We love weekend getaways to areas nearby. This year we have been to Philadelphia twice this year and fell in love with the large variety of food options for vegetarians. Most of the restaurants below are very popular and most of their menu does have non-vegetarian options so it’s the best of both worlds. I will be constantly adding to this post for places we try in the future. Let me know if you have any good recommendations!
Food Stalls: Reading Terminal Market: One of America’s largest and oldest public markets, housed since 1893 in a National Historic Landmark building, the Market offers numerous cuisines. Great place to bring a family if you have a diverse group of picky eaters! We were able to find a seat within the building, but it is very crowded.
Where I ate:
Hunger Burger: Traditional Mac & Cheese: Creamy cheesy texture, portion is perfect for a quick snack. I personally didn’t think it had a depth of flavor, it would have been nice with toasted breadcrumbs on top.
Fox & Son: Cheese Curds with Homemade Ranch: The cheese curds were the perfect texture and made fresh. Their menu is ridiculously unhealthy with options such as fancy corn dogs, funnel cakes, and hand cut fries, but everyone deserves a cheat meal!
Sushi and Ramen: Tomo Sushi & Ramen: We got both vegetarian Ramen options, the Vegetarian Shoyu Ramen and Miso Ramen in addition to the Vegan Red Dragon. This was a 10/10 for both options in flavor. We have been to almost every top rated ramen restaurant in New York and Chicago and this is right up there with the best vegetarian option we have had. The menu also features over 10 vegetarian sushi rolls, which is unheard of.
Mexican: El Vez: VERY popular restaurant. We went early to put in our name as we didn’t see they accepted reservations. The wait was close to 2 hours for 2 people which we put as first available.
Appetizers:
De La Hoya Guacamole (traditional oaxacan style: roasted garlic, white onion, basil): Very light garlic and onion flavor that blends so perfectly with the avocado. Not spicy at all, couldn’t stop eating it!
Queso Fundido de Hongos (melted cheeses, fresh truffled wild mushrooms, huitlacoche): If you like cheese, you will like this. It got very heavy for me personally and I could feel my cholesterol slowly rising. Would order if > 2 people.
Main Course:
Tacos Al Carbon (for 2, but really for 4 I think): Traditional build your own tacos with flour tortillas, rajas, pico de gallo, guacamole & queso fresco: Grilled Portobello with corn tortillas. The mushrooms were spiced to absolute perfection and also a hefty portion that could easily feed 4 people. All the sides that come with it we had replenished for free.
Sides: Grilled corn on the cob (lime chipotle, queso fresco) aka Elote (amazing, would order again and I don’t even like corn); Roasted Brussel Sprouts with avocado mayo and fresno chile (would not order again, the brussel sprouts were really large in size and not bite sized)
Fast Casual: Hip City Veg: This fast food establishment is vegan and uses compostable materials. When I hear the word “vegan” I think no taste, but this place has proved me wrong.
Golden Nugget Deal with sauce on the side: Very crispy and fresh “chicken” nuggets that tasted great with the dipping sauce. From the reviews I was reading people said it tasted like the vegetarian nuggets from Trader Joes but more expensive. I have never had those so I don’t have anything to compare against.
Smokehouse Burger: (Beyond Meat®, crispy onions, tangy BBQ,& smoked gouda cheese with a Gluten free bun): Very filling and flavorful. Everything here seems to be made to order. I can tell they take a lot of pride in making sure their food isn’t bland.
Sichuan & Taiwanese: Dan Dan : Would easily drive hours for this place. The best Sichuan & Taiwanese restaurant I have been to. This compared to Han Dynasty in New York, perhaps even 2 notches above.
Dan Dan noodles: (Flour lo-mein style noodles tossed with sesame paste, soy sauce, chili oil, and scallions – spice: 3/5, ASK FOR VEGETARIAN, typically made with pork): I have had my share of dan dan noodles. These are a perfect balance of a peanut flavor and spice for me. Personally I like a more prominent peanut flavor and these stole the show.
Vegetarian String Beans: (stir-fried with garlic and pickled vegetables): Great texture and flavor.
Cumin Style Tofu: (cumin-crusted and stir-fried with red & green bell peppers, dried peppers, and onions): Perfectly crisp tofu wrapped in so much delicious cumin flavor. They are flash fried so not super greasy. I personally didn’t find them that spicy, but maybe if you have delicate palate the flavor might be slightly overwhelming. 10/10
Spicy aromatic pot with tofu: (a mixture of bunapi and wood ear mushrooms, onion, bamboo shoots, dry pepper, cauliflower, bell peppers, sesame, potato, and five-spice, stir-fried in a flaming wok) If I could live inside this pot I would die happy.
Scallion Fried Rice: (egg fried rice stir-fried in a scallion puree): Just a perfect dish. Delicate rice infused with scallion. If you have never tried this delicacy before, it is hard to come across at restaurants so I would order again.
Philly Cheesesteak: Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop:
Ordered the “vegan” cheesesteak but substituted for Cheese Whiz + Old Bay Fries: The taste was incredible for a take on a cheesesteak. I had a real cheesesteak literally ages ago but the meat substitute didn’t taste chewy or weird to me especially with the cheese whiz. We couldn’t eat inside so my fries were wilty but I can’t blame anyone for that besides my long walk back to my parking spot.
Coffee: Chapterhouse Cafe & Gallery: Very diverse latte menu which I appreciate. We found the coffee to be average. Tushar got the nutella latte but we would be interested in trying other options.
Dessert: Federal Donuts: Chocolate glazed donut. The donut itself was very small, but probably the most moist (I hate that word) donut I’ve ever had. It was very cake-like and delicate. They have a lot of interesting flavors on their menu which I would probably get a half dozen next time to sample, followed by a long run.
Dessert: Franklin Ice Cream Bar: The absolute sweetest/cutest ice cream shop. They serve their ice cream in a Chinese take out container. I was so confused as we were walking around and couldn’t stop thinking, wow people really love Chinese take out in Philadelphia at lunchtime… Turns out it was just ice cream. There menu is extremely extensive. Their ice cream is creamy and has a good amount of mix-ins.
On our list of places to eat:
- Vedge
- Charlie was a sinner
- Sprig & Vine
- Mama’s Vegetarian
- Goldie
- Blackbird Pizzaria
