Earlier this week we featured some cool food spots we got to check out while traveling in southern California, but today we want to feature some places closer to home.  We’ve been searching high and low for some interesting food that we’ve never tried before, and recently we got to check out two casual eateries that are new the New York.  One is an all-vegetarian spot, while the other has plenty of vegetarian-friendly options, but what unites them is that they’re both counter service restaurants where you place your order up front and then someone brings it to you, making for a great place to grab a quick bite.  These two places also both originated in other cities in the U.S., but we’re glad they made it here – and as it just so happens, they’re both within a mile of each other.  So here’s some great food you can grab and eat in a hurry, if you’re so inclined.

The first place we visited was HipCityVeg, a 100% vegetarian chain which originated in the Philadelphia area but has now expanded to Manhattan and Queens as well as DC.  We visited the location just south of Union Square and decided to sample a bunch of things from their menu.  Here it is:  on the left is a smokehouse burger, made from a Beyond Meat patty topped with smoked gouda, fried onions, and barbecue sauce, and on the right is the Basic B burger, with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles, plus their house burger sauce.  There’s also a six-piece order of their veggie chicken nuggets with a honey mustard sauce, plus some sweet potato fries.

If you want to head a little ways from HipCityVeg into the West Village, you can also check out Breakfast by Salt’s Cure, which started out as an all-day restaurant in Los Angeles before spinning off a breakfast spot in that city, which then opened a second arm here in New York.  The specialty here is pancakes, but not just any old pancakes –  Salt’s Cure has their signature oatmeal griddle cakes.  Here’s an order of three, made with chocolate chips and butter on top:

You can also get a full breakfast platter, which comes with three griddle cakes (these are the banana and walnut variety), plus two eggs, plus your choice of sausage – the patties here are a vegetarian version made from chickpeas.

It’s pretty cool that within just a few blocks you can find two different quick and casual spots where you can get some great vegetarian food – you have your choice of burgers, nuggets, and fries that are completely meat-free, or unique pancakes and other breakfast foods that are mostly vegetarian.  These are the perfect spots for a quiet, inexpensive breakfast or lunch on the weekends, and we’re glad we got the chance to try them.  We’ll definitely feature more food from around New York in later posts!