There are many things I love about living in Jersey City’s Westside – the park and open space, the laid back vibe, the beautiful and historic homes – but having many restaurant options isn’t one of them. There are very, very few places to eat around here for anyone (let alone a vegan) unless you really love fried chicken or greasy Chinese food. Filipino food also abounds, but it is very meat heavy and it’s hard to find anything at all on a menu that would be suitable to vegetarians and vegans.
So when my husband stumbled across the new spot Sweet Asia (456 West Side Avenue, at Virginia Street), he practically raced home to tell me the good news. Not only was there a new place (a wonderful surprise in itself), it appeared to be vegan-friendly! A couple of hours later, we were off to check it out, and we were incredibly pleased with what we found.
First off, Sweet Asia is what I would call “pan-Asian cuisine.” That’s a little misleading, though; it has a small menu of a couple of selections from different cultures, not the mega-menu of other pan-Asian places (think: Wild Fusion downtown). Sweet Asia has a mix of different cuisines, sure, but it’s a very selective list.
There is Korea, represented by fried rice (alas! none of it vegan!); Japan, by udon soup (more on that in a minute); China, with wonton soup; and then India, with a variety of dishes, many of which I haven’t seen on menus in Jersey City before – or menus anywhere, for that matter. To add to the mix, there are dumplings that are of indeterminate origin (closer to Japanese, but that’s just my opinion) and seem to be completely homemade. And of course the ubiquitous bubble tea that all the local places here have gravitated to, the base of which includes dairy (darn!).
My husband and I arrived starving with a bunch of cash in our pockets and spoke to the guy running the place. His English was a little tricky, but we were able to tell him that we wanted “vegetarian, no egg” food (since dairy doesn’t play a big role in Asian cuisine). There were many options listed on the menu that would seem to fit the bill, especially under the Indian section. There was the Lilva Kachori (fried crispy dumpling filled with green pigeon peas and coconut), Spicy Potato Pakoda (baby potatoes filled with chili garlic sauce), Dabeli (spiced potatoes in a bun with a layer of peanuts, pomegranates and sweet/spicy sauce), and Pani-Puri (crispy semolina pearls filled with sprouts, potatoes and chilled mint flavored water).
Sadly, there were only a few things on the menu available (this is quite standard for restaurants on the Westside – they tend to sell out of what they have and not always restock). We told the guy that we’d take anything that met our dietary conditions, and he seemed thrilled by the challenge. We wound up with veggie dumplings (steamed, fresh, and absolutely delicious), Moong dal Kachori (fried crispy dumplings filled with yellow lentil – a very different take on a samosa-like dish than I’m used to, but very good), and Dal Pakodas (I think? These would be unlike any Pakodas I’ve had before. The menu listed them as green lentil fritters with coconut sauce – picture falafels, but saltier and spicier). Everything we ordered was terrific and seemed to be made in-house. The guy working there served us with pride and happiness, and a beaming smile.
So now we were at the point where you look at one another and say – hmmm, that was amazing, but I’m still a tiny bit hungry. What to do? Go home and snack a bit? Or try and see if the guy has forgotten something on the menu that we can eat?
We wound up splitting a bowl of vegetable udon soup. It was fantastic. Containing as many bright, fresh veggies as noodles, the soup was a really satisfying meal (and at the point where we were halfway through with it, we had descended into gluttony – at that point, we had had more than enough food!). The veggies were a mix of bok choy, mushrooms, carrots, and sprouts – delicious. I tend to avoid udon soup in restaurants because it generally winds up to be a big carb fest with little pay off; this was something very different indeed.
Oh, and the best part? The bill for two of us and a totally waistline-destroying mega-dinner was under $18. Viva la Jersey City!
One caveat that I think is important to mention:
If you are the kind of vegan who is put off by the thought of your food being cooked in a shared kitchen, or if eating something that has an infinitesimal amount of possible animal by-product in it makes you freak out, this is probably not a good choice for you. In fact, you can just skip the Westside all together. This is not an all-vegan restaurant, and while the guy serving us was beyond happy to work with our restrictions, it is possible that a minute amount of something wound up in our food. It’s a risk you take with all not-all-vegan restaurants. I don’t want to misrepresent this place. But! I personally will be back, many, many times, and look forward to sampling all on their menu.
Amy Wilson is an artist who lives in the Lincoln Park section of Jersey City. She has lived in her current neighborhood for over ten years, and in Jersey City for about 18. Her artwork is represented by BravinLee programs (bravinlee.com) in NYC, and she teaches at the School of Visual Arts in the Visual & Critical Studies program. You can see her work at amy-wilson.com. Additionally, she spins yarn from local fiber sources and sells knitted/woven/crocheted items under the name Type A Fibers (https://www.etsy.com/shop/typeafibers) at a variety of venues in the tri-state area. She can often be found in Lincoln Park, picking mulberries and walking her small dog named Oscar.
Jersey City Vegan 