The trouble with this is firstly that is going to be annoying hassle for the waiters, who what 8 or 9 times out of 10 won't even know the answer (maybe less if you eat at good restaurants in developed countries) and also will make you the awkward, embarrassing one to your friends and family.
Jaime, I understand your point. Yes, it happens to me most of the time that waiters don't know much about the food they are serving day in and day out, and say that they have to ask the chef first. (A notable exception to that rule was a Syrian restaurant in Germany, where the waiter recited from memory every ingredient that goes into their dishes. I was quite impressed with that, but it is the exception, not the rule) And yes, it can be embarassing the first time. Nevertheless, in that case typically everybody else orders what they want and their orders are relayed to the kitchen, and then the waiter comes back and tells me about the dish I want to order. So nobody really has to wait.
I agree, spaghetti should be vegan (so I also normally don't ask whether there is egg in the spaghetti, but make sure that the waiter understands that I do not want any parmesan to go with it).
But I do ask about Pizza, and unfortunately, I have to say that most of the big chains add egg and/or dairy to the pizza dough (another thing that would be considered an atrocity in Italy, but well, what can you do?), so I order the spaghetti. At Domino's Pizza (unfortunately one of my kids favourites), I can not even get spaghetti with tomato sauce, as they claim to only have meat-based sauce and those dishes are ready-to-warm
I mentioned earlier that I had spaghetti with tomato sauce (hold the cheese) 4 times in 4 days on a business trip to Mexico, did I not? Of course, that was partially due to our hosts selecting the restaurants and - as always in such business trips unfortunately - the main deciding point was how large are the steaks that they serve
If I had been on my own, I would, e.g. have checked
www.happycow.net to find out if there are any vegan-friendly places in the area.
Anyway, when I know I do have a big business lunch with colleagues upcoming and know about it in time, I would typically call the restaurant beforehand and ask them if they do have any vegan options if you want to visit them. Typically, they are much more accommodating if you ask before, and you can then refer to that information once you are there then.
As you say you have a fair command of Spanish, I assume you are an expat in Chile - so you should likely get some more leeway for your strange ways
My local colleagues here in Malaysia have learned about my peculiar habits, so by now, when they look up a restaurant for a company dinner, they will also ask for vegan options when making the reservation.
But just don't think too much about it and don't over-analyze it - simply try it out!
Best regards,
Andy
