Zen Garden
Zen Garden is a mostly vegan restaurant located in Great Neck, NY. The food is delicious, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. A family member enjoys the Cedar Shoots Pancakes, and I am head over heels for the Spicy Szechuan Casserole, which is a wonderful dish, if you can handle the spice! Zen Garden is open 7 days a week.
Number 5 Restaurant
No. 5 restaurant is one of the best kept secrets in Queens (Long Island City), that has both vegan, and non vegan options. The pomegranate brussels sprouts salad & truffle oil french fries are a fun start, and the vegan smoked provolone and plant based sausage, with sautéed spinach and red bell peppers, is definitely worth checking out as well. No. 5 opens at 5pm weekdays, and 11am on the weekends.
Queens Health Emporium
This Queens health food store has a hot foods kitchen that is open 7 days a week. The organic prepared food is excellent, and the staff is always friendly and helpful. There are two areas of concern however, as the owner’s son was not familiar with non-GMO soy, and the takeout containers are made with Category 7 plastic (leaching toxins). The organic produce section is excellent, but some of the packaged foods can be a bit pricey. Queens Health Emporium also offers solid value via text specials every Sunday. Overall, a thumbs up to Queens Health Emporium.
Yard House
Yard House is part of a restaurant chain, and is located in West Nyack, NY. Who knew that there could be fun plant based options in a sports bar atmosphere? I ordered the Beyond Burger (with tomato, onion, arugula, vegan cheese, and avocado), which was really tasty and served with a bowl of field greens in a balsamic vinaigrette. And for dessert? A bowl of pineapple, strawberries and cantaloupe of course. Yard House also has 160 varieties of beer and cider, so be sure to use barnivore.com if you do indulge. Overall, I had a nice time, and I am appreciative of their efforts to provide vegan options.