Yeah, there are several middle grounds for eating out. Lots of people (including me) keep a much stricter standard at home than when they're out or visiting non-Jewish friends. A minority of Jews interpret the rules in a way that means they can never eat any food not prepared by similarly observant Jews, but that's unusual outside small enclaves these days.

Common compromises include: eat vegetarian food only, as you suggested. Some go further and eat only in strictly vegetarian establishments (so that they can be confident that none of the ovens, plates etc are ritually contaminated with non-kosher meat). Another variant is to eat only cold food, because cold food has less potential to ritually contaminate things than hot.

Another compromise is what's often referred to as "Biblical" kosher. Which is to say, people don't eat the species that are prohibited in the Bible, eg pig and pork products, shellfish etc, but do eat the permitted species such as beef, lamb, chicken, without regarding whether the animal was correctly slaughtered. Some will count halal meat as close enough to kosher, because the ritual slaughter is basically the same even if carried out by a Muslim rather than a Jew.