Hostile Hospitality
By FullMentalPanic
The invitation issued and accepted, he turned away from the stumping pride of the dwarves to where Lindir was valorously concealing his unease. "We will be courteous," Elrond said with low finality. "There will be no lack from the field or the wells on our table, the quantity and quality shall be exemplary."
They pulled out the minty green of leeks, ruffled elegance of lettuce, stately spears of asparagus, intricately veined chard, chartreuse veils of cabbage, and columns of celery. Fresh from the stalk and the vine, leafed in abundance and crisp on the tongue, the fare had barely ceased growing when it was laid on the table. Scrupulous in their selection, only superior examples approached the visitors' plates.
In less than a fortnight, their guests had departed.
Mithrandir was even more tetchy than usual. "What did you suppose you would accomplish with this oversight?" he grumbled over a hastily thrown together meal. "Dwarves detest eating raw greenery of any sort."
Elrond arched a perfectly comprehending eyebrow over a succulently roasted slice of venison and stated, "I know."
A/N: The ire between the dwarves and elves was one of the parts I enjoyed the most about The Hobbit film. However, rather than the elves being exclusively vegetarian, I think it's more likely that they pulled out all the culinary fare that was most likely to get the dwarves to leave quickly, without accusations of discourtesy being thrown around. Elves are not - uniformly - vegetarian. When the dwarves stumbled in on the Mirkwood elves it was because those elves were essentially having a barbecue out in the forest. Bilbo was able to keep sneaking in and out of Thranduil's palace because the elves were going on hunting trips. Serving the dwarves only veggies was a calculated move.