Welcome to the third stop on the Plant-Based Food Tour of Princeton! This week we are continuing the international exploration with Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine. As always, we reviewed these restaurants and their plant-based dishes, using metrics like price, taste, and creativity. Next time you eat out, order one of the items we recommend. Follow the Office of Sustainability and Greening Dining on Instagram to see video reviews and come back next week to learn about the best plant-based grab-n-go restaurants!
Mexican
Tacoria – Most Outstanding, Full Stop.
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
If you haven’t been to Tacoria, what have you been doing? Not only does this restaurant have a great range of vegetarian and vegan options, but each of these dishes is absolutely delicious and never fails to bring a grin to your face. At the time of undertaking this review I had never tried Tacoria’s brussels sprouts; having now tried them, I doubt I will ever order meat from them ever again. My order, the brussels sprouts burrito box, was absolutely spectacular. If you are a bigger fan of the mission-style burrito, Tacoria has you covered, also allowing you to customize your order to include a number of ingredients, but most excitingly their golden (fried) avocado. I cannot rave about Tacoria enough, and with the restaurant being located right on the middle of Nassau Street there is simply no excuse not to try it out. Just last week, Tacoria added a new plant-based option to their menu in the form of Beyond Tacoria burritos, which is great news for plant-based eating, but possibly bad news for my wallet.
Qdoba – Most Customizable, Best Fake Meat Options
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★★
I can’t say I have been itching to go to Qdoba in a while, but when I learned that Qdoba was now serving Impossible™ meat as one of their protein options, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. I had a customizable burrito bowl with Impossible™ meat as my choice of protein; the best part about Qdoba is that you can customize your meal to be exactly how you want it! It tasted just like a burrito bowl with ground beef. Some of you out there may be looking for more of a veggie-based option, which Qdoba can provide. Rather than choosing a fake meat protein, you can make a veggie burrito/bowl/nachos, etc. However, if you are looking to satisfy your meat cravings without the meat, Qdoba has exactly what you are looking for! Go check it out and don’t forget to get a yummy side of chips and guac to complete your meal.
Taste of Mexico – Most Intriguing
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★
Ease of Access: ★★★
In order to find Taste of Mexico, you have to know where to turn on Nassau street. Luckily for me, I can see the front of the restaurant from my window. Taste of Mexico is a really cute place with beautiful multi-colored lights out front, and a nice seating area for when the weather is nice. Their menu is not particularly creative when it comes to offering plant-based options and only really has a couple of different menu items to choose from. For this review, I ordered the vegetable enchiladas with chips and guacamole as a side. I was a newbie to enchiladas (I know, what have I been doing, right?) and thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the side of rice and beans that was honestly the star of the meal for me. When you order chips and guacamole at Taste of Mexico, be warned you receive A LOT of guac, but it is very tasty so if that entices you, you should definitely check it out. All in all, I would recommend Taste of Mexico, but keep in mind that if you are looking for a truly plant-based option you are going to be a little limited.
Mediterranean
EFES Mediterranean Grill – Most Beautiful Falafel Plate
Price: $$
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★
Creativity: ★★
Plant Forward: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★
This week on my plant-based food tour, I ate at Efes Mediterranean Grill. There I got a falafel plate and hummus.
The falafel plate was quite good. The falafels were a beautiful green in the middle, tasted great, and were cooked nicely. For $3 I added a large shepherd salad, seen on the left of the entree. This was perhaps even better than the falafel. I really enjoyed the tomato, cucumber, and seasoning. Before adding the tzatziki sauce and another sauce which I couldn’t identify, I found myself wanting the fries and falafels to be a bit saltier and more flavorful. Adding both sauces and mixing the falafels with the salad fixed this however, making a tasty combination. After my wonderful experience of hot takeout at Chennai Chimney last week, I was a little disappointed by the temperature of the entree when I opened it in my dorm, but I’m sure the cold shepherd salad factored into that.
I also tried the hummus and pita bread off of the sides menu. The hummus was no frills, plain hummus, but I did like it. I am someone who doesn’t prefer too much roasted red pepper or additions to my hummus, so take that how you will. The pita bread is store bought, but it does the job. I believe each $.40 order of pita bread is 2 pieces since I ordered $.80 of it and I got 4 pieces in packaging for a 6-pack.
Efes Mediterranean Grill is located at the intersection of Olden and Nassau, right across the road from Hoagie Haven. It took me 8 minutes to walk from there to the middle of campus and another 4 to get to Whitman. Google Maps says it’s a 17 minute walk, so come here when you aren’t pressed for time. I forgot to ask for no plastic utensils, but I didn’t receive any regardless. This pleased me, but remember to bring your own utensils or your reusable bamboo ones from the Office of Sustainability! There is limited indoor dining, takeout, and some outdoor seating, not in service on cold days. Though it is not the most value for your money, I recommend the falafel plate.
Mamoun’s – Most Flavourful
Price: $
Bang for Your Buck: ★★★★★
Creativity: ★★★★
Plant Forward: ★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Ease of Access: ★★★★
Mamoun’s is a deceivingly long restaurant located at the top of Witherspoon street. I ordered the combo plate, a dish that allows you to select any three of their vegetarian options to be served over rice or salad. I chose falafel, baba ganouj, and hummus, whilst also ordering a side of baklava for good measure. I was absolutely blown away by the assembly of items I chose; each was a taste sensation arranged pleasingly on a plate. The rice and falafel in particular were extremely tasty, and once I had finished my dish I sincerely wished I had more left. If you have a sweet tooth I would 100% recommend the baklava, which is an absolute delight. The combo plate was just one of a number of plant-based options on offer at Mamoun’s, which are all well worth your time and money.
Another huge bonus of Mamoun’s is the speed with which they complete your order: I had ordered, paid, and received my food within 10 minutes! All in all I would urge you to go and check out the plant-based options at Mamoun’s, as you will certainly not be disappointed!
*** We are not food critics, but food enthusiasts. This is in no way intended to be a formal critique or review of any restaurant in Princeton, merely a way to encourage students to try more plant-based options when dining out.