*** EDIT ***
Unfortunately, this restaurant appears to have closed. I am leaving this post up for now but I don't want to confuse anyone into thinking it is there.
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I do not go out to eat very often. However, when I find a restaurant I like I tend to get pretty excited about it. I've decided to add restaurant reviews here in the hopes that other vegans will find them useful and perhaps discover a new place to enjoy a meal. This is the first one!
In June I spent some time in the Eastern part of Pennsylvania because my sister and her husband were expecting their first baby. Of course, as babies are wont to do, my niece decided not to make her appearance until 5 days after her due date. In addition to prolonging my sister's almost-done-being-pregnant misery (any mom can tell you about how unpleasant those last few days, or weeks, can be) it gave me time to enjoy the area. During a little trip into NJ with my mom and my son I stopped at a Turkish restaurant called Cassia Grill for a late lunch.
I had found Cassia Grill's website online prior to heading out for the day and if not for that I would never have known it was there. It is located in the middle of nowhere and not very eye-catching on the outside so we drove right past, almost missing it, and had to turn around further down the road. The inside is pretty much the opposite of the outside: beautifully decorated and very inviting. The color scheme and decorations match well with the food and the music was very pleasant. The server was very polite and helpful and made it easy for me to order. While Cassia Grill not a vegan restaurant, there are things on the menu that are either vegan by chance or can be easily altered to be vegan. I cannot access the menu online at this time so I will only be able to relate what I can recall on my own. Collectively my family ordered 2 salads, a dish with roasted eggplant, and a hummus plate, my favorite being the hummus. The salads were both good and definitely different from salads I make at home. One was a "gypsy salad" and another had white beans and onion; both were vinegary, the gypsy salad more so. The eggplant dish was spicy but mostly from garlic and had a nice, smokey flavor. As I mentioned, the hummus was my favorite. It may very well be the best hummus I have ever tasted and was different from most hummus; it was less lemony and was smooth in texture with a surprisingly prominent parsley flavor. Normally the hummus comes with bread but upon my request they served it with cut veggies instead; I do not know if any of the breads or baked goods there are vegan because I never asked. Overall, I would say that Cassia Grill has good service, a nice atmosphere, and delicious food. If you are ever in the area this restaurant is definitely worth trying!
Information
Address: 1280 State Route 57, Port Murray, NJ 07865
Phone: (908) 223-7555
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cassia-Grill/160207227342393
NOTE: Cassia Grill's website currently seems to be down. When I am aware of it being accessible again I will add a link to it and also info about hours.
Wow, that's in Sussex County, NJ, and that is totally in the middle of nowhere. Thanks for the heads up. There are precious few vegan options in these parts. If you ventured farther down in NJ (to Hunterdon County) we have a store called Basil Bandwagon in Flemington, NJ where you can get vegan meals (even though it's not a restaurant). And there's a restaurant with veg options in Clinton, NJ called the Garden Gourmet (if you happen to be out this way again).
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