Desta: Vegan-Friendly Ethiopian in New Brunswick, NJ

Is New Brunswick, NJ experiencing a vegan renaissance? One would think. The newest addition is Desta Ethiopian Restaurant and, with it, the long-awaited return of Ethiopian Food to New Brunswick.

A quick recap: I was first introduced to Ethiopian Food at Makeda in the mid-nineties. It was like nothing I'd ever eaten before and I quickly fell in love with the spongy injera and flavorful vegetarian combo platter: eating it as often as possible when in the area. It wasn't until years later when vegans started noticing that the information parlayed with regard to the their vegan friendliness was sometimes contradictory that I branched out to Queen of Sheba, Mesob, Lalibela, and Bunna- finally settling on the best Ethiopian food of all: that from Teff Love. But sometimes a girl doesn't want to cook for herself. Enter, Desta.

I stopped in one day to ask if their vegetarian items were vegan and they assured me that they were. I returned soon after with a friend and fellow Ethiopian food lover and we each chose a veggie combo- your choice of five dishes from seven options*. According to the waitress, you can choose whether your food is cooked with nit'ir qibe (dairy) or olive oil.

Desta serves their injera folded like deflated fortune cookies.

We each made the same selections: 

misir wot: split lentils simmered with berbere, onions, and garlic.

gomen: fresh collard greens, spinach or kale made with onions, garlic, and ginger.

kik alicha: yellow split peas seasoned with garlic, ginger and turmeric.

azifa: whole brown lentils with onions, mustard, garlic, jalapenos, lemon juice, and olive oil (served cold).

dinich alicha: golden potatoes with carrots, garlic, ginger, fresh tomatoes, and spices.

There's still  a ton more I want to try: their vegan-friendly appetizers, as well as *the new additions: mushroom tibs, butecha, and shimbra assa wot... Who's coming with?

Veganized in New Brunswick NJ

After a nearby NJ restaurant recommended the then brand new restaurant Veganized for dessert when they couldn't deliver, I was there within ten minutes for a takeout slice of their chocolate peanut butter torte: oat coconut crust, peanut butter whip, vanilla sauce, raspberry coulis because that's how I roll, my friends.

 

It turned out that my inaugural visit had coincided with their soft opening and, in the month since their grand opening, I've done my best to sample as many things as possible on the menu. For you.

 

To start, I want to mention that it's within walking distance from the New Brunswick train station on the NE Corridor line. So convenient!

You can order at the counter and have a quick bite at the window bar, where you'll find some Evolve for Animals literature.

 

Alternately, you can dine upstairs for full-service.

 

The decoration throughout is colorful, quirky, and meticulous.

A week after my cake run, I returned for a sandwich- also to go: righteous reuben: tempeh, russian dressing, sauerkraut, cashew cheese, sauteed kale, house bread, as well as a side order of sauteed kale with toasted hazelnuts and lemon. It was flavorful and hardy with great proportions.

 

Finally, I dined in (!) with two omnis shortly thereafter. We shared the rawvioli: raw beet ravioli, herbed nut cheese, pesto, saffron cream. I never would have chosen this on my own, but it was phenomenal and fresh.

 

For dinner I had the mackin cheese: elbow pasta, sweet potato cashew cream, smoked shitake, broccoli rabe, bread crumbs. It was certainly reminiscent of this version, but with its own twist.

Then I visited again with a friend to cap off a day of being very vegan. We shared the timbale of black beans, sweet potato, guacamole, cashew sour cream, and fresh tortilla strips. It was top notch.

 

We sampled their fries; baked sweet potato wedges with cashew sour cream for my friend.

Real crispy fries triple cooked, organic ketchup for me.

I had the Roma grilled flatbread with cashew cheese, slow roasted roma tomatoes, caper kalamata tapenade, pesto, and arugula. This puts pizza TO SHAME! I want to eat this combination all the time.

For dessert we shared the vanilla cheese cake with oat coconut crust, strawberry compote, and strawberry coulis. 

Because they were working on an upcoming dessert, we got to try their vegan version of Nutella, "notella." The samples were generous, but we both left wanting a whole bowl.

I couldn't wait to try the completed dessert, so I brought my parents there as soon as it was up on the menu.

VM was all about the Roma flatbread; I can't blame her.

OD had the deluxe lentil mushroom burger: smoked eggplant, charred onion, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet potato bun with real crispy fries. That bun! Those onions!

I, however,  won the whole table because I had the weekend special of pasta casserole over nomato sauce (guess what it is: not tomato!) with grilled eggplant roll stuffed with roasted fennel and carrots, topped with pesto. It was one of the top entrees I've ever had at an upscale vegan restaurant.

For dessert, OD had the 14 karat date pecan carrot cake with vanilla sauce.

But enough about that; I had the coffee cake with crumb topping, house made notella, and vanilla sauce. I have dreams about this dessert! Not only was the cake the perfect texture to be paired with the exquisite notella, but it was sitting in an almost invisible pool of vanilla sauce whose sweetness ideally complemented the subtlety of the cake.

Overall, I'm thrilled by the addition of Veganized to the northeast, vegan restaurant landscape. Thanks in no small part to the chef's experience at renowned vegan establishments in and around New York City, the menu pays homage to dishes that have become somewhat ubiquitous while managing to maintain originality in both execution and flavor. I'm already plotting my next visit; if they had outdoor seating 89 and I would be there every day. Best of luck to Veganized!

Positivitea, Vegan New Jersey

I don't know how Positivitea escaped my radar, but I made a plan to go very shortly after I learned of its existence. It was really easy to find in Verona: it's diagonally across from the park, just a block or so away from the old Pink Frosting space.

I was thrilled to see them boasting themselves as "100% Vegan" right outside.

I also loved the giant, posted menus; you can also easily review their entire menu online.

It's a large, cheery space with tables, booths, and some counter seating.

I ordered the Bean Jr., which is a smaller version of their big bean burger: "all hail the "Vegan Big Mac"! A double decker burger with 2 hand packed black bean patties, special ahi sauce, vegan mayo, miso spread, vegan cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun." My Bean Jr. "size doesn't matter, the taste is still BIG. The single decker Bean Jr. with all the toppings of the big bean burger to boot" was ordered as listed, except that I subbed a pretzel bun because I'm brilliant. My request was happily granted.

 

The burger itself looked like it was solely comprised of compacted black beans, so I was wary. But, I'm happy to report that this concoction in its entirety made an outstanding veggie burger. The toppings, texture, and pretzel bun all worked together to make this a winner in my book. I also really enjoyed the cheese. When we inquired, we were told only that it was "coconut based with tapioca" and decided not to push it. I'm not sure why, but some places just don't like to talk about the brands of their products. The kale slaw, which was included, was underwhelming. The dressing was not very flavorful and it was also watery, which made the kale quite limp- something that is not easy to do. Win on the burger, pass on the slaw.

My friend ordered the Garden of Vegan wrap: spinach wrap, chickpea patty, kale, romaine, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, vegan mayo because she's all healthy-like. I tasted her chickpea patty plain and it tasted just like unsalted, mashed chickpeas. However, she said that she enjoyed the sandwich as a whole, describing it as "light and healthy." She and I were in agreement on our assessment of the kale slaw.

While the dessert options were noticeably absent from the wall menus, they were listed in detail on the single, laminated menu that was available at the counter (and are also reviewable online).

Our inquiry about the "nice cream: soft serve vegan ice cream" was met with another vague explanation that it was "soy based with tapioca." Pooling our collective vegan ice cream knowledge we hypothesized that it was Chicago Vegan Foods brand. A quick search confirmed our suspicions, as the ingredients are listed as: all vegan, gluten free, non-GMO verified: vegan cane sugar, tapioca maltodextrin, organic soymilk powder, natural vanilla flavor (vanilla) or organic fairly traded cocoa (chocolate), soy protein, guar gum, xanthan gum, salt...Temptation Vegan Soft Serve! As such, we are under the impression that the cheese on my burger was teese. Good to know!

After a last minute swerve away from The Pothole (not feeling the walnuts), I decided on Mr. Cookie Munster: gluten-free vegan chocolate chips, cookies, and vegan cocoa chocolate sauce.

Because the folks at Postivitea are geniuses, to my delight they assembled the toppings in the center as well as atop my sundae: all brilliantly parfait-like.

I don't think I've ever had it before, but I can now say with certainty that Chicago Vegan Foods' Temptation Vegan Soft Serve is a new friend. I'm not generally a fan of vanilla (it does come in chocolate, you know), but this was good and so incredibly creamy!

Plus, as you ate it the cookie crumbs mixed with the ice cream and tasted as though you'd dunked them in milk.

 

Oh yeah, here's my friends' P.B. and Jay: organic peanut butter, organic strawberry jam, and organic graham crackers. We think that was a squirt of agave on top for panache. I'm not into jelly on my ice cream so I didn't taste it, but I'd definitely consider adding peanut butter to my next Mr. Cookie Munster.

I don't know if they ever switch up the ice cream flavor (to, say, chocolate; ahem), but I definitely recommend whatever they have when you visit.

Finally...a special shout out to their restroom.

As easy as it might seem to be to include a hook in such a public space, you'd be surprised at how often it's overlooked. At Positivitea, not only is there a hook on the back of the door...

 

There's also a little table if you prefer to place your belongings there rather than hang them.

Not only is their restroom incredibly functional, but it's also creatively decorated.

One wall:

Ceiling:

Another wall:

One last thing: there's also punchcard. Tenth meal is on them!

I would definitely recommend Postivitea: if you're in the area or for a purposeful road trip.

 

Burgers and ice cream might sound boring, but they do it well.

Killer Vegan, Vegan in New Jersey

A friend of mine was excited to try Killer Vegan as soon as they opened, but the information available online was so sparse that I was hesitant to get roped into some crunchy granola dive (it happens). Eventually she convinced me to plan a stop en route from another vegan establishment, so I gave in. But, first I tried to glean some more information. I mean, that's what vegans do; we prepare.

 

Killer Vegan's website is basically an informative placeholder that notes the hours, address, phone/email contact, a "cash only" warning, and a link to their Facebook page. Neither the site or the page show a menu, so I messaged them in October but received no response.

When I wrote a second time- this time via email, I received a prompt, courteous, and concise message in return:

Hi Abby,

You can find an image of our menu on Yelp. Thank you for considering us.

Kind Regards,

Janelle Elizabeth Soto
Killer Vegan

No link, no attachment, just the tip.

The menu I found on Yelp had been posted by a customer in October 2014: it was small, seemingly short on content, and blurry enough that I strained to read some of the specifics. Aw heck, I'll just post it here. If Killer Vegan is using it as their sole source of online cuisine information, surely Paula M. won't mind.

So, yeah.
Overall I wasn't going into this with high expectations, but go I did.

Killer Vegan was very easy to find: it's a large storefront on a main street.

We were a half hour too early for the dinner specials, but were more interested in the fact that they were, "Unfortunately, still out of milkshakes & still very sad." I was disappointed by the content, but loved the personalization.

Guess what was the first thing I spotted upon entry?

 

The famous menu! I tried my best to take as clear a picture as possible; it wasn't easy. To my surprise, it really was almost identical to the menu from four months prior, but it was pointed out to us that a "chicken" panini had been added to the repertoire (it was listed on the printed menu, which exists although an online menu does not).

 

I'd love to know what business held the space prior because it's huge! We were dining at an odd time during a weekend day and I took this photo just prior to 3 other tables being occupied and just after a gentleman departed who I recognized from having run into him numerous times over the years at Vegan Treats. He very kindly allowed my friend and I to each purchase a chocolate chip cookie before he bought out the remaining lot.

Onto the food.
Killer Vegan defines itself as a diner and delicatessen. Besides the deli case that I recall having held soft drinks, I saw no evidence of a delicatessen. And, while there were subtle elements of a diner in the overall decor and menu, the idea didn't really manifest itself cohesively in the atmosphere.

 

After much deliberation over the small menu, we both chose the sausage and peppers sandwich, which was of significant heft.

 

I added a side of roasted Brussels sprouts; they were crisp and nicely seasoned, but no match for my favorites.

 

My friend added the kale slaw, which she really enjoyed. I wasn't in the mood for cold food so I didn't taste it.

 

We shared their generous "smalls" portion (not that you can tell from my closeup) of mac 'n' cheese. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the cheese had a great texture, but my friend did not appreciate the smoky notes (of which there had been no mention) and there were undertones of another flavor that kept me from loving it as well.

The sausages were housemade; I believe it was a mushroom base, but don't remember exactly. This is why menu descriptions are important! In sum, it was a hardy and authentic sandwich. Plus, I liked that the bread was well proportioned to the filling (not too bready). The truth is that the peppers & onions are my favorite element of sausage and peppers, but this was a total specimen I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone: vegan or not.

The chocolate chip cookie I took home was standard fare: not too hard or soft, but generously chipped. There is nothing more enticing than a chocolate chip cookie, so we were surprised that we didn't smell any more baking while we were there- considering they'd sold out upon our arrival. In the absence of the ice cream (we learned it was Klein's) and cookies, the only desserts that remained during our visit were quarters of two separate cakes. Since it's sometimes hard to commit to a slice of cake (not necessarily for me, but for others), I'd love to see them offer more; perhaps smaller items that even people not dining-in could easily grab to-go.

 

Overall, while we didn't swoon over everything we did agree that Killer Vegan surpassed our expectations and has impressive potential. The staff and chef/owner were very nice- this is an immediate plus! In lieu of any other discernible decor, they'd do well to hang blown-up photos of their dishes to give people an idea of the sumptuous types of comfort foods they have on offer; in the short time we were there, 3 new vegetarians entered with trepidation. Also, include more information about your dishes! If your sausages are homemade: flaunt it. Write it on the chalkboard, list the ingredients; POST IT ONLINE. Even their Facebook posts are inexplicably lacking in photos. Three words: food porn sells.

New Jersey- nay, the world, needs all the great vegan fare they can get. Give this new place a go and then hopefully we can watch them flourish!