Tacoria Mexican Street Kitchen's Vegan Menu

If you're a vegan in New Jersey, chances are you've heard of Tacoria Mexican Street Kitchen. Similar, in theory, to fast casual Mexican chains, the Tacoria flagship opened in New Brunswick a couple of years ago and has since opened two more locations with a fourth impending.

While I immediately admired their signage from afar (it's cool!), I had no idea it was a vegan-friendly establishment until a friend visited the (extraordinarily loud) Princeton location and reported back that they have a separate vegan menu; I immediately put it on my short-list to patronize.

Behold said separate vegan menu (scroll down if you follow the link):

I hadn't originally given it much thought, but BYOL observed that it's an interesting choice for the vegan "proteins" not to include more standard tofu/tempeh/seitan/bean options. Yes, we know vegetables contain protein; it's just an interesting take on the "vegan protein" issue. More on the menu options later.

Full disclosure: our first visit began with disappointment because, while the New Brunswick location has outdoor seating, dogs aren't allowed because you can only access the area by walking through the interior of the restaurant. Understandable, but regrettable. So, we got take-out:

En-salad-a: black beans, pico de allo, sliced avocado, house pineapple lime dressing served on a bed of chopped romaine with your choice of protein; here we chose brussel sprouts: charred & tossed in chipotle sauce with vegan chipotle aioli.

VM liked this way more than I did; mainly I was perturbed because it was predominantly halved Brussels sprouts with pico atop five giant pieces of lettuce and no discernible dressing. I'd really been looking forward to that pineapple lime; if it was there, I didn't taste it. It's possible that the extremely flavorful sprouts overshadowed it, but it seems doubtful since the lettuce leaves were basically dry. The cilantro in the pico wasn't a dealbreaker, and the avocado was a nice touch: generous enough that you needn't add guac (additional $$); overall, it just wasn't what I'd describe as a salad. I'd recommend, especially in light of the recent resurgence in popularity of chopped salads, that the lettuce be torn smaller and the sprouts be shredded.

Next up we ordered the viva la nachos: hand cut tortillas black beans, sliced pickled jalapenos, and your choice of protein; we went with the golden avocado: fried avocado with vegan chipotle aioli. SIGH. Okay, so we got this home and I was confused because:

1. This wasn't what I had pictured when I imagined fried, "golden" avocado; where was the batter, the crunch? These avocado chunks glistened with oil and had about 20 breadcrumbs stuck to each.
2. I hadn't remembered there being vegan cheese on the menu. Spoiler alert: THERE WASN'T. I was able to pick out and eat one, dry tortilla that tasted mainly of disappointment.

Mexican Street Corn wasn't on the vegan menu,* but the person taking my order kindly offered to veganize it and I was so excited that I forgot to say NO CILANTRO. Luckily, it was easy to remove the giant leaves and then it was basically just corn smothered in vegan aoili. Undeniably good, but I recognize that I probably don't need to consume that much aioli; that's on me.

 * it turns out that on the omnivorous menu it says "vegan option available"

 

Because I wanted to try all three "proteins," and certainly not because we needed more food (although ultimately we did because of the nacho snafu), I ordered the mission style burrito: rice, black beans, salsa in a flour tortilla with rajas: roasted corn and poblano peppers with smokey roja. This was definitely my favorite item ordered; it was on the dry side, but the ingredients were perfectly proportioned to each other and throughout the burrito, which had been assembled and sealed with extraordinary neatness (I'm looking at you, messy Chipotle).

I enjoyed it so much so that, a few weeks later, we returned to try the burrito with the Brussel Sprouts and added guacamole. The beans were a little more saucy this second time around but, once again, I think this menu item would benefit from the sprouts being shredded.

Overall, I'm really happy such a mainstream chain has an entire vegan menu instead of  secretly/accidentally vegan menu items/substitutions that only vegans are aware of through an underground, food-sharing, word-of-mouth, social media community. That being said, I think they could benefit from a few changes/additions. In addition to those I've cited above, it would be great if they could take their menu up a notch by offering vegan dairy substitutions, like cheese and sour cream, that seem to have become relatively ubiquitous in vegan/non-vegan establishments. In the meantime, I'll continue to get takeout and add my own.

Comida Fresca at Whole Foods Metuchen

I had an appointment in the area a few weeks ago so I did a quick google search for vegan food and Comida Fresca, a fast casual establishment with a bar in the relatively new Whole Foods Metuchen, came up with a decidedly vegan-friendly menu.

We ordered two agua frescas that took an inordinately long time to come out and were cloyingly sweet with little discernible taste other than that the hibiscus lemon was less disgusting than the honeydew lime. BUT we were already eyeing the establishment's pinball machines for a post-lunch game.

I didn't want us to fill up on guac and then not be able to try other things, so we went with the chips & salsa to start. The chips arrived a little oily on wax paper in a baking sheet, so I assumed they'd fried them in-house. The salsa was nice- not too much cilantro and there were a lot of sweet bell peppers in it, which I thought had a great taste and probably filled in the gaps during the tomato off-season.

In our ongoing effort to eat more greens, we ordered the vegan salad option: heart of Jalisco: kale, heart of palm, jicama, bruleed orange (nope; ours were fresh), avocado (it was guac), pepitas, lime agave vinaigrette. This was such an enormous salad that we shared it, used it with our entrees, and even took some home.

My only complaint was how plain it was; the whole was really just the sum of it's parts: kale, hearts of palm, jicama, (not bruleed) orange, guacamole (not avocado), pepitas, and a dressing that literally tasted like lime juice and agave.

We each ordered the vegan taco option (2 per order): faux-rizo: cauliflower rice, tomatillos, jicama, cilantro, vegan lime crema. The presentation was really disappointing, as was the taste. Have you ever tried cauliflower rice plain? Judging by the color, I assumed this must have had some seasoning, but my tastebuds would declare otherwise. There was more jicama, which added a negligible crunch. I guess they were out of the tomatillos (we know Whole Foods has a history of not utilizing their own stock)? The crema was wet, that's about all I can say it added. How a place like Whole Foods could offer such a deplorable and anemic looking vegan option is completely beyond me. 

 

I filled up my tacos with some of the behemoth salad and accoutrements for improved flavor and presentation. VM was not a fan in the least. It honestly wasn't worth the effort it took to chew it.

Pinball fans from way back, we were excited to check out the machines at the end of our meal.

To our surprise, NEITHER of them were in working order.

The restaurant's website has only two photos and one of them is of these pinball machines. For them not to be working was a travesty.

You won't be too surprised to learn that the place was empty when we were there.

Not much else left to say*. Overall, not noteworthy; just skip it. Do better, Whole Foods.

*except I do want to note that Whole Foods is positively BLOWING the free TTLA advertising from Tabitha Brown; I've been to three Whole Foods since who haven't had it.

Jajaja Mexicana

The stars finally aligned and I found myself at the door to Jajaja- right at the top of the F train stairs, 5 minutes before opening on a weekend morning.

 

But, I'm getting ahead of myself with this picture.

The interior is bright and adorable; kitschy and inviting.

There's bar seating, tables, and a couple of booths.

During our meal, we were attended to by a number of servers and staff: all were professional, knowledgeable, and helpful with great personalities.

When the two of us attempted to order the large nachos, our initial server explained to us, completely without judgement, that we might want to add 2-4 additional people to our party if we were going to attempt to finish that serving size and all of the other things we wanted to try. Noted and appreciated!

These nachos: "our chorizo, fermented black beans, turmeric queso fundido, spicy vegetable relish, sour cream, and added guacamole" were exquisite. I'm not usually a fan of "meaty" nachos, but the chorizo crumbles (suspiciously reminiscent of those in the by Chloe taco salad) were ideally proportioned to all of the other toppings which, in turn, were perfectly proportioned to the chips, as well as throughout the dish. All that and nary a mushy chip anywhere within the bowl. So very well done; I don't know how you could come to Jajaja and not order these. *edited to add: if you really like heat, you should DEFINITELY eat the two dried peppers that my friend dismissed as garnish.

if there has to be cilantro in the universe, at least this was easily removable!

It was early and we'd decided not to do cocktails, which was fine- except for that they all looked so great as they were delivered around us from the bar. Instead, I chose the almond milk horchata, which came out looking uber festive with a rim of coconut, square ice cubes (I'm a sucker for square ice cubes), and a floral paper straw. Truly a creamy, non-alcoholic indulgence.

To ensure we'd have enough room for dessert, we decided to share the pupusas: two corn tortillas stuffed with beans, cashew cotija, serranos, topped with sour cream, shiitake bacon, romaine lettuce. The fresh toppings paired with the rich pupusas and umami mushroom bacon lent itself to a wholly decadent dish.

Blah, blah, blah; it was finally time for dessert! There was no question we were ordering the churritos with coconut dulce de leche and they far exceeded my expectations.

First of all, how cute are they: served in their own little, branded baggie? The churros were thick, crisp, perfection and the dulce de leche sauce was divine. Totally Superb.

As if all that wasn't enough, the restroom...IS PINK! I was so enamored by it upon entry that I actually stopped in my tracks, causing the employee who entered behind me to kindly excuse my mindlessness by saying, "I know; it's a lot to take in."

Jajaja hit all the right notes of atmosphere, service, food, drink and extra details; the only thing that seemed to be missing was pretense and I much prefer friendliness.

Highly recommend visiting soon and often. They don't take reservations, so you too may find yourself waiting for the doors to open 5 minutes before time. Enjoy!

Bar Verde

I was really anxious to try Bar Verde, so I was thrilled when a friend planned a holiday din-din there recently. It was a wet, sloshy, slushfest of a day, so obviously our reservation was inside.

The interior is really beautiful- in what seemed like shades of blue, possibly peacock. It was very dark, though; I knew immediately it would be bad for food photography. Don't get me wrong; I get that living in the ambient moment > IG likes, but I feel like restaurants can find a happy medium. I may look better in dim lighting, but my food sure doesn't.

The cocktail menu, though mezcal heavy, looked quite appealing; I'll definitely need to revisit asap for that alone. I'd just come from Oscar Wilde, so I did not want to have another drink. When I ordered a coke, I was offered the choice between a "regular" coke and an "organic" coke. Because the waiter had a gleam in his eye when he said, "organic," that's what I chose. To my surprise, I was served a literal superior Q Kola- which I highly recommend because it was kind of a cross between a coke and a cream soda. Note: since our server had a great sense of humor about the organic coke, I figured it was going to be a fun night AND IT WAS.

The menu is extraordinarily appealing; there were so many things we wanted to try.

We started out with a few appetizers from the "share" portion of the menu. Because we're professionals, two orders of nachos: butternut queso, black beans, pico de gallo, cashew crema, guacamole, jalapeno, (watermelon) radish. This cheese wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was pretty damn great. The proportion and distribution of toppings to chips was almost perfect and the chips remained crisp throughout. I especially appreciated that both the cilantro (worst) and the jalapeno (best) were easy to remove/hoard instead of being hidden throughout and within in tiny dices.

photo credit: Sheryl Yvette

A friend had the elote: grilled corn, chipotle crema, arbol chile, almond cotija, grilled lime; it looked really great and I heard no complaints. My guess is he's already recreated it in his own kitchen because that's how he rolls.

I also shared the smoked potato croquetta: lime cashew sour cream, cacao mole, avocado, pickled jalapeno; it was kind of like deep fried mashed potatoes, but elevated. The thing that made this dish was the varying textures: crisp, creamy, and viscous. I'm not usually a fan of mole, but this was really delicious- particularly mixed with the other sauces. I wouldn't necessarily order this again, but I have nothing bad to say about it.

For dinner I chose the truffle potato flautas with huitlacoche, avocado, marinated kale from the "not tacos" section of the menu. It was kind of small for an entree; I certainly couldn't have eaten just this for dinner and been satiated. Perhaps it was meant to be like a larger plate, not necessarily an entree? That part is a little confusing. To order 2 items from the tacos/not tacos portions of the menu seems overkill, but 1 just under enough even with an app. It was really good; the exterior was crisp and the contents creamy with a taste resembling black beans, although I think that was the huitlacoche. The kale was really exquisite, but the the slices of avocado between the flautas and the kale made the whole dish kind of unnecessarily compact. I think I would have preferred if the kale were served alongside as a salad of sorts topped with the avocado; then the dish would have both appeared larger and would have been cohesive rather than layered.

A friend had the grilled quesadilla with spicy cashew cheese, tomato salsa, salsa verde, flour tortilla. She really liked them. Correction: she LOVED them and "everything else she had." I would have thought plain cheese quesadillas would be boring, but she was definitely not disappointed in the least.

Two friends each had the classic BV burrito: rice refried beans, guacamole, lettuc, salsa fresca, cashew crema. They didn't look too exciting to me and I was warned that the sauce was pretty much pure cilantro, so this one won't be on my must order list.

The wild mushroom tamale with mole, cashew crema, salsa verde was probably the smallest of the entrees. Again, we don't even really know if they were supposed to be entrees. To recap, we ordered from the "share" section of the menu as appetizers and then from the "tacos"/"not tacos" as entrees, but it could be that everything was supposed to be tapas style? TBH, we all steered clear of the taco section of the menu because we assumed they'd be very small entrees. In a perfect world, I'd love to see a mix and match option such as "choose any three" served in a, wait for it, partitioned plate!

For the table, dessert #1: mango cheesecake. The crust was the most impressive factor: very nutty. The "cheesecake" had a nice flavor (not overly mango-y), but was not dense enough to be considered the texture of a cheesecake by any means. I didn't try the dollops because I don't love mango and I figured that's where the flavor would be the most concentrated; others enjoyed, but weren't blown away.

I'd waited the whole meal for our dessert #2, the churros + chocolate. I *think* the waiter threw in an extra churro because he knew I was really resistant to sharing with my tablemates. The chocolate was a dip of medium-thickness; some of my friends had expected it to be an accompanying drinking chocolate and, taste-wise, it was definitely reminiscent. As for the churros...sigh. The ends and edges were crisp, cinnamon sugar deliciousness. The inside may as well have been mashed potatoes; it was so mushy/undercooked.

Overall, we really enjoyed Bar Verde. The space was beautiful, the service was terrific (I love a personality and a sense of humor!), the food was great, and I'd even give the churros another go in case this was an off day. However, if there's an ideal ordering method I should know about, I'm open to suggestions.

Benny's Burritos and their Secret Vegan Cheese

Benny's Burritos is generally a bit busy, crowded, loud, and non-vegan for my taste, but I went there for the first time on a night when I'd just met some really good friends, so it holds a bit of a nostalgic place in my heart.  Also, they're pet-friendly!

Benny's has a sizable menu, but obviously it's mostly about the burritos.

The thing that's most special about Benny's is that they offer "Healthy Substitutions At No Extra Charge"!!  This includes the options of a whole wheat tortilla, brown rice, and tofu sour cream.  Unless you order the non-dairy burrito, they do charge $1.00 for soy cheese (vegan); I guess they don't consider that a healthy substitution?  No complaints here; just happy they have it.  Besides, I usually order the non-dairy burrito.

 

In any event, as of this summer, the printed menu finally indicates that the soy cheese is vegan.  Previously, anytime you would ask, the waitstaff did not know what brand it was*.  Interestingly enough, though: they always handled the inquiry nicely: consistently explaining that it was casein-free.  You kind of have to trust an omni restaurant's non-vegan waiter when he so easily spews those buzz-words.

So, my suggestion for your best bet?  The aptly but boringly named non-dairy burrito: beans, brown rice, salsa fresca & vegan soy cheese in a whole wheat tortilla w/tofu sour cream on the side.  Since you saved that soy cheese dollar, splurge on some guac and dig in to one of these monsters with abandon.

In case you were wondering: they have an A.

Last summer when we were enjoying an early dinner, we spotted this guy outside.

At that particular moment, the interesting thing wasn't obvious.  It had nothing to do with how he was dressed or what he was standing beside; it was that we'd seen him, earlier that day, toting it through Figment.  How he'd managed to make it with his sculpture in tow from the ferry to the east village in about the same time it took our lazy behinds, we'll never know.

Some shots from Figment 2012 for your viewing pleasure.

* It's an epidemic: as much as I love The Bean, there was a recent, similar incident that went as follows:

Us: Is your tofu cream cheese vegan?
Employee: I don't know, let me ask my co-worker; she's vegan.
Vegan employee: (throws a dirty sideye) I don't know.
Us: (not believing she's even vegan) Can you check?
"Vegan" employee: It's from some kosher place in Brooklyn.
Us: Can you look at the container?
"Vegan" employee: (sighs) (pauses) (looks) It is.

Luckily, Mondays are sometimes "Ask the Bean" day on Facebook, so I did just that.  It was confirmed that their tofu cream cheese is, in fact, vegan. But, still not word on what brand/from where.  More mystery vegan cheese...