The Old and The New in NJ

My last few days on the East Coast were spent primarily in New Jersey, my home state. There was plenty of home cooking going on, especially as my restaurant-a-day lifestyle was becoming tiresome (I know, poor me, right?), but I did manage to get to an old favorite and a new-to-me restaurant with some great options. First up, Caffe Galleria.

I've been to CG before, as I have family who live nearby. Not only is it in the cute town of Lambertville, NJ (across the walkable bridge from other cute town, New Hope, PA) but it delivers on its promise of being "the place where the unapologetic carnivore and the dedicated vegan can dine together happily." There are plenty of tasty vegan options - from my ginger veggie couscous dish, above, to pastas and hummus platters and roasted seitan - and your idiot friends can eat steak too! Plus it's cozy, the people are nice, and strolling around post-meal is uber pleasant.

In another neck of woods lies Highland Park, NJ and Zeina. Normally when I'm in this hood I head to Pad Thai (super great and vegan-friendly Thai food), but this Mediterranean restaurant is serving up some fine fare, folks! Above you see my mixed greens salad which I topped with an order of falafel. If you look hard, you'll see that we had already devoured the hummus and a spiced tomato and herb appetizer as well. There were also dolmas involved. It was a feast... and yet there were so many vegan things on the menu I didn't get to try. Next time I'm in NJ, I will definitely go back.

Off to LA this weekend, but I've been having some great eats at new-t0-me spots in San Francisco that I'll tell you about when I'm back. Have a great weekend, everyone. Eat Well!