NJ/NYC Eats Galore!

I was in NJ last week for my cousin's fabulous wedding and, of course, there was much dining out involved.  Here's a quick run down of some of the best:

The first meal of my trip was at Subia's Organic Market.  All the food at this Jersey City shop is vegan and everything we tried was yummy.  Check it out...

Hummus salad perfection.  This is exactly what I love to eat for lunch at home and it was perfect for getting over my major jetlag.

My companion loved his "pastrami" sandwich too.  On a hearty bun and served with a side salad, this is a plate of pure goodness.  This little market with a deli counter is something every town should have. Jersey Cityians, you be lucky.

That night, I was in NYC with friends at Bosie Tea House and started with this hearty and flavor-packed quinoa salad.  For my entree, I went with the marinated tofu panini:

Yum!  With avocado and a sun-dried tomato spread, this was the perfect meal to fuel me up for a night on the town.  The next day, I was in need of hangover food, starting with...

Hummus and pita at Pamir in Morristown.  I love this this app comes with spicy chili sauce and cool cilantro sauce.  Extra flavor is always a good thing!  This Afghani restaurant has a ton of vegan options - from salads to dolmas to entrees - but this was all I managed to get a picture of in my tired state.  Still, I highly recommend this place if you're in the area.

That night I really got my feast on at the all-veg Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar.  That's the appetizer platter, above and everything from the nuggets to the buffalo wings to the potato salad is drool worthy, but still not as good as my burger.

I got mine Jersey style, with veggie bacon and mayo... and with fries of course!  Delish.  What hangover?   :)  And for dessert???

Kaya's carries desserts from the infamously amazing (winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars!) and all-vegan Papa Ganache, which is just a few minutes away from Kaya's.  Our table tried four different cupcakes and these two ginormous pieces of cake.  All incredible!  I only wish I had gotten to Papa Ganache itself to sample even more of their offerings (they have savory stuff too).  Next time for sure!

The next few days were filled with wedding-related events and I have to thank my family for providing vegan options for me (not to mention my vegan parents and aunt, woo-hoo!).  After that, there was only one place in NJ I wanted to go. Sapthagiri, of course!

Central New Jersey has a very large Indian population, and with that comes some of the best Indian food around.  My favorite?  The dosas, like this one from Sapthagiri's Franklin Park location.  Everything they offer on the large (and well marked with vegan options) menu is flavor-packed (try the Masala Vada and meyer lemon pickles!) and craveable.  If you're around, you must go.

Honorable mention goes to the veggies and spiced carrot hummus sandwich at The Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton (sorry for the bad picture) and all the vegan options at YaYa Noodles in Montgomery, especially the General Tso's Tofu.  No picture, but trust me.

Phew, that was a lot of eating!  Tomorrow's my birthday and I promise to tell you all about my all-vegan dinner (complete with cake of course!) once I get some photos.  After that, this bod needs a cleanse, so stay tuned for some home cooking ideas for once!  Have a great weekend, y'all.