East Coast United States — A Vegan Odyssey Part One

I recently spent three weeks in the US, travelling through New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York again; of course, this presented many an opportunity for trying out some of the local vegan options, of which there really are (even proportionately) quite a few more. The main difference to me seemed to be in the fast food-esque dishes that were available in vegan versions. There definitely are more options in mid-range and high-end places and non-Asian food compared to Sydney, but I was travelling alone and on the cheap (...ish). I was sometimes a bit shy about whipping out the camera, but I have quite a little set of pics on Flickr, and am going to pick out a few highlights here.

The vegan black bean burger with vegan bacon from Good Health Burgers, E 53rd Street, New York. Delicious but for the fact that I have not eaten fake bacon before (just other meat subs) and found it alarmingly salty and bacon-y. It was just a strip of the stuff, though, on an otherwise very tasty and filling burger with nice fresh salad components... and hey, maybe vegan bacon is your thing.




Okay, a mobile phone pic. This was at Spike's Junkyard Dogs on Boylston Street in Boston — they serve up hot dogs and burgers with various toppings, but customers can ask for the veggie (and vegan) dog at no extra cost. I ordered the veggie Junkyard Dog, with hot peppers, sliced tomato, pickles, scallions (er, spring onions) and of course mustard. It was actually very flavourful and definitely several cuts above just a dog in a bun. Oh, and the drink is fresh lemonade, which was also rather good. Around $7 all up.




I wasn't going to miss the chance to have Maoz falafel again. It's a Dutch chain, and I'd sampled their stuff in Germany some years ago. They're yet to reach Sydney, but have quite a number of outlets in the States (this was in Walnut Street, Philadelphia). Customers can order a pita pocket with falafel and hummus, and eggplant if they wish, and then help themselves to salad fillings and sauces from the salad bar alongside the register. It really is some of the best, herbed green, soft-yet-crunchy falafel you can find, and the choose-your-own-salads aspect is appealing (and fresh and flavoursome). The Coke was... eh, you know.



Last pic for this post: my first night in D.C. I stopped by one of the Chipotle chain's stores and picked up a black bean fajita burrito, with fried onion and peppers-as-in-capsicum, beans and rice, guacamole and salsa (just have them leave off the cheese and sour cream, and presto!) So filling, so good, and made we wish we had more Mexican or Tex-Mex food in Sydney — but also, determined to try more of the stuff we do have.



More to follow in Part Two...