Navigating the Parties

What do vegans eat at dinner parties?  Well, this one has not been eating very well.  At the last one, I thought I'd try to eat vegan as much as possible.  So when the appetizers came out, I had crackers but no cheese.  Then the salad had fresh parmesan cheese grated on it.  I didn't eat the chicken, but did have some of the pasta with alfredo sauce.  I think I need to start hanging out in the kitchen and getting my plate filled early.  If I'd done that, I could have asked for salad before the cheese was grated on it, and for pasta before the sauce was added.  We'll see how I do in the next round of parties.