The Veggie Burger Chronicles: 97 Lake

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your first weekend of April!  Actually my least favorite season is Spring, and my least favorite month is April!  I hate all the rain.  Hopefully this April passes quickly, and we can get right into May, which is full of flowers, and other wonderful things :)  The transition from Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer also means the retiring of pumpkin everything and the reintroduction to coconut everything! I love my pumpkin and coconut!

Today I have another installment of the Veggie Burger Chronicles.  This, or should I say these, burgers are from a local restaurant and bar called 97 lake, in White Plains NY.  My one friend, Michelle, is gluten free, and 97 lake is a completely gluten free restaurant! The first time I went I ordered a veggie burger, but since then they changed the menu a bit and added veggie burger SLIDERS! I have never ever eaten a slider burger in my whole life, so I jumped right on the chance to get these!



My mouth is watering thinking about these again!  This basket came with 3 little veggie burgers all on grilled potato bread buns.  The burgers were full of flavor, crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  You could see all the veggies and beans in the burgers when you bite in, which I love!  They were topped with cheddar cheese and jalapeno mayo! The cheese and spice of the mayo tasted amazing with the burgers.  They finished off this dish with coleslaw and fresh cut french fries!



Overall these were amazing! They tasted so good and I loved how little and cute they were. And for all you gluten free eaters out there, this is a great place for you.  If you ever find yourself in White Plains, make sure to stop by 97 Lake!

Have you ever had gluten free veggie burger sliders? Plan on trying out 97 Lake?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Salad Works

Hello everyone!  Today I have a restaurant to tell you about.  Ever since I have been dating my boyfriend, Ben, I have been bugging him to take me to this place called Salad Works but his house.  We go to the Petco right by it pretty frequently, and I always beg him to take me to lunch there. Well finally we got to go! I don't have one in my area, but I knew they are a chain, so many of you might have been there before.  I was hoping for one of those giant salad bar places with a hundred different things.  Salad Works was more like a Panera, Ben and I agreed.  They have soups and sandwiches and a made to order salad bar with an overwhelming amount of options.  They also have a set of pre-made salads, but they were all meaty, so I decided to order my own mix.



I ordered a half and half plate, with a small salad and half a sandwich. You can get a half and half of any combo of salads, sandwiches or soups, or get a whole order of just one item.  Panera has a similar set up, just with more focus on the sandwiches and less on the salads. They have about 10 sandwiches, only one is vegetarian, the caprese panini, so ordered that one.  They also have different soups each day, some are veggie, and some aren't.



I started my salad with spinach leaves, but you have a few options to start with.  Then I added tomatoes, feta cheese, walnuts, mandarin oranges, and chick peas, but you can order any 5 toppings of the ginormous list.  Then you choose from the, again, ginormous list of dressing.  I picked the green goddess, which is kind of like a garlic ranch...but green.




Over all I really enjoyed Salad Works.  I love how many options there are for making your salad, you could get a different one every time.  I wish there were more vegetarian options for sandwiches however.  Everything tasted really great and service was good too, you even get chips and a pickle with your order.  I can't wait to go back!

Have you been to Salad Works? Are you going to try it out?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

The Veggie Burger Chronicles: Elevation Burger

Hello everyone! Today I have another installment of The Veggie Burger Chronicles. As a vegetarian that doesn't just eat salads, veggie burgers are a big part of my dining out diet.  They are found it many different restaurants from diners, to American cuisine. However, what I really love is how veggie burgers are becoming more and more common at burger joints! Most people go to burger places to eat cows, that you wouldn't even think they would have vegetarian options.  But with vegetarianism gaining popularity, so is the veggie burger.  My best friend, Sara recently found a new burger spot in our area that she new I would love, so the two of us, plus another friend, went to check it out.



It is called Elevation Burger (you totally want to click that and check out the website).  While elevation burger is primarily a beef kind of place, all the meat is organic, and the cows are free-range and grass-fed.  While I'm not a fan of eating meat, if you are going to eat it, that is the way to do it and I can totally get on that bandwagon!  The menu has a handful of beef burgers to choose from, plus a salad and grilled cheese.  But what I am here to talk about is the veggie burgers.  They have two..yeas TWO kinds!  In a place with such a small menu, I was shocked and pleased that there was actually a choice! Most places just offer "the" veggie burger.  Hold on, it gets better.  One of the veggie burgers is actually vegan!  How freaking awesome! As I am working on making better choices, I chose the vegan burger, and my 2 friends each got veggie burgers.  Once you pick your burger (veggie or otherwise) you then pick any toppings you would like.  Going with the vegan theme I opted out of cheese and added lettuce, tomatoes. and balsamic mustard. You can pick any toppings for any kind of burger, and there is also an option to wrap your burger in lettuce instead of eating it on a bun.



They offer a few sides, but I chose the french fries.  My burger came out looking just like the meat ones, on a tray wrapped in paper, really giving it an authentic feeling.



This little vegan burger was packed with veggies.  It has a great grilled flavor, without tasting like meat.  The sauce on it was tangy and delicious  and a nice change from the basic ketchup.  While the portions are a bit small, everything was pretty filling, though I did feel like I could eat a little more soon after.



This was Sara's veggie cheese burger.  This had a much more meaty, and less veggie taste, if you are looking for something that tastes more like a regular burger.  I tried some and it tasted great! Very flavorful and delicious, and even Sara who eats meat loved it!

Overall I really liked this place! For the portions/price it was a tad expensive for what seems like a fast food place, however everything tasted amazing and of course there were plenty of vegetarian options.  I love that you can customize your meal and that everything is made-to-order.  I also feel good taking my meat-eating friends here. I mean if you are going to eat meat, I'm glad it can be cruelty-free and organic. One thing they were lacking was a turkey burger, which I thought was pretty weird since they offer two veggie burgers and turkey burgers are very popular for those that don't eat red meat.

I would recommend that any vegetarian, vegan, or meat eater to try this place!  They have locations in a number of states so I hope all of you can be able to try it!

Have you been to Elevation Burger? Would you want to try it?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

The Corner Room

Hello veggie world!  As I am writing this I am enjoying a nice evening inside, cuddling with and getting kisses from my cat, while a blanket of snow covers my yard and all the trees still standing from the hurricane.  I really hop everyone is getting by after these past two storms in New York.

However, I want to talk more about my birthday weekend that I spent at Penn State.  I used to go to PSU frequently, back when I went to school in PA, but now that I am back home in New York, I only go about twice a year.  While visiting there often, I found many places that I loved eating at, and now when I go back to visit I make sure to hit all my favorites.  One of my absolute favorite places to eat at is The Corner Room.  The restaurant itself is nothing too special  just a nice little place connected to a bar.  But they have a few vegetarian options and they are all delicious!




I started with an appetizer on the specials list, green salad flat bread.  This was so good! It was spinach  feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and kalamata olives on top of a layer of amazing garlic hummus, all piled on four slices of flat bread.  I cannot tell you how good this was! I love Greek flavors (yay Greek heritage!) and this was so fresh and delicious!




Ben started with an order of mozzarella sticks, and of course I had to steal one or two.  These were so good too!  The outside was perfectly crispy while the insides were soft and cheesy.  It came with some really tasty marinara sauce for dipping.

The main reason I go to The Corner Room is for the amazing veggie burger they have!



They serve Garden Burger brand for their veggie burgers and they add a verity of California flavors. This burger comes with tomato, sprouts, avocado, red onion, tomato mayo, and melted cheese all on a deli roll. So good!  This veggie burger always comes with a side of mangos! How awesome is that??

I happily stuffed my face with these amazing vegetarian dishes.  If you ever find yourself in the Penn State area, first go to Mario's, then go to The Corner Room.  Then to the creamery!

What are your favorite veggie burger toppings?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Birthday Dinner at Mario's

Hello everyone! Sorry for a bit of a late post.  Yesterday was my 23rd birthday and I have been celebrating with my boyfriend, Ben, all weekend at Penn State.  We started with Halloween celebrations, then moved on to a nice dinner, and seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Mario's is a nice American Italian Restaurant at Penn State College.  We actually went there last year for my birthday dinner too.  We both really love the food, but I love how many vegetarian options they have!  It is by no means a vegetarian restaurant, but they do an amazing job creating a menu with a lot of vegetarian food in a variety of flavors.  Its really nice having the ability to make choices out of so many amazing dishes.  I especially love going there for my birthday because they always create an amazing fall menu. I am literally obsessed with fall flavors, and they certainly don't hold back.




I started with the butternut squash bruschetta. This was probably the most unique item I had, but it was so good!  This toasted bread was topped with pieces of butternut squash and walnuts which gave it a really nice bite.  They topped it off with some melted cheese.





For  my main course I got the pumpkin ravioli.  This is one of my favorite fall meals, and a staple in my diet every fall.  The pumpkin was so creamy and perfectly spiced in a whole wheat ravioli. The sauce was buttery, and again topped with nuts for a unique crunch.  I got this dish last year as well, because it is just that good.




Just when I thought dinner was over, the waiter brought out a tiramisu with a birthday candle! I think this was the best tiramisu that I have ever tasted, and not just because there was a birthday candle in it. The flavors were amazing and the top layer of cake was so light and delicious.




Overall I had both an amazing birthday dinner and and amazing birthday!  Here's to 23 and all the things this year will bring!

What are your favorite fall and birthday foods?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

The Four Seasons

Hello!  I hope all of  you had a great summer and are enjoying this transition into fall. To me fall means nice cool weather, Halloween, my birthday, and great fall foods!  I spent last weekend enjoying the last bit of summer.  I visited my boyfriend, Ben, and we had a great time going to the Eagles pre-season game, and having lots of fun at Dave&Buster's!  We also celebrated His grandma's 80th birthday at the Fountain Restaurant in the Four Seasons.  The Fountain is a very fancy and upscale restaurant which usually means no vegetarian options.  They offer foods like rabbit and bison. I have been to a couple fancy places with Ben and his family for various occasions and almost always end up with a problem finding food.  Here are a few tips for vegetarians looking to dine out at fancy restaurants:

1. Check out the menu online a head of time.  This will give you the heads up of the kinds of foods they have.  At the Fountain they have pasta on the children's menu, but not on the regular menu, so pasta can always be a good option

2. Keep the waitstaff informed.  When I was handed the menu I didn't even look at it.  I just told the waiter that I do not eat any meat, and then he listed all the vegetarian options that they had.  I thought It was strange that they had a few dishes that they make regularly that they didn't put on the menu, from salads, to vegetarian options, to even some meat dinners!

3.  Always ask.  This isn't just your local place to eat, fancy restaurants are fancy for a reason, they will do anything they can to keep you happy!  If you just ask them to make you something special I'm sure they will, and I'm sure it will taste amazing!

What I ate after the page break: