Veggie Cheap Eat: Vegetarian Friendly Happy Hour at Noir

Noir is located in the Charles Hotel in Harvard square and is a cozy but trendy bar that has an affordable happy hour with great vegetarian options. The happy hour is offered Monday through Thursday, from 5-9pm.

In the Boston area, it can be difficult to find happy hours that cater to vegetarians. Most places just serve the standard nachos or mozzarella sticks. Noir has a "5-4-3-2-1-0" happy hour menu, which means flatbreads for $5, $4 for sandwiches, $3 for snacks, $2 for salads, $1 for sweets, and $0 for nuts. Its a great deal, but you have to come during happy hour to get these savings.

The best option for vegetarians is the grilled flat bread with roasted tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, arugula and grilled eggplant. To compliment your flatbread try the frisee salad made with feta cheese, shaved fennel served in a blood orange vinaigrette.

Check out their menu, for more veggie cheap eats.

Vegetarian Pre Fixe Menus on Valentines Day

It can be difficult to find places that have good vegetarian options on Valentines day. Many restaurants have special Valentines Day menus but fail to offer any vegetarian dishes. Here is a list of restaurants in Boston with great vegetarian options on Valentines Day.


Sel De Terre: Sel De Terre is a French restaurant with three restaurants in the Boston area. Their Long Wharf restaurant located on 255 State Street in Boston is offering a six course Vegetarian menu for for $85. Entrees include dishes such as truffled artichoke soup, mushroom roulade with white asparagus, fried quail eggs tarragon and glacage.


Hamersley's Bistro: Located in the South End, Hamersley's Bistro is offering a four course menu for $110 and includes at least one vegetarian option in every course. The main course is a mushroom wellington with winter vegetables and a sherry mushroom essence.

Craigie on Main: Craigie on Main, formerly Craig Street Bistro, with a new location on 853 Main Street, will offer a five course pre fixed menu with vegetarian options for $150.

Top of the Hub: Top of the Hub in Boston will be offering a four course vegetarian pre fixed menu for $250. The price does seem a little steep, but with the best views in Boston, it is one of the most romantic places.

Tamarind Bay: If you looking for something ethnic for Valentines Day, Tamarind Bay is offering a four course menu with vegetarian options including wine for $75. Known for great Indian food, Tamarind Bay is located in Harvard Square.

Elephant Walk: A French Cambodian fusion restaurant, Elephant Walk is one of my favorite restaurants. Although Elephant Walk does not have special pre-fixed menu for Valentines Day, they have many different vegetarian options on their regular menu as well as a 4 course pre fixed menu that is offered all year long with vegetarian options for only $33.95. Def my pick for best value and food.

If all else fails, plan a special romantic vegetarian dinner,it may mean more and you can kiss the chef:-)

Vegan Valentine's Day

Looking for a Vegetarian Valentine's Day and don't want to break the bank? Chef Didi Emmons is preparing a special Vegan Valentine's dinner at the Haley House Bakery for only $30. Check out the menu from the BVS website.

BVS Love-Infused Globe-Roaming Invigorating Vegan Valentine's Dinner

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED to info@BostonVeg.org


6:45 PM - Arrive, check in/pay, socialize
7:00 PM - Dinner

No animal ingredients

* Thai Salad of Pomegranate Love Nuts, Peanuts, Crispy Tofu with Minty Dressing Swaddled by Buttercup Lettuce

* Free-Form Pasta Layered with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chard, Ground Seitan Tomato Sauce, and Olive-You Tapanade

* with Onion Foccacia

* Good 'Ole Banana Cream Pie with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

* Iced Love Potent #9, a Ruby Red Multi-Berry Iced Tea

$30 includes service!! Organic Beer or Wine Extra.


Never hesitate to arrive on your own to a BVS event, even a Valentine's Dinner!

PAYMENT: Pay on site as you arrive. $30 each in cash (exact change please) or check (made out to Haley House). NO CREDIT CARDS.


LOCATION:

Haley House Bakery Cafe
2139 Washington St.
Dudley Square, Boston

The Cafe is set back in a parking lot, opposite the Hamill Gallery. It is 1.5 blocks from the intersection of Washington St. and Melnea Cass Blvd.

Free parking lot on site. Silver Line stops 1.5 blocks away at Melnea Cass Blvd.

Veggie Cheap Eat: Spring Rolls at Porter Square Book Store

Where can you go to get delicious, yet affordable Vietnamese spring rolls in the Boston area? A Chinese restaurant? A Vietnamese restaurant? The answer is in the Porter Square book store located in Cambridge MA on 25 White street. Inside the book store, lies a small cafe called Cafe Zing that serves these yummy soft spring rolls. Catered from a place called Indochine, these soft spring rolls are made with lettuce, tofu, mint, carrots and vermicelli noodles and are served with a sweet and tangy peanut sauce. For around $5 you can have three of these delicious rolls which makes for a perfect light lunch or a nice veggie snack. Call ahead or get to the cafe before the evening, these rolls are very popular and tend to sell out early in the day.

In addition to these addictive spring rolls, Cafe Zing also sells coffee, tea, and gluten free desserts. Their gluten free toffee almond cookie is quite tasty. Seating is limited and service is friendly. Definitely a nice place to come for quick veggie bite.

Veggie Cheap Eat: Shanghai Cafe in NYC

It can be difficult to find good vegetarian options in Chinatown. After a long day of shopping in Soho, Chinatown was the closest place to grab a bite. My carnivore friend insisted that we venture into Chinatown for dinner. I was a bit hesitant because I’ll admit I am a bit skeptical of the true vegetarianess of Chinese food in Chinatown. Except for Penang in Boston, my limited experiences with Chinese food in Chinatown have not always been the best. Since we were hungry, we did not want to travel too far to have dinner so we went to a restaurant called Shanghai Café.
Shanghai café located on 100 Mott St between Canal and Hester St serves Shanghainese food in a casual relaxed setting.

The ambiance, with its fluorescent lighting and eighties décor, differs from the standard Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. The meal started out with a complimentary green tea. I ordered the Black Mushroom Noodles with soup for $3.50 and the Vegetable pan fried Noodles for $6.25. For only $3.50, the Black Mushroom Noodles is quite large and is a meal on its own. The soup was tasty; I loved the thick dark mushrooms in the flavorful vegetable broth. The noodles however were plentiful but a bit too thick for my liking. The waitress ensured me that the broth was vegetarian, but as always double check. The pan fried noodles with vegetables were made with a thick sweet flavorful soy sauce. I am generally not a fan of crunchy noodles but I really did enjoy the taste of this dish.

Overall I enjoyed myself at Shanghai café. The service here is a bit slow and some of the servers are friendlier than others. My experience at Shanghai café was positive and I will now keep an open mind about trying restaurants in Chinatown. The food was good, and for the price you really can’t complain. I know there is a vegan restaurant in Chinatown Boston, called My Thai Vegan Café but I have not had a chance to try it yet. Do you know any other Chinese restaurants in Boston that have good vegetarian options?