Q:

Is it inappropriate to ask an Indian co-worker if they eat meat?

The company I work for hires a lot of contractors, some of which are Indian. I want to stay as inclusive with my team as possible, so making small-talk about food, or going out for a team lunch is usually my go to for socializing. I often want to suggest a diner nearby, or a steakhouse, but I don't want to run the risk of offending or excluding anyone on the team. 
From what I understand, there is a large vegetarian culture in India, on top of a culture against eating beef. Would it be insensitive or inappropriate to stereotype my co-workers by asking them if they eat beef, or other types of meat?

A:

The better way to be inclusive (in this and other cases) is to either ask if they have any food preferences, or ask if they have some preferred restaurants.  
That allows them to volunteer what they want.  They may suggest some restaurants and you should choose one of those.  That way you already know there is food that they can order.  Or they might offer a list of foods they avoid, which will help you in choosing an inclusive restaurant. 

A:

Yes a significant portion of Indian workers are vegetarians. Very few of the ones who eat meat, in my experience will eat beef because cows are sacred in India among Hindus.
It is great to suggest places to eat but I would never suggest a steak house.  And I would always be sure to pick a place that has vegetarian (but not necessarily vegan, they can eat cheese) choices. That way you don't run the risk of being offensive without having to ask.
Now if the restaurant has plenty of other choices, you can order a meal with beef if you want.  Just don't go anywhere that serves mostly beef as that would be insensitive to their culture.  
If you go to an an American style restaurant, you may have to help them find the vegetarian choices as what they call things and what we call things may not be the same. I remember some Indian colleagues at a picnic who did not know that coleslaw was safe to eat because they had no idea what coleslaw had in it.  Especially let them know that something has beef or pork if that is what they are looking at. Especially if it is in something like green beans that appears to be a vegetable dish to them.

A:

As a Hindu vegetarian having grown up my whole life in New Zealand, I would not be offended by someone at work suggesting a lunch/dinner place that served a lot of meat (I suppose this includes Beef as well). Sometimes I feel a little awkward and like I'm a bit of a nuisance because of my dietary requirements which sometimes restrict the variety of restaurants/cuisines we can go to.
From my perspective, the best thing would be for you to suggest a couple of places that do have sufficient vegetarian options and as mentioned above BBQ restaurants are not necessarily ideal. Most restaurants and cuisines apart from a few South-East Asian cuisines will have ample vegetarian options.
On the note of offending, I don't think you should be worried about offending them, as it is not rude to enquire about another culture. But do make it clear from what perspective you're asking e.g. "We want to go for dinner tomorrow night, does anyone have any suggestions.. oh and are there any vegetarians or dietary requirements?" The alternative when you're in a more curious mood, is to ask one-on-one "So are you vegetarian? Are many Indians vegetarian? What's the story with beef... " so on and so on.
Hope this makes some progress towards answering your question.

