On being a vegetarian in Manchester, NH
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 8:20AM When I moved to Manchester, NH, in 2004, I did not eat meat. And I probably would’ve remained vegetarian had my new friend Glenn not tempted me with what he swore was as “THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD:”
Maybe my body was craving animal proteins. Maybe the shock of the New Hampshire winter had me craving something more hearty and substantial than a vegetable sub. In any event, I let myself be talked into ordering the above-shown nacho-crusted chicken sandwich on my first visit to the Wild Rover Pub.
And it was, truly, everything Glenn promised: “THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD.”
But it came with a price. Like Pringles, I found afterwards that couldn’t eat just one meaty meal. The nacho-crusted chicken sandwich was like a gateway drug. Indeed, it marked the beginning of a slippery slope back to into omnivorous dining. So it goes.
In recent months, however, the missus and I have decided — mainly for environmental reasons — that we’d like to give vegetarianism another go. No more steak teriyaki pizza from Olympus Pizza. No more bacon and leek scones at Jewell and Beanstalk. No more duck poutine from Z Food and Drink:
While willing to sacrifice meat for the greater good of the planet, part of me was worried that our restaurant options would dwindle to a few pasta and other noodle dishes of the Italian and Asian varieties.
Thankfully, however, Manchester, NH, has surprisingly diverse vegetarian options, including my personal favorite meal anywhere in the city, paneer shahi korma:
In addition to paneer shahi korma, India Palace offers some 18 vegetarian entrees. Other restaurants with respectable vegetarian sections in their menus include the aforementioned Jewell and the Beanstalk, La Caretta (I don’t think it gets any better than vegetarian combination “e”) and Lakorn Thai.
Other tasty vegetarian options in Manchester, NH, include the spinach and feta pizza at Souvlaki Pizza and Subs the delectable vegetable momos at Café Momo:
And while I’ve yet to find a meat-free sandwich that compares to the nacho-crusted chicken sandwich, that’s not to say there are no tasty vegetarian sandwiches in Manchester, NH. The quinoa chickpea Panini at All Juiced Up is pretty good, as is the Lebanese style falafel at Beirut Shwarma:
In other words, I’m not going starve.
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Reader Comments (5)
You have GOT to check out The Golden Bowl on Queen City Ave. The BEST vegetarian soup! I must have it every week!
Thanks for the recommendation, Shana! I've tried their iced coffee (super rich - they use condensed milk), but not their soup. It's a variety of pho, I assume?
Too bad fish is meat, because the Fish and Chips at the Wild Rover is divine.
In Manchester, my faves for vegetarian food would have to be Cafe MoMo on Hanover St. and Lakorn Thai on S Main St.
If you'd like, I'll try to find some delicious meat free recipes and test them out and give you my feedback on the good ones. I did make a kickass vegetarian lasagna the other day that I'll be posting soon on my site. Even my carnivorous father didn't seem to mind the lack of meat. It's filled with oodles of fresh veggies and uses very little pasta so it's very healthy and satisfying.
That would be great, Lynette. I'm always looking for good veggie options. Thanks.
Good luck with that Will. You should really take up hunting and only eat meat which you kill, dress and prepare yourself. Survival of the fittest you know.
As the son of a butcher, I myself was a vegetarian for a few years. But the need to satisfy the urge to bring my own food to the table was too great to overcome with just tofu pups and veggie burgers.