Friday, May 31, 2013

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.

Monday, May 20, 2013

The Slanted Door

If you love the menu at Out the Door (and you know I do) then you should really get to thee to the original, and dine at The Slanted Door.  It takes forever to get a reservation, but the location (in the Ferry Building, with sweeping views of the Bay Bridge), service, and vegan offerings, can't be beat.  We had all our standard OTD faves on our visit last weekend, along with copious amounts of a lovely muscadet (thank you, kickass sommelier), and this tasty and refreshing treat to cap off our visit:



That is their coconut lime sorbet and it alone is worth the trip.  After some spicy lemongrass tofu and smoky chard, it is the perfect way to end your time at The Slanted Door.

I'm off to NJ for my cousin's wedding this week, so stay tuned for some NJ eats soon!   Have a great week, y'all.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Bay Area Updates

Howdy Bay Area!  I had a tasty weekend and just wanted to post a quick update on two faves.  First of all, DOSA has a special collard greens and sweet pepper dosa on offer, and it is outstanding:


Really, the addition of the slightly bitter greens and sweet roasted peppers to the regular (and already stellar) masala potato filling is pretty genius.  I hope this dosa sticks around on the menu for a while, ala their also incredible white truffle dosa, because I need to get it in my mouth as many times as possible.  Yum!  Now, let's head south a little, shall we?


You're probably thinking that salad looks a little familiar and wondering exactly how far south I traveled, right?  Well, that IS the All Hail Kale salad from Veggie Grill (aka my favorite salad in the world), but I didn't have to travel to L.A. to have it.  Instead, I just took a road trip to San Jose, where VG's latest outpost is turning omnivores into vegheads, one delicious meal at a time.  Now, if only they could get a palce in San Francisco up and running.  They're up to about 20 locations and counting, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hope you all are enjoying some good veg eats out there.  Stay yummy, y'all!