Back in June, I made the executive decision that we were going to the Jersey Shore for a long weekend.  We used Airbnb to find an apartment, but even before we officially picked a location, I was searching for areas with vegan food options.

We ended up choosing Seaside (and yes, I made my husband walk past the Shore House). Our apartment was 2 blocks away from the beach, and while I used to love eating crappy boardwalk food, I found a few vegan friendly restaurants in Tom’s River, so most of our meals were eaten there.

After we got checked in to our apartment, we headed straight to Revolutionary Lounge & Cafe, about a 15 minute drive from our place. We got there around 5 and there it was empty, but they were getting ready for a show that was going to be playing out back a little later. There wasn’t a huge selection of specifically vegan items on their menu, but I really appreciated that, A, that there were any, and B, that they were clearly marked. I wondered if their veggie burgers sans cheese were vegan (or if they were made with eggs), but the staff seemed kind of busy, so I just ordered the Barbequed Tempeh sandwich to be on the safe side.

We also ordered Hummus Medley with tortilla chips, and my husband ordered the Anarchy Burger (black bean burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and topped with fresh avocado and provolone).

The hummus was good. The red pepper and roasted garlic was definitely my favorite. My tempeh sandwich was really tasty and filling too.  We ordered one of each of the vegan desserts to go from their display, and they were just okay.

We got the Cherry bar (my favorite), GF Chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, Snowball, and a Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and cherry glaze (that’s what the card in the display said, but I didn’t taste peanut butter or cherry glaze…it was like a chocolate Twinkie and I hope it was vegan and not mislabled). They were very sweet, a little dry, and tasted like typical dinner desserts. But I appreciate that they even offer vegan options!

 

The next morning, before hitting the beach, we went to Ocean Organics Juice Bar & Cafe. It was about a 6 minute drive and the staff was super friendly as soon as we walked in.  We ordered off their brunch menu the first day. I got  the tofu scramble with tomato, onions, cracked pepper, and vegan cheese, tempeh,  fruit,  and toast. My husband ordered the 3 Egg Scramble with black beans, peppers, onions, tomato, and cheese, potatoes and toast. We also tried some of the vegan and gluten free waffles (so good!).

I had a hard time choosing what to order (I’m not used to having so many choices) but I had to get the tofu scramble. Mine was really good (they gave me a side of fresh salsa too), but my husbands looked amazing (if the eggs were tofu that is). I opted for getting the side of tempeh but next time I would get a bigger scramble.

From their juice menu, I ordered a Green Machine (Apple, Celery, Lemon, Orange, Spinach, Kale) and loved it. My husband ordered the Pineapple Pipeline (Pineapple, Strawberry, Banana), which was really good too.

I ordered a Hummus Sandwich to go, an Almost Raw Chocolate Raspberry Pie, and a chocolate chip banana bar. They gave me one from the back that didn’t have a label so I forgot the exact name. The banana bar was super moist, and the raspberry pie was to die for. It was probably my favorite thing from the whole weekend.

I absolutely loved the cafe. I loved the food options and the green juice. It was on the expensive side, but it was not overpriced. It was well worth it for an organic, vegan meal.(Embarrassing side note…I was trying to use cash for the weekend and had exact change for the bill. I was so worried about counting out the money that I forgot to leave a tip. We ended up going back the next morning and giving it to them because I felt SO bad. The food and service were excellent, so I hope no one thought we were jerks!)

To be continued…