the drink makes the meal. Whatever you are eating and wherever you grab a bite to eat, choosing the drink to go with the food can be as big of a decision as the decision of what food to eat in the first place. Meats and desserts seem to have been paired well. The combinations are well known. Pairing drinks with vegetarian dishes may be a less well known art. Following are a few tricks to making your vegetarian meals complete with the best drinks for the job.

Water, Water Everywhere
The first drink option is probably the most obvious. Water does seem to go with nearly any food you may choose to eat. While it is not difficult to figure out that water can be paired with anything, it can be easily overlooked. Regardless of the meal you are serving and regardless of the corresponding drink that will work well with that meal, you should always serve water as well. Water works well as a palate cleanser and is essential for maintaining appropriate hydration levels. Even if you have the perfect drink for the meal, it won’t be sufficient without a glass of water on the side.

Alcoholic Beverages
Many vegetarian dishes are complimented well by alcoholic beverages. Alcohol actually chemically works well with several types of vegetarian dishes. While deeply colored vegetables and whole grains are improving heart health, alcohol, in small amounts, does the same job. Richly flavored meals such as curries and other Asian dishes will be set off well by a sweet white wine. Beer works well with even more deeply flavored, nuttier dishes. The trick to choosing the right alcoholic beverage is to either match richness of flavor or to sharply contrast. If you offer a heavy meal, beers will match the heaviness. If you offer a spicy meal, something sweet will contrast beautifully. Especially with alcoholic beverages though, be sure to also offer water.

Fruit Juices
Juice may seem like a whimsical, almost childish drink. For that reason, offer juices in combination with light salad lunches. Salads are often lacking in calories, so the natural sugar content in juice will boost your energy levels after lunch. Juice is a great drink option because it is colorful and bright. Do not serve juice with starchy meals such as pasta or rice. Also avoid serving it with any meals that contain a significant amount of spice or sugar on their own. The carbohydrates and sugars found in juices should always be served in contrast to your meal. If you must serve juice with one of the restricted meals, consider vegetable juice instead.