I'm Moving! - Boston to New York City

I have an exciting update to share! I'm officially moving from beautiful BOSTON to the bustling NEW YORK CITY. As you can imagine the food options alone have me overwhelmed. It's a city I've always wanted to live in and thankfully I was able to find a job opportunity that will enable me to make the move. The amount of cooking I will be doing will be slightly reduced due to lack of kitchen tools and appliances (luckily I will still have an oven!). Expect to find many more posts on restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and products. I am so grateful to have the chance to explore this amazing city.

Goodbye Boston!

 Hello, New York City!

Vegan-Friendly Places I have visited so far (blog posts coming soon, as I revisit them!):
Terri
Candle 79
Blossom Du Jour
Blossom
Babycakes
Red Bamboo

Vegan-Friendly Places I can't wait to try:
Lula's Sweet Apothecary
Dunwell Donuts
Dirt Candy
Angelica Kitchen (Crossed off the list! See my post here)
Pure Food & Wine


If you have any recommendations to add to my list, please let me know!

Dining Out in Boston - Root

Root Burger with Herbed Fries - root

My belly is full and my taste-buds are happy as I write this. I stopped in to the newly opened "root" in Allston and brought my parents along for what turned out to be a delicious vegan meal.

Inspired by Yelp reviews, we started with an order of Sweet Corn and Jalapeño Hushpuppies served with housemade ketchup and garlic aioli over a bed of arugula. They were mildly spicy, which I preferred, and fried to a nice golden crisp. I really liked the dips they were served with.

Sweet Corn & Jalapeño Hushpuppies - root

 Po' Boy with Side of Dressed Greens - root

For entrees, my parents both ordered the root Burger with Herbed Fries on the side, served with a yummy housemade ketchup. The burger is made of black beans and quinoa served with Boston lettuce, tomato, crispy onions and garlic aioli on a bun. It was hearty with great flavor. I ordered the Po' Boy - a huge sandwich with crispy cauliflower, sweet pickles, tomato, lettuce, and a spicy housemade remoulade. It was much spicier than I had expected, especially since the menu made no mention of "spicy" or "hot," but I managed to get through it...slowly. It was all served on a fresh Iggy's bun. I would have enjoyed it more with less bread and the heat turned down a notch. I ordered it with a side of greens since I was sharing stealing the fries from my parents' plates. The salad was fresh with a tasty light dressing.

The atmosphere is modern with an industrial, earthly feel. Though small, you can still have a nice casual dining in experience. The tables are copper with wooden benches. You can serve yourself water in mason jars and your food order is brought to your table. The staff was friendly and helpful, just like at their sister spot FoMu. Other items on the menu include salads, juices, and other sandwiches. If you want dessert just walk a few doors down and grab a delicious scoop of dairy-free ice cream.

I'll be back to try some of the other recommended items. This one is good in my book!


Photos of the Restaurant:

       

root Restaurant

487 Cambridge Street

Allston, MA 02134

root Website 

Dining Out in Boston - Veggie Planet

Peanut Curry with Coconut Rice - Veggie Planet

Sister restaurant to Veggie Galaxy in Central Square, Veggie Planet is best known for having a now 50 year old folk music club called Club Passim within the restaurant - the main dining area converts into a setting for live music. It's located in Harvard Square on a small side street, almost like an alley. I haven't actually eaten at the restaurant, but I have gotten takeout here twice. The takeout process is a bit awkward because you sort of feel like you're waiting in the kitchen when you checkout. The space is pretty small, but I have not ventured into the main dining area. Both times I ordered the same delicious dish! It was the Peanut Curry with Coconut Rice that comes with fried tofu cubes, roasted peanuts, steamed broccoli, and Thai peanut curry sauce, all over yummy, sticky coconut rice. My non-vegan boyfriend also got the same dish twice - creatures of habit! - The Mexican Bean served with black bean puree, pepperjack cheese, salsa, and fried garlic over brown rice. This can be turned into a vegan meal by substituting the cheese for Daiya cheese. 

Their menu consists of all vegetarian dishes, you won't find any meat here. Most of the items can be made vegan if they are not already. You can choose between a small or large portion size. I found the large size worked well for a full second meal from the leftovers. The variety of entrees are featured as either pizzas or rice dishes (coconut or brown rice). We've only tried them as rice dishes, but I imagine pizza with these unique toppings would be great, as well. They also offer soups, salads and veg-friendly desserts like Taza Fudge Brownie or Cookies.

I will most likely continue to order takeout here, unless of course we decide to come listen to a band play. I'm eager to try some of the other dishes, especially a slice of the Cake of the Night, since Veggie Galaxy was one of the very generous donors who provided two amazing cakes for my Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale in April!

Veggie Planet in Harvard Square

Veggie Planet

47 Palmer Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

Veggie Planet Website

Dining Out in Boston - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom & Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco Plate
with Black Beans, Seasoned Rice and a Charred Jalapeño - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom Taco - Dorado

Dorado is a hipster Mexican food joint in Brookline that opened in 2009 and recently made it to the big leagues with a location in New York City. Named after a fish, their speciality is the fish taco, but they offer a wide variety of traditional Mexican fare - tacos, quesadillas, elote, chips with salsa or guacamole, salads, and a Mexican sandwich known as a cemita. If you're thirsty you can enjoy Mexican beers, sangria, or agua frescas (refreshing fruit juice). They also now serve brunch on the weekends!

There are two veggie taco options, both can be made vegan if you request without cheese. The Grilled Zucchini and Red Peppers taco comes with roasted tomato-habañero salsa and guacamole. The Spicy Portabello Mushroom taco has marinated chile and garlic, avocado, and salsa fresca. To make it a satisfying and very affordable meal order the taco plate to get sides of black beans, seasoned rice, and a charred jalapeño.

Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco - Dorado

The Brookline location, mid-way between Coolidge Corner and the bustling Harvard Ave. of Allston, is fairly small but does offer indoor and outdoor seating. You place your order, take a number, and your food will be brought to you. I've never experienced any service issues and the food is always fresh and tasty. I expect more locations to pop up in the future.

Dorado - Brookline Location

Dorado

401 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02446

Dorado Website
  

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Green Lotus Café

RAWCO - Green Lotus Café

I was so excited to learn that a new vegan-friendly restaurant was opening on Cape Cod. With very limited options for vegan dining, it was a smart move for the owner to open up shop. Nate grew up on the Cape and spent time in the Marines. Living in San Diego he learned of the health benefits with the vegan diet. He moved back to the Cape and opened Green Lotus Café in Hyannis in March 2013. You can read more on his background here.

RAWCO Sandwich

The menu is entirely vegetarian, with vegan, gluten-free, and raw options available. All sandwiches can be made vegan with Daiya cheese and non-dairy mayo substitutions. With so many options it's difficult to make a decision, but I asked the staff what the popular sandwiches were and settled on the RAWCO. Raw foods usually come at a premium since the ingredients are more expensive, but I felt pretty good about paying $9.49 for this all raw sandwich - it's seasoned ground walnuts (that resembles ground beef like a taco filling), raw cashew cheese sauce, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion served on crispy organic corn tortilla bread. It was delicious and very filling. If you've never had raw bread before, it's thin like a cracker and chewy, but it does its job at holding a sandwich together. The sandwich was a little too salty, but overall the taste and texture were pleasing, and I would be quick to order it again. My non-vegan boyfriend got the Roast Seitan, which comes with real cheese, but can be substituted to make it vegan. He admitted that it was really good. Soups and smoothies are also on the menu, along with a vegan-friendly breakfast menu. They also offer vegan desserts, which vary by day. There were two types of cookies when I was there.

I have a lot of sandwiches to get through to try them all, but I'm happy to report that my first visit was a success and I will be back for sure!

Sandwich Menu - Green Lotus Café

Sandwich Menu Continued! - Green Lotus Café

Visit their very active Facebook page for updates on daily specials and what's cooking (or not, if it's raw!) in the kitchen. 

  

Green Lotus Café

349 Main Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

Green Lotus Café Website

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Earthly Delights

Fakin' Bacon Tempeh Sandwich - Earthly Delights

Tofu Scramble - Earthly Delights

I've been summering on the Cape my whole life. It's got a special place in my heart for it's natural beauty and fond memories of many fun summers. I'm lucky to still have a place to visit to escape the city on weekends and spend time at the beach. 

When I became vegan last year I "rediscovered" a great little natural foods eatery right next to my house called Earthly Delights. I knew it existed years ago, but never visited until last year because it seemed a little too healthy and too hippie (think sprouts and granola). I now go multiple times in the course of a weekend! It's very small and usually very busy during the summer, but it's worth the wait. You'll be entertained looking around at the enormous collection of quirky, humorous magnets, signs, and cards covering every inch. The owners, Tom and Mary are awesome! They work their butts off running that place all by themselves and I give them credit. You can tell that many people are fond of them by the Yelp reviews. I even ran into Tom at Trader Joe's stocking up after a long day and he recognized me right away, very good memory!

Menu at Earthly Delights

In addition to breakfast and lunch items they also sell some packaged natural foods. Though not 100% vegan, it is very vegan-friendly and many items on the menu can be made vegan in addition to the handful that already are (for instance, they only use non-dairy mayo). A couple of my favorites: Fakin' Bacon Tempeh, best when served in a wrap in my opinion, comes with tempeh lightly brushed with olive oil and cooked to golden brown, served with lettuce, tomato, and dairy-free mayo. Another is the Tofu Scramble, which isn't actually on the menu! My boyfriend went out and picked up breakfast early one morning while I was busy sleeping and came back with a delicious breakfast wrap filled with marinated tofu, tempeh bacon, tomatoes, spinach, and Daiya cheese in a whole wheat wrap. I ordered it again just a day later :) He also brought me back a yummy vegan Oatmeal Raisin cookie. It fell apart right away, but it didn't stop me from wolfing it down. I've also tried their smoothies, which are quite popular. The mango smoothie is so refreshing on a hot summer day! They also offer fresh juices and shots of wheatgrass, if you're into that sort of a thing. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - Earthly Delights

It's very difficult to find vegan-friendly restaurants on Cape Cod, so I'm thankful to be right next to this gem! I recommend you give it a try and get to know Osterville a little bit better.

Earthly Delights

15 West Bay Road

Osterville, MA 02655

Earthly Delights Website

Dining Out in Boston - Allston Diner

Vegan BBQ Breakfast - Allston Diner

I was surprised to learn that this diner was vegan-friendly. I admit I didn't really know much about it beforehand and didn't have much desire to go, but once I learned there was something there for me I was eager to try it. It's fairly easy to miss, but you can find it down the street from a few other vegan-friendly Allston spots I've posted about, Deep Ellum, Grasshopper and FoMu. They even have a sticker in their window that says "Vegan-Friendly." The restaurant is on the small side, but had quirky, retro decor, with tables covered in old newspaper cartoons, and friendly staff. 

The vegan menu options include Flapjacks, a southern veggie burger called the Dixie Burger, the Ultimate Vegan Breakfast which includes tofu scramble, toast, soy sausage, and home fries, and the dish I went with - Vegan BBQ Breakfast. This one excited me most, it had seitan covered in a homemade BBQ sauce, with melted Daiya cheese over Texas toast, served with tofu scramble and home fries. It was a dirty, sloppy mess of a meal and that's just what I was in the mood for. The portion was huge! I loved the sweet BBQ sauce and it was such a treat to get a slice of cheese-covered Texas toast. The home fries were almost like potato chips, thinly sliced circles. The tofu scramble was a bit on the dry side, but I don't have much to compare it to since I've only tried one other not-so-great vegan scramble. 

Vegan Options - Allston Diner

I consider brunch to be the hardest meal to get as a vegan. Sure you can always order oatmeal and a bowl of fruit, but brunch is supposed to be a heavy, indulgent meal and sometimes after a big weekend that's what I want. Overall I was happy with my meal and the experience. I would go back.

Allston Diner

431 Cambridge Street

Allston, MA 02134

Allston Menu (No website available)

Dining Out in Boston - OTTO Pizza

Roasted Tomato & Basil Pizza - OTTO Pizza

OTTO is a gourmet pizza chain quickly gaining popularity in the Boston area. Originally founded in 2009 in Portland, Maine there are now three locations in Boston. They feature a thin, delicious, and vegan-friendly crust that can be topped with a large variety of things, that includes a menu with over 20 interesting pizzas. Some of the most requested are those that are a bit unusual, and unfortunately not vegan, like mashed potato, bacon, and scallion pizza, or the three-cheese tortellini pizza (yes, that means pasta served on top of pizza!). They also offer gluten-free crust, but unfortunately it is not vegan-friendly because it contains eggs.

Roasted Tomato & Basil Pizza - OTTO Pizza

When they first opened it seemed like the staff was not consistently trained on what to offer vegans, but now they seem to have a good handle on it. Amongst their wide variety of vegetable toppings there are a few that are not okay for vegans, just be sure to ask. Here's what I've tried in the past - Roasted Tomato & Basil with red sauce (#16 without Ricotta), Zucchini, Summer Squash & Spinach (ordered once with red sauce, once without sauce). I preferred the latter, it tasted fresh and was a unique topping combo for a pizza. I liked it without any sauce because the sweet flavors of the veggies came through. A small pizza makes for a good meal, with a couple of leftover slices (..maybe).

Zucchini, Summer Squash & Spinach Pizza - OTTO Pizza

OTTO Pizza

289 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02446

OTTO Pizza Website

OTTO Pizza

888 Commonwealth Ave

Boston, MA  02215

OTTO Pizza

1432 Massachusetts Ave

Cambridge, MA 02138

Dining Out in Boston - The Friendly Toast

Vegan Valhalla - The Friendly Toast

When you walk into The Friendly Toast you are going back in time. The walls are painted a vibrant green and they are covered in wacky artwork and advertising from the 40s, 50s and 60s. It's fun, colorful, quirky, unique and unlike any other restaurant in the Boston area. There is another location, the first one that opened back in 1996, in Portsmouth, NH. In this cool atmosphere with interesting and laid back staff, you can feel comfortable and enjoy a great meal. They specialize in breakfast/brunch foods, but also offer a long list of sandwiches, wraps, and salads. There is a huge drink menu with creative concoctions. Be prepared for a nap afterwards. The portions are huge and the food is delicious so a food coma is very likely to set in post-meal. 

 

Identifying itself as alternative, funky, and a little bit hipster it's no surprise that they are aware of the vegan diet. There is only one clearly labeled vegan option on the menu, but the waiters know what sides are okay and what other meals can be modified. I've had the Vegan Valhalla a couple of times. It's  a burrito made with a flour tortilla, sesame-baked tofu, brown rice, scallions, sauteed portobello mushrooms and baby spinach, with tahini sauce. It comes with your choice of side, I got the seasoned homefries. It is a very filling meal and can sometimes be a bit greasy, so I request it light on the oil. I really enjoy the savory flavor of it. It tastes like junk food and sure, it's not light on the calories, but the ingredients are still healthy and not processed (...just the tofu). 

Sandwich & Burrito Menu - The Friendly Toast

Vegan Valhalla Burrito - The Friendly Toast

If you can help it, try to avoid the typical brunch hour because you will have a long wait with the hungry, hungover crowd. My advice - keep sleeping in long enough to go for a mid-afternoon meal :)

The Friendly Toast

1 Hampshire Street

Cambridge, MA 

The Friendly Toast Website