Wildwood, NJ
The Wild Burrito
Bagel Time
Capt'n Jacks
Boardwalk food
Poppi's pizza
Rob and I visited Wildwood, NJ for the weekend so I could run the Wilds half marathon. It was our first visit here, generally we go to Ocean City, MD, but we were pleasantly surprised, and will return!
There is only one vegetarian restaurant listed in town, Epicure, but they were not open yet for the season. Not to worry, though, I found plenty to eat! Friday night we found a great little spot called The Wild Burrito. A locally owned modern tex-mex joint, the owner and cook, Joe, is very conscious about ingredients!
This place is very veg-friendly, and BYOB, it should be noted.
Vegan options on the menu included A tofu burrito, BBQ seitan, and avocado fries. We HAD to start with those.
These were served with a chipotle ranch, veg, but not vegan, but I found these to be incredibly tasty with just a bit of hot sauce.
They're rolled in coconut milk, tortilla chips, and plantains. I got the tofu and black bean tortilla, which also came with generous onion and peppers. This was very filling, and inexpensive.
We had a chance to chat with Joe, who, most days, is the sole employee. He has been in business for three years, and this summer will be expanding his vegan menu to include vegan cheese! Not only is Joe a good person, but we found out he is also a runner, and would be running the half on Sunday.
He told us he was hosting an after party after the race, and we promised to return.
For breakfast Saturday morning, we walked a few blocks from our motel to Bagel Time.
I was pleasantly surprised right away by our waitress, Raven's vegan knowledge. She told us that all of their gluten free bagels were vegan, and asked if it was okay that our bagels went through the same toaster!
There were not only many flavors of vegan, gluten free bagels, but there were also options for spreads (tofu, hummus, peanut butter, jelly).
I got the blueberry bagel with pb&j, and Rob got the everything bagel with hummus and roasted red pepper. Then we went halvsies.
The hummus and roasted red pepper was exactly that, a nice, big chunk of pepper on the bagel.
We talked with the owner and chef, Angelo, and he, too, is expanding his vegan options for the summer months. They will soon have a portabella sandwich option on the menu.
On the Boardwalk, there are not too many vegan options, but if you look, there are always tasty finds.
At Capt'n Jacks, not only did they have sweet potato fries and a hummus platter on the menu, their bloody mary mix was vegan. (I've found most bartenders are more than happy to hand you the bottle of mix and let you read the ingredients!) We got the Hummus, and were pleased with the three flavors.
Later on the boardwalk, I noticed a sign for Plantanios Fritos (Fried Plantains!). I ordered them, and was very happy when I saw the gal behind the counter take a fresh Plantain, peel it, slice it, and fry. They even didn't add any salt or flavorings for me- who needs that? They were delicious just as they were.
Before my half marathon in March, I ate vegan pizza the night before- carbohydrate loading, you know? So we went to check out a locally owned brick oven pizzeria, Poppis. This establishment is also BYOB. Apparently, there are a limited number of liquor licenses on the island, so most new businesses are BYOB. I thought it was great! Rob brought in a large beer, and I had a mini-merlot, and they even brought us over an ice bucket to keep things cold!
I ordered a thin crust, cheese-less, mushroom pizza. Our waitress, Bianca, called it a "Tomato pie" which I thought was adorable. She even brought me extra marinara sauce to dip my crusts in. Yum.
Because the pizzas are cooked in a brick oven, they are cooked quickly, and it is traditional to have some black edges. Apparently, that means the center of the pizza is cooked perfectly.
So, after my race, before we left town, we had to stop back by The Wild Burrito. True to his word, Joe was hustling, giving away free tacos and beers! I got the BBQ Seitan tacos, and goodness gracious, those were worth the trip! So very tasty! When I tried to pay Joe for the food, he refused the money. I threw it in the donation bucket instead. At the end of the day, I guess he raised more than $700 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Well done!
