hi! since people shopping at the retail store sometimes ask us about places to eat nearby, i thought i'd compile a little list in case anyone is planning a trip to visit us (come and visit!!!). there are a ton of restaurants north of the store on broadway, but here are a few mini-reviews of the places i've tried so far:

pastoral
www.pastoralartisan.com
an amazing, though tiny, italian/french market. they have the most delicious sandwiches EVER (my favorite is the santorini w/o feta and with olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade), and a truly tempting cheese case (even for a die hard vegan, though so far i haven't given in to temptation). whoever buys their olives really knows his stuff, too. oooh, and if you like pic-nic style nosh, definitely get a sampling of their balsamic-roasted cipollini onions, marinated artichokes, etc. one block south of the store.

flub a dub chub's hot dog emporium
this little burger/dog joint is downstairs from the tarot card readers three doors north of the store on broadway. they just opened and it's a family-run place (a dad and his sons). they've got a pretty big selection of toppings (all free)- dogs and burgers (they have veggie versions of both) come with delicious fries sprinkled with the chef's secret seasoning blend (SO yummy). on the menu it says something like, "our goal is to make you the best sandwich you've ever eaten" and at first i read that and thought, "good luck!" but after eating my amazingly-delicious boca burger with the works (they even have avocado and giadinera) i really believe that these guys LOVE burgers and also loved making me mine.
these are the dogs i ate there the other day- mmmmm!



crisp
http://www.crisponline.com/crisp.aspx
delicious & veg-friendly korean fusion! crisp doesn't look like much from the outside, but this place is a real find! so far i've only tried the korean burrito (delicious and very filling) and i saw the buddha bowl, which looked heavenly in every way. everything is really fresh and yummy. the brown rice is PERFECT. their sauces are AMAZING. i wish i had more stomaches so i could keep eating this stuff forever. half block south of the store.

yummy yummy
omnivore and yet extremely vegan-friendly chinese. donella and i basically live on their smoothies with tapioca pearls- yes, even when it's 25 degrees out. you can choose from a huge selection of fresh fruit (even avocado!) and have them with or without tapioca, and they only come in one size- HUGE! some highlights (from the "healthy menu" a.k.a. vegan menu) are: vegetarian szechuan dumplings (not the wontons), bbq seitan, veggie soy gluten soup (trust me on this one), kung pao soy gluten, soy gluten in garlic sauce, and melody on river (i haven't had anything like this dish anywhere else- it's a taro paste wrapped in yuba and then deep fried and it comes with the most amazing dipping sauce). skip the noodle dishes and the tom yum soup. oh, and you can also get fresh young coconut here! three blocks south of the store.

the bagel
www.bagelrestaurant.com
jewish diner/deli. not a lot of vegan options here, but all soups of the day are vegan and they serve a vegan boca burger. apparently all their non-vegan food is delicious. also they have bialies (but no tofu cream cheese). two blocks north of the store.

new tokyo
japanese. resonably priced and pretty good food. they have A LOT of veggie options and they also have kampyo, though it's not on the menu. delicious cucumber salad, yummy veggie gyoza, but the goma-ae is pretty average. i haven't tried the tofu tempura maki, but i'm going to soon. also, they have oshinko moriawase- so yummy! two and a half blocks north of the store.

soup box
www.thesoupbox.com
i definitely wouldn't recommend this place for vegans, they only ever have an average tasting and overpriced roasted vegetable soup. in fact i think all the soups here are overpriced, but if you're an omnivore in the mood for a bread bowl of hearty soup for $10, then this is the place for you. i have a feeling their non-vegan options are a lot better than the boring roasted vegetable soup. and from what i hear, in the summertime they have the best fresh fruit italian ice in the city. i will definitely be partaking in that as soon as they have it again.

stella's diner
apparently this place is really yummy, but i haven't been yet. go there and let me know what you think!

also, there's an intelligentsia coffee (SO yummy) and and argo tea (SUPER tasty) both about two blocks north, either makes a mean beverage, but i recommend staying away from argo's tapioca, which aren't pearls they're super-sweet cubes. if you want a bubble tea definitely go to yummy yummy.

i'll update this list if i can ever resist the call of pastoral or yummy yummy and venture out to try something else.