Vegetarian food can be both healthy and delicious, and the Jersey Shore has many vegetarian restaurants that even meat lovers will enjoy.
Open since 1988, this family-owned restaurant in Red Bank offers a large vegetarian selection, according to Joe Kriete, 35, of Red Bank, who is both the chef and owner.
"I've been here for 14 years, and it's always been a great spot for people to enjoy a great, healthy meal," Kriete said.
Eurasian Eatery's signature dishes include Thai dumplings, which are vegetable-stuffed and served with a soy dipping sauce, sliced radishes and carrots. Then there is the vegetarian meatloaf, which is made with soy nuts, chickpeas and vegetables and served with an onion espagnole (brown) sauce and brown rice on the side, as well as the vegetarian-stuffed cabbage, filled with vegetables and brown rice and served with sauteed potatoes.
"We are a premiere vegetarian restaurant that focuses on old-style, old-world cooking," Kriete said. "Being vegetarian used to be a new concept for a lot of people, but nowadays, thanks to the ingredients that we use and the style of the cuisine, which is Euro-Asian, more people know about this type of food, and they love it."
Sentosa in Brick offers authentic Chinese vegetarian food, said Le Liu, general manager.
"What's so interesting about this place is that it is more on the Asian side, and we're the only Asian restaurant around here that serves vegetarian chicken nuggets and vegetarian beef," Liu said.
The vegetarian sesame chicken, made with fried vegetarian chicken mixed with brown sauce and served with broccoli, is very popular, he said.
"A lot of people like that, and the vegetarian pad-Thai chicken nuggets, made with rice noodles and vegetables with a spicy sauce, is very popular as well," Liu said.
"I'm glad that people are making the decision to eat healthier because once you eat healthier, you feel better."
Aamantran Indian Cuisine in Toms River opened in 2006, and it has been offering quality Indian-vegetarian food since, said Anita Iyer, 46, main chef and manager.
Iyer, who moved from India to the United States in 1993, said she always wanted to open a restaurant that reflected her passion for great-tasting, healthy food.
Iyer describes the atmosphere as casual fine-dining.
"The food here is all organic," she added. "There are no frozen foods. Everything is made from scratch."
Signature dishes include the paneer lajawab, made with cottage cheese cubes cooked in a subtly spiced tomato cream sauce with exotic spices, and spinach bread.
Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar was opened in 2005 by owner and head chef Omer Basatemur, 29, of Brick.
Basatemur wanted to keep the vegetarian tradition alive on the Jersey Shore, and when word got out that the famous Veggie Works restaurant in Belmar was closing, he felt there was only one thing to do. Basatemur had been working there and believed he had obtained the skills needed to continue providing the area with vegetarian cuisine.
The signature dish at Kaya's Kitchen is vegetarian sesame chicken with soy sauce. The restaurant has a diverse menu that includes Asian and Mexican cuisines; it also has burgers and wraps.
"I believe being a vegetarian has a big impact on society as a whole and on the environment as well," he said. "I just think it is a way of life for everybody. For some people, being a vegetarian is difficult, so we try to make it easier for them, and we want to make sure people try our food and realize that there are healthy foods out there that taste good."
Sentosa owners Kevin and May Liu show off some of their vegetarian dishes. (Photo by Bob Bielk)
