Nothing but Noodles

I love this place. I have been there three times in the past two weeks. I am 100% addicted to it already. I don't think a restaurant could have more vegetarian options without being a vegetarian restaurant. There are so many vegetarian dishes that it is next to impossible to decide what to eat. Nothing but Noodles is set up similarly to Moe's. You walk up to the counter, order and pay. Then you get your own drink and silverware, and pick out a table (there is a fireplace in the middle of the restaurant too!). The employees will then bring over any appetizers and entrees that you ordered.


The entree portion of the menu is divided into genres of food. There are Italian, Asian, American, and specialty dishes. There are also soups, salads, appetizers, kids entrees and desserts. All of the sauces are vegetarian. The only things that aren't vegetarian are the ones that very obviously aren't (i.e. spaghetti and meatballs).

All this greatness does not come with a large price tag either! All three of the items I tried were $6.99. Not only are the entrees inexpensive, but there was enough food that I ended up having a take-out box, all three times! Oh yeah, and N.B.N. serves wine and beer (this is actually the part of their menu that is WAY over priced...unless of course you don't mind paying almost $5 for a Labatt).

So there were way too many vegetarian dishes for me to list them all here, however I put a link to the menu below. They have several items on the menu that are marked as "HOT". They aren't kidding around. I ordered the Spicy Japanese Noodles and had a really hard time finishing them. Even the next day when I warmed up the left overs I could hardly take the heat. I wish it hadn't been so delicious so I could have put down the damn fork. I also tried the Sesame Noodles and the Basil Pesto with farfalle. The Sesame Noodles were great. I ordered it without mushrooms and substituted broccoli for an additional 33 cents. It was absolutely worth it since they gave me what appeared to be a pound of broccoli. The Basil Pesto was hands down the best dish out of the three. It was actually a basil cream sauce. It was the most flavorful and rich pesto I have ever had. I didn't realize that is came with mushrooms, and I didn't even mind (i hate mushrooms almost as much as I hate onions and that's really saying something). I did eat around the larger chunks of mushrooms, but the small pieces tasted like the pesto, so I ate them. One of the 3 times I went my Mom was with me. She ordered the Southwest Chipotle Pasta and a side salad. The pasta was delicious. They use the same cream base as the Basil Pesto dish, but add tomato sauce and chipotle instead of pesto. She had the side salad with Pear and walnuts, it was excellent. It made me wish I had ordered some. So on to dessert. While I didn't order dessert myself they looked incredible, and they aren't too pricey. The table next to us ordered the chocolate cake. It is so big that two people shared one slice. They also have something else that no other restaurant can say they have. Cotton candy. Two of the three times I went I ordered cotton candy after I was done eating. You can get it to go or served on a plate, piled so high that if placed between you and whomever you were eating with, you wouldn't be able to see them. Oh yeah, and it's only a buck.

So go check this place out. Its worth it, believe me. Or don't, but you will definitely be missing out.

Nothing but Noodles
Erie Blvd., Dewitt, NY
(Located in the plaza with Best Buy, Old Navy, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.)

http://www.nothingbutnoodles.com/

Empire Brewing Co.

Empire is located in Armory Square in Syracuse. It is in the basement of one of the buildings on Washington St. I have been to Empire many times and it never disappoints. With one of the most integrated vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus in this area, it is sure to please everyone. I was recently there for happy hour and I fell in love with Empire a little more. They have a number of specials on both food, and drinks. If you are a beer drinker, Empire is the place to go. They craft a number of their own beers, several of which have won awards. At the happy hour I recently attended I got to be in charge of food....MWAHAHAHA! The food was so good that no one even noticed that it was a 100% vegetarian menu! We had the following:

(these are the HAPPY HOUR prices which runs from 4-6:30pm)
Margarita pizza (flatbread pizza, fresh tomato sauce, cheese & seasonings) $5
nachos (chips, cheese & beans, topped with lettuce, tomato, guac & sour cream) $7
chips & amber ale salsa $3
Roasted Red Pepper Humus & flatbread $5

Empire has a fairly large menu with too many vegetarian options to list here. There is a link to their website which has a full menu on it (very sweet) located below. I will mention to notable dishes however. The make a great veggie burger served Italian style with tomato sauce and cheese and choice of side (oh I could go for one right now damn it!). They also have a tofu dish, can you believe it? I think most "American Style" restaurants shudder at the sound of that word. Empire knows what its doing and even a non-vegetarian could enjoy this dish. It is served hot and slightly crispy with sesame seeds on top, a side of shredded carrots with a to-die-for Indonesian dipping sauce. What more can I say about this place? Just talking about it is making me hungry!

http://www.empirebrew.com/

PJ's Pub and Grill (formerly PJ Dorsey's)

PJ's Pub and Grill is located in Armory Square in Syracuse. A restaurant by day and a night club/bar by night, PJ's has a wonderful secret. A kick ass, homemade veggie/bean burger. This burger is delicious and I have often wandered down to PJ's on my lunch break to order one. It is served on a soft roll with lettuce, tomato, onion and ranch. It also comes with a side of fries or Italian style pasta salad for no charge. If those side choices don't fit your fancy you can get fresh fruit or a garden salad for about a dollar more. They have really great fries. The pasta salad isn't but, just a bit bland. You will definitely need the salt and pepper shakers for it. There aren't really a whole lot of other vegetarian options there (some sides and salads) but the veggie burger is worth the trip. It's not too expensive either, concidering the amount of food you get. The veggie burger with fries is around 6.50 and you could easily take the side home with you, or half the burger.

Dinosaur BBQ

I know. You wouldn't think of Dinosaur BBQ as having any sort of vegetarian options, but they do!

They have appetizers that are vegetarian, side dishes, and a "secret" item that isn't on the menu. The "secret" item is a veggie sandwich. It comes on a small sub roll stuffed with sauteed spinach, green peppers, and onions topped with slices of tomatoes and melted cheese. What makes this sandwich even better is adding Dinosaur's signature barbecue sauce. You can get the sandwich by itself (which is only a few bucks) or as a platter. The platter comes with a choice of 2 sides but will cost you around 7 bucks.

As far as their sides go, they are all homemade and most of them are vegetarian. You can get a "Poo Poo Platter" which is a plate of any three of their side dishes. This dish is served with one selection served as the main dish (so you get a very large portion) and the other two selections are served as side dishes. You can choose from the following items:

Fresh fruit
Tomato & cucumber salad
Mashed potatoes (hold the gravy)
Rice & Black beans
French Fries
Cajun Macaroni & Cheese
Salad
Corn Bread
Vegetable of the Day (Which can vary from Cajun corn, Cajun salt potatoes, Cajun potato salad, etc.)

The other vegetarian items on them menu are:
Cajun deviled eggs
Fried green tomatoes
Several Desserts

Moe's

If you haven't been to a Moe's I highly recommend it. It's a colorful southwestern tacoria. When you walk in the door, employees yell "Welcome to Moe's!". Everything inside is painted a bright color. There are multi-colored lights that hang from the ceiling. It is cafeteria style, and they make everything to order. When I say they make everything to order I mean everything on their menu, which is sprawled across the wall in bright colors and quirky names. With burritos and tacos that have names like "Joey bag of donuts", "Homewrecker", "Overachiever", and "The Funk meister" you realize this is one of the funniest menus you'll ever read.

They also have a salsa bar that contains 4 home made salsas. There is a green tomatilla salsa which is my favorite. There is also a roasted salsa that is smoother than normal salsa. There is a hot salsa that is more like a sauce and a traditional salsa. Every order comes with chips and as much salsa as you can eat. In addition to this place standing out due to it's decor, and quirky named food, they also serve tofu. Yes, a mainstream, chain restaurant that serves tofu. Everything on the menu can be made vegetarian. The description of the menu items either say "vegetarian" or "choice of meat". Tofu is one of the meat choices. The burritos at Moe's are huge. If I get a burrito I never have room for chips, even if I get a "Streaker" (a burrito with out the tortilla). They have all of the following items at Moe's:

tacos
burritos
quesadillas
salads

with the following items to put in them:

guacamole
sour cream
tomatoes
seasoned tofu (or chicken and steak if you aren't vegetarian)
cheese
olives
onions
peppers
cucumbers
pico de gallo
black beans
pinto beans
rice
lettuce
queso sauce

A vegetarian burrito can run from 5.99-6.99 + tax
A vegetarian taco, which is what I prefer to order because it's cheap and filling is only 3.29 with tax! That includes the chips and salsa too.

Chili's Restaurant

I'm a big fan of Chili's. I have been to the one on Route 31 by Great Northern Mall and also the one on Erie Blvd. I LOVE the Black bean burger. They make the black bean burgers from scratch with rice, black beans and vegetables. The burger is then grilled and topped with lettuce, tomato, and low-fat ranch. A side of steamed broccoli comes with it as well. They also make their salsa from scratch. They chop all the vegetables almost to the point of puree so every bite has the perfect blend of ingredients. They also cook the tortilla chips as needed. The only down side to that is there is sometimes huge chunks of salt stuck to the chips, so you'll unexpectedly end up with a mouthful of salt. As far as other vegetarian items go, there is a lot of "can you hold the...". The items are as follows:

Black bean burger - $6.99+tax
Toasted chips and salsa (bottomless) - $2.99
Artichoke dip
cheese fries, hold the bacon
nachos, hold the queso
french fries
cinnamon apples
vegetable of the day
steamed broccoli
mashed potatoes, hold the gravy
side salad
There are also a number of salad entrees that you could ask to hold the meat (but I hate doing that)

Edgewater Grill, Baldwinsville

The Edgewater is located in the village of Baldwinsville right next to the bridge that goes over Route 48. The restaurant is two stories and has a remarkable amount of outdoor seating. The deck over looks the river and even has plastic curtains in case it starts to rain. We were fortunate enough to go on a night that the village of Baldwinsville was having a fireworks display. From out table on the deck we could comfortably watch the fireworks.

Our waitress was wonderful and incredibly helpful. There were a number of items that were vegetarian on the menu. I ordered the Pizza Margarita. It is a grilled flat bread pizza with pesto and chopped tomatoes topped with mozzarella. It was delicious and pretty big too. I took half of it home. My friend had the Portabella Mushroom Sandwich. It was pretty decently sized as well but she said it had a weired texture as if it had been cooked or marinated for too long. There were several other vegetarian items:

Nachos (with cheese, beans, tomatoes, peppers)
Spinach & Artichoke dip
Greek Salad
Pasta Alfredo
Tortellaci (a cross between tortellini and ravioli)

and some sides:

house salad
pasta
onion rings
french fries
garlic mashed potatoes
baked potato
chocolate fudge cake

Both the
Pizza Margarita and the Portabella Mushroom Sandwich were 7.99 +tax

p.s. If you go around dusk I recommend bug repellent or pants. I wore a skirt and I ended up with several mosquito bites.

Ichiban

Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse, Liverpool, NY

My friend and I went for sushi tonight, but I have tried their hibachi and ordered off their regular menu.

There are several vegan sushi choices. I had cucumber rolls and my friend had pickled radish rolls. There were also avocado and mixed vegetable rolls.

One of my favorite sushi items is Inari. They offer this at Ichiban on a 2 piece plate. Inari is very thinly sliced marinaded tofu stuffed with rice. The marinade is a little sweet, so it goes really well with sliced ginger. They also serve Tamago, which is an egg omelet on top of rice.

They have a lot of other vegetarian items on the menu. Seaweed salad, house salad with homemade ginger dressing (possibly the best dressing on earth), miso soup, edamame, tempura vegetables, teriyaki tofu, teriyaki vegetables.

Do Not Eat the Hibachi! Even though they offer a "vegetarian" option, they cook the vegetables last and mix them in with all the meat they cook. They literally drag the vegetables through the cooked meat juice on the hibachi table.

For my meal of Cucumber roll, miso soup, and take out salad it was $11.00, and that was with $2.50 tip!!!

Twin Trees III

My sister has worked at this restaurant for a long time. I have always loved their pizza. They make a vegan pizza if you request it. They don't have a huge amount of vegetarian stuff, but what they do have is really good. Most of their items are homemade and made cook to order. Their entrees come with the salad bar. If you get pizza you can add the salad bar for a couple bucks. They usually have a vegetarian soup, like minestrone. There is fresh Italian bread that you cut your self and then there is the typical salad items (lettuce, tomatoes, etc.)

As for the main course lets start with their pizza. I have never had pizza better than Twin Trees. They make the dough fresh every day. They have a bit thicker crust that is soft and chewy. It is always perfectly cooked. My favorite is with olives and roasted peppers.

I had their Eggplant Parm when I was there the other day. They take thin slices of eggplant and layer it almost like lasagna. Then they top it with their homemade marinara and cheese and bake it. It is heavenly, and pretty large. I took half of mine home and had it for lunch the next day. I think it tasted even better as leftovers!

They also have a pasta dish that comes with shells and broccoli in a light garlic butter sauce. And of course there is the classic pasta and marinara.

If you don't mind really indulging there are many appetizers that are deep fried, but vegetarian (mozzarella sticks, etc.)

For my meal of eppplant parm and salad bar the total was $14.93 with tax.

Plainville's Nature's Fare Restaurant

OK, so I hate the new name. Plainville farm was just fine. The double apostrophe thing just sounds terrible. At any rate, their food is the subject of conversation. I honestly can't believe how much vegetarian food they have. Most of the items are homemade. The menu itself doesn't really boast much for vegetarians, however the buffet is a better story. You can get the Soup & Salad buffet or you can get the Harvest buffet. The Harvest buffet includes the Soup & Salad buffet. They also offer the One Trip or Single Plate buffet. Basically its anything you can fit on one platter from both buffet tables, so it's less expensive than the full buffet. I recommend the Single Plate buffet for vegetarians. That way you aren't paying for meat items you won't eat. When you first sit down at the table they bring you a basket of these delicious soft, chewy dinner rolls and their signature Applesauce raisin bread. The list of things you can get off the two buffets is, quite frankly, awesome. You can get the following:

Soup & Salad bar:

Update 2/2/2010 Unfortunately Plainville has closed it's doors for good.

http://news10now.com/cny-news-1013-content/top_stories/495016/plainville-restaurant-closes

Traditional salad items (lettuce, tomatoes, etc.)
Minestrone Soup (homemade)
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry relish (homemade)
Apple butter (homemade, awesome on the applesauce raisin bread)
Applesauce (homemade chunky)
Applesauce raisin bread (soooo good!)
Assorted dressings (including their homemade creamy italian) or oil and vinegar

The Harvest Table:

Sweet corn
Baked Sweet Potatoes (So soft and sweet you can eat the skin)
Hubbard squash
Noodles with herbs and butter
Roasted green and yellow beans with carrots
Steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (homemade and delicious)
Assorted pies and cookies

Harvest and Salad Soup buffet: $13.99 + tax
One Plate buffet: $11.99 + tax

New Vegan Restaurant in Syracuse!

How exciting! Its called Strong Hearts Cafe. Everything in this place is 100% vegan! The second I walked in the restaurant I was completely overtaken by the amazing smells. It's a cute little cafe` style restaurant, painted in bright colors. There menu is cleverly written on the wall on what appears to be either chalkboard style paint or the thinnest chalkboard I have ever seen. I wasn't really hungry so I just had a blueberry muffin and a mango spritzer(canned). My friend had a chickpea salad sandwich, and it looked and smelled so good. It was large enough that she ended up taking half of it home. Which by the way all of their take-out containers are biodegradable. My muffin however was seriously lacking. It tasted more like a biscuit than a muffin, and it was extremely dry. I asked one of the guys working there for some Smart Balance to spread on it. Which seemed like a good solution, until I tasted it. It had that funky, its been in the refrigerator too long, taste. So my first encounter was not so great. My friend however had been there several times previously and loved it every time. I'll give it another try soon. I mean it's a vegan restaurant, in Syracuse! I have to try ti again.

Total for my food: $3.15

And so it begins

After trying to desperately find a halfway decent source for vegetarian dinning in Syracuse and CNY, I realized that I may just have to address the problem myself. I know that in a sea of blogs mine may never be read. I do hope that perhaps my efforts may help other vegetarian and vegan eaters find decent food to eat. (You can only eat so many boring salads).

I do have a bit of a disclaimer. I am a vegetarian, not a vegan. I will do my best to point out vegan options, but if I do not specifically make note of it being vegan, than you must assume otherwise.

Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions for both the blog and restaurants to check out.