Post Punk Kitchen Forum

oh man, a trip to Red Bank is clearly in my future! *convulses from the yum*

I've heard that a vegan deli is opening in Union! I don't know when it'll be open, though, it's still under construction. I'm excited, it's super close to me.

Is that Killer Vegan? I think that the owner is sometimes on the PPK!

The logo looks adorable!
http://killervegan.com

In addition to the Cinnamon Snail truck, and Papa Ganache table at the Red Bank Farmer's market, there is also Freezy Freeze and they make a vegan icecream option with liquid nitrogen. I haven't tried it yet due to eating too many donuts from cinnamon snail, but i'm looking forward to my next trip where i'll make sure to leave some room.

One of the specials at Rutherford Pancake House today is tiramisu pancakes. The pancakes are flavored with some coffee and marsala wine (I couldn't taste the wine) and they're topped with cocoa and piped frosting. OMG fabulous. I think I'll be in a sugar coma the rest of the day, though.

*jaw drops*


i only have about 4 weeks left in the country, so i need to meet up with some Jersey peeps! i have to go to Good Karma Cafe, Cinnamon Snail, and get one last Sweet Avenue fix. any other must-eat places i'm leaving out?

i just saw this!! 50% off at Papa Ganache! https://livingsocial.com/deals/47418?re ... i=17744716

oh no! it's over already! (i wish my method of searching for daily deals was more effective. i had no idea.) :-(

ok, you have 2 and a half days for this one: 50% off at Funk & Standard in Red Bank
http://www.groupon.com/central-jersey/d ... iety-store

i'm not buying this one because i'm leaving the country in 12 days and probably wouldn't be able to spend $50 there in one go.

The Eddie Confetti ice cream stand on the Asbury Park boardwalk makes coconut based vegan ice cream and does vegan milk shakes too. I got a coffee-cinnamon milk shake, a little on the sweet side but it had a good, thick texture.

Oh my, that sounds delicious. I was at Twisted Tree the other day, but had no idea the boardwalk had vegan icecream (so excited!). Thanks for posting!

I'm going to Atlantic City for the first time, so is P.F. Changs still the only veg-friendly around that beach?

Oh wow that's awesome! I totally need to go to Asbury Park now.

This weekend I'm heading to a different shore town - Cape May. I haven't been there in soooo many years. I'm really excited! I did a bunch of research on restaurant options (I'll be there 3 days), here's what I found. If anyone knows anything about whether or not these places are good, or places I've missed, suggestions appreciated!

Definite Vegan Options:

Mad Batter (specifically desgnated vegan options = black bean cake or pasta. Specialty bellinis.)
http://www.madbatter.com

Bella Vida. Excellent Breakfast/brunch option. Has tempeh & fakin bacon, lots of veg options. https://bellavidacafe.com/capemay/index.html

Ella's good to go: coffee and vegan lunch stuff like soup, sandwiches on the mall. Carpenter's mall part.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellas-Goo ... 79?sk=wall

Cape May bakers: regular bakery with vegan stuff: lunch specialties. http://www.capemaybakers.com/

Higher Grounds Cafe & Coffee Shop: on same street, a block or so away from Cape May bakers. Organic coffee and lots of vegan breakfast and lunch options. http://www.highergroundscapemay.com/

Iffy vegan options:

Cabanas: old bay fries, black bean soup, green salad. grilled veggie sandwich. On beach. Many beers on tap, 1/2 price happy hour http://www.cabanasonthebeach.com/default.asp Although options look vegan, not specifically labeled that way so I emailed but haven't heard back yet.

Home fries, bagels, reg fries, salad, grilled veggie hoagie & home made veggie burger (would have to ask if it has eggs) http://www.zoescapemay.com/index.html

And this restaurant on the beach with at least 1 veggie sandwich (with no cheese): http://www.mcglades.com/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Island Grill another possibility. Caribbean food, supposedly some vegetarian, but no menu online.
Ditto Gecko's - no menu online Mexican. http://www.capemaytimes.com/Restaurants ... geckos.htm

On a trip to Cape May a decade ago, my mom and I stayed at a B&B that had a binder full of local menus and Gecko's was the only one that advertised "vegan" options. Excited, we went over for dinner and it did not disappoint. We each had a different burrito that was huge. I don't recall what was in either but they were boss. Our server was really great, as well. He kept giving us free refills on the lemonade and sun tea. Location was great and the deck was comfortable.

Again, ten years ago. Hopefully since they were ahead of the game at that time, they still rock now (for an omni place).

Have a great time. Let us know what places you got to and how they are.

How cool!

Youthtildeath, any word on the Killer Vegan Deli in Union?

Unfortunately, my plans didn't pan out. =/ but now I know for the future visits!

I'm really sad to say that Rutherford Pancake House's vegan offerings are starting to decline. Their vegan and GF pancakes and waffles are still good (with the caveat that you tell them to bring the waffles out as soon as they are done otherwise they end up really soggy). And its nice to be able to get coffee and soymilk at a mainstream restaurant. The other warning is that apparently the GF pizza base isn't vegan, but even if you're ordering vegan cheese and vegan sausage on it, no one thinks to to let you know about that.

For me the real sad part is that the scrambles are really disappointing now. Sadly the kitchen has changed the recipe (it took too long to press the tofu using the old method Spiro created so its gone from a big helping of flavorpacked tofu to a few limp cubes of tofu). Honestly, the food tastes like no one cares anymore. The Popeye is a few cubes of tofu with a couple of spoons of spinach thrown on top and then finished with avocados that taste like they were previously frozen. The Roman is a few cubes of tofu and vegan sausage and peppers that are oily and not carmelized. It tastes like someone made it ahead of time and microwaved it. The toast is no longer crunchy and crispy, but is lukewarm and flaccid. And the portions are much smaller. At $9.99, its not much of a bargain. Its gone from a filling and hearty breakfast treat to a place I suggest if I am short on other options. And they just replaced their yummy Gimme Lean sausage patties with links that taste like compressed sawdust. And the added 4 links will set you back $3.75.

I still love Spiro, the chef, but Rick, who runs the front of the house can be a jerk. At one point he refused to seat a large group of us until one of their two big tables opened up (instead of putting a few smaller ones together) because "You vegans sit here and take up my space for too long." Even though the restaurant wasn't busy. Thanks jerk. I am so disappointed, because I loved this place and we went there at least 1x a week and because it was so good to have a vegan diner for great weekend breakfasts with people.

yeowch! that sucks!

boo, that's awful to hear about the pancake house!

and i second the recommendation for Gecko's in Cape May - a great place for vegans and omnis alike. my whole family liked eating there on our family visits in the late '90s/early '00s, and i took the boy there when we went to Cape May for the day 3 years ago.


ALSO! completely altruistic, because i didn't buy one (it expires before i'll be back in the Jerz): $10 for $20 at Pizza Fusion in Red Bank!

i have a $10 voucher that i won't be able to use, if you still want it :)

really? we're planning on doing our redbank outing sept 8th (and apparently papa ganache is only 8 miles north?). PM me with where to paypal you! <3

Papa Ganache is up in Keyport - its really not far! You definitely should check it out. The 8th is a Thursday, so if you went to RB, you'd miss the Cinnamon Snail. But if you're going to the RB Farmer's Market on Sunday both Cinnamon Snail and Kaya's are there, so you can check both out at one location.

As you go up, I'd be tempted to stop at Asbury for Eddie Confetti vegan icecream just to check it out or Twisted Tree....

Sounds like a delicious day trip!

we have groupons for the pinball hall of fame, so i think ice cream would be a great accompaniment!

i also got the funk & standard groupon, so at least i can try some of cinnamon snail's goodies, just probably not as fresh as they would be at the farmar. we'll definitely have to go back up some day for the farmer's market. (probably spend a saturday in NYC and then we'll stop by red bank on our way back on a sunday.) the 8th is a kevin smith thingy. :-)

Well, the food options in Cape May were better than I thought! We couldn't even stop at all of them in just 3 days.

So here's what I ended up eating:

Lunch at Higher Grounds Cafe & Coffee Shop. I had a grilled cheeze with sesame tempeh & iced coffee. It came with a little salad and fruit, and was really yummy. I forget what my partner had but he liked his a lot too. The best part was we sat outside in their cute garden, while they had a live band playing.

I asked if they had ice cream but all they had was baked goods, and the server was nice enough to tell us about a new gourmet ice cream place named Bliss in the Carpenter's Mall. They make fresh ice cream daily, and always have a vegan selection. The day we went it was Chocolate Pistachio and it was sooooooo good. I'd say it rivaled Lula's. They also had vegan sorbet - lemon basil and watermelons flavors. We got the lemon basil and it was perfectly balanced. You could really taste the basil but not too much, and it was just the right sweetness. Excellent.

Got a wrap, i think called the athenian, and peanut butter noodles from Ella's good to go for dinner. (10 mos. old baby makes it had to eat out) Both were good, especially the noodles.

We got 3 different kinds of cookies from Cape May bakers that were all good. Also a quinoa salad. I'm repeating myself. It was tasty too.

Unfortunately Zoe's house made veggie burger was not vegan. (has eggs) So I just got a bagel and roasted potatoes from there (with some tofutti we bought at Higher Grounds)

Finally, we had a nice meal from Gecko's. They do still advertise vegan options on the menu so we checked it out, and I'm so glad we did! It was awesome. I had a stuffed acorn squash and my partner had the portabello fajitas. Oh and we had the black bean cakes as an appetizer. Everything was outstanding, and huge portions. Even the salad that came with the meal was delicious, especially because it had roasted corn in it.

Cape May is so cute. I love it there! Can't wait to go back some day and try the Mad batter.

Thanks for sharing, Aubade. I am thrilled that Gecko's has kept it up. I'm looking forward to visiting after Labor Day (and getting vegan ice cream!).