Dick Clark's American Bandstand - Newark Airport

Airport food, yummy. Well actually the veggie burger at Dick Clark's American Bandstand at the Newark Airport (EWR) is actually pretty decent. I actually got it because I wanted the cole slaw but it turned out to be pretty good. Most veggie burgers have a tendency to end up like a dried out hockey puck but this one was pretty good. I think the cooks aren't really used to cooking them so they don't account for the fact that they don't have their own built in oil like a real burger so you need to add a bit more than usual.

Rating - B

Vegetarian Dim Sum - Chinatown, NYC

Posting soon

Hilton Fort Lee, NJ - Room Serivce

I tend not to stay in hotels with room service, but on this occasion I did, which was pretty helpful when you don't get into your hotel till 11pm or so due to weather delays.

I tried their penne pasta with basil and tomato. It was pretty darn tasty. The price was out of control around $16, but it was good and it was brought to my room so it worked. I also had the house salad with ranch. Tons of food and it made my tired belly quite happy. I think I'm going to have to start doing some exercise if I keep the pasta up. Maybe tennis.



Rating - A

2117 State Rt 4
Fort Lee, NJ
(201) 461-9000

Whole Foods - Edgewater, NJ

Whole foods once again is the easiest place to eat. I grabbed some tasty bits from the pre-made food section and also stocked up on some Cliff and Odwala bars. These bad boys are life savers when you are stuck in an airport or hotel room.

I tried some wheat-gluten meat in a Thai Salad and I was pleasantly surprised. It was really tasty and very meat like. Since I'm relatively new to being a veggie (April 2007) I think I'm still pretty good at judging fake meat authenticity.

This whole foods has an awesome location. It's right on the Hudson river on the NJ side. You have a wonderful view of the George Washington Bridge and also New York City. It has tons of parking and is a nice little oasis.

Rating - A

905 River Road

Edgewater, NJ 07020

Phone: (201) 941-4000

Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery - San Jose Airport

Their really isn't much to eat in Terminal A of the SJC Airport and even less for vegetarians. The only option was at Gordon Biersch. They have a basil tomato pizza which was decent. Airports, bad for most people, even worse for veggies.

Rating: C+

Jack's Urban Eats - Sacramento

Jack's Urban Eats is a pretty fun establishment in downtown Sacramento. It gets hopping around lunch time so expect a bit of a wait. The funny thing is this place makes some greats vegetarian salads even though none of them are on their menu as part of "Jack's Famous Salads."

I had the "Make Your Own Salad" that lets you put Tofu in your salad which gives you all the protein a growing boy needs to go to his next client meeting. I also tried their mac and cheese, which unfortunately was a bit of a let down though the quality of the salad more than made up for this.

Lets break down the price:
Make your own salad - $5.50 (half order, trust me you don't need a full)
Mac & Cheese - $2.50
Total - $8.00 plus tax

The one bad thing is they don't take American Express.

Rating: A


1230 20th St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 444-0307

Whole Foods - Sacramento, CA

Whole Foods is the best standby for a veggie. They are everywhere, they are always in the nice area of a town and they have easy veggie food. This time I went for a Pizza (not knowing I was going to be eating it again in the airport). I had a basil tomato pizza. It was quite tasty. I also got a carton of mixed berries and a Kombucha drink.

The food was tasty as usual, though I'm still mixed on what I think about Kombucha drinks. I like them and I don't, but they are definitely interesting.

Rating: A

Andy Nguyen's Restaurant - Sacramento, CA

Andy Nguyen was a lot of fun. The place is a Buddhist Vietnamese restaurant that specializes in creative fake meat / seafood dishes. I decided to try one of the fake fish meals. It was pretty darn tasty. They used seaweed to make a pretty realistic fish skin.

I also had some tasty spring rolls. The place was quite good. I recommend this place highly to any veggies visiting Sacramento. I was warned that the area it is located in isn't the best but I really didn't see any issues with it.

Rating: A

2007 Broadway
Sacramento, CA
(916) 736-1157

Newsroom Cafe - West Hollywood

I had some time to kill on my way to LAX so I decided to grab some lunch and possibly see some celebrities. I was successful on 1 of the two objectives. I got lunch.

Newsroom Cafe is located on Robertson Blvd in West Hollywood and is across the street from the Famous Ivy restaurant and near Kinston. So basically this is where celebs go if they really want to have people take their pictures.

I've tried this place before and it was pretty tasty and that time I got to see David Duchovny. This time I just got horrible service but a tasty meal.

I had the vegan Chili Corn Chowda which was delicious though I got caught off guard and bit into a lemon thinking it was a potato. For the main course I had their signature veggie burger. The burger was good but the bread was a little on the stale side. It was still really good. Beings that this place is in West Hollywood its not the cheapest lunch. After tax and tip I was at around $22.

I'm giving this place an A- even with the slow service, the whole ambiance of the area adds a little to it.

Paul's Italian Villa

I once again was visiting the lovely town of Simi Valley and this night we decided to hit up some good old Italian food. Italian food is typically always a good standby for vegetarians (not vegans) and this proved to be true with Paul's Italian Villa.

I decided to try their Eggplant Parmigiana. It was pretty tasty and came with a dinner salad and some spaghetti. I'd say it was decent in quality but it was barely worth the $12.50 price tag.

I'm giving this place a B-.