Vegetarian in Paraguay In her blog, "Hola Paraguay", Erynne writes: "Basically a vegetarian wouldn´t last here". (see link below). On facebook, Lisa writes "It's challenging, but it can be done!" (referring to being vegetarian in Uruguay).I would disagree and suggest that not only is it easy, but it is delightful as well. There are a few things you need to keep your eyes open for, but aside from that you can enjoy a delightful selection of non-animal based food in both countries. The mainstay of food in Paraguay (and Uruguay) is MEAT. And when there isn't meat there is cheese (animal fat) and ham. Ham gets a special mention because it tends to get put in a lot of stuff as a garnish or something. Now, the first thing a vegetarian might want to is look for a vegetarian restaurant. There are some, such as Casa Mia's in el centro and Villa Morra (chinese vegetarian). But I might suggest that a better place to go is a churrasqueria. What is a churrasqueria? It is simply an all you can eat BBQ restaurant. Yes, all the meat you can possibly eat. And, yes, that is the perfect place for a vegetarian, because the churrasquerias always have a big buffet offering plent for the non-meat eater too. There are many buffet style restaurants (most you pay by the kilo for your plate) which offer lots for the vegetarian to feast on. In other restaurants you'll be sure to find a variety of plates that aren't meat, cheese, or ham based. However, it is a good idea to ask/specific that you don't want ham or cheese. Both of those are ubiquitous items. In one restaurant where I regularly order a salad, it came out just heaped with cheese one day. Cheese isn't listed on the menu, but one day the chef figured it was a good idea. Now I order that salad without cheese. One day at a buffet I go to regulary, all the salads had ham on them. I asked why and the answer was simply, "the boss said to put ham on everything". When ordering, just ask to avoid disappointment or confusion. Unlike, Uruguay where pizza is made without cheese (unless you order a muzzarla), pizza in Paraguay comes with cheese. You can order it without cheese and get some really strange looks and a delicious pizza. Most of the traditional foods seem to be meat or cheese based. For example, Chipa is basically corn bread with cheese mixed in the batter. Expert Page: Expat Services from Total Paraguay | 
