In Heaven at Veggie Heaven

….and in hell in this NJ heat!

Okay, perhaps that’s a little bit melodramatic, but seriously, 100 degrees with awful humidity? Not my cup of tea. I’ve always gotten overheated easily, and living in San Diego has made me very SPOILED! Basically I’m melting right now, but moving on to my heavenly dinner last night…

In college, I became hooked on Veggie Heaven, an all-vegetarian Asian restaurant with a few locations. When I first saw it, I thought it didn’t look like anything special on the outside. I actually was reluctant to try it at all. What a perfect example this is of not judging a book by its cover, because this spot is awesome.

I’m a person who hardly ever orders take-out, but this place became a restaurant I picked up food from on a weekly basis. It’s that damn good. I’ve dragged all of my meat-eating friends and family (so, pretty much everyone I know besides my veggie sister!) there, and they all enjoy it too.

It’s become a place of memories really. My then boyfriend/now husband and I used to have date nights there while we were in school. It’s the place I had dinner at with my family after my college graduation. And last night, I got together with my girlfriends there.

The awesome part about Veggie Heaven is that it’s a healthier version of the Asian food you typically see. Their food has no MSG, artificial flavors or preservatives, saturated fat or cholesterol. It always seems like the vegetarian Chinese food dishes I get almost everywhere else are greasy and don’t sit well in my stomach. At Veggie Heaven, the noodles taste soft and fresh. The restaurant mimics real meat by using a blend of bean curd, taro root, wheat gluten, and veggies, and let me tell you, it is delicious! I wish there was one in San Diego, but since there’s not, I totally pigged out last night on all of this yumminess:

Appetizers 

vegetable spring rolls

steamed spinach dumplings

Entrees: “pork” fried rice, vegetable lo mein, General Tso’s “chicken” with brown rice, and (lots of) broccoli

It’s safe to say I ate enough food to get my temporary fix of Veggie Heaven! Plus I may or may not have had leftovers for breakfast this morning. 😉

I’m spending the last few days I have in NJ at my family’s shore house. Family, beach, boat, jet-ski, sangria… I’m looking forward to a relaxed weekend!