Sticking to a vegetarian diet at school doesn’t have to be hard! Whether you’re vegetarian or just looking for some healthy, meat-free choices (that aren’t dining hall salad), there are tons of great options in downtown Durham. I spent the weekend tracking down all of these delicious finds for your, and okay my, benefit. Here’s what I found:
Breakfast
Young’s-Main Street
Alright ladies, I’m calling it. This is our new go-to brunch spot! I got the Veggie Panini, which comes with home fries. The panini itself is a two-egg, pesto omelet topped with mozzarella cheese, tomato, spinach and avocado all stuffed inside grilled white bread. They also have a bunch of other vegetarian sandwiches and omelets.
Veggie Panini $9.50
Franz’s Food-Main Street
As someone who has never been able to try the magic of Franz’s famous “JB”, I always felt like I was missing out on something. Franz’s is more than your everyday hot dog stand though, they do have quite a few vegetarian options. I tried the “Skye’s a.m. Veg Out.” It’s a fried egg, hot sauce, cheddar cheese, peppers, and onions on an English muffin. It’s spicy, it’s greasy, it’s the perfect pick me up after a late night.
Skye’s am Veg Out-$3.75
Lunch
Tacomano-Main Street
This place lets you choose between a burrito, bowl, salad, quesadilla, or tacos. From there, you can customize it however you like. My personal favorite is a quinoa and black bean burrito with roasted veggies, corn, fire salsa, lettuce, and shredded cheese. Try it, I promise you’ll love it!
Roasted Veggie Burrito $6.45
Pauly’s Pockets-Main Street
This place is an absolute delight. The owner was super friendly, talking with me as he prepared my wrap. I ordered the falafel veggie pocket, it comes with hummus, tomato, onions, pickles, lettuce and hot sauce, all rolled up in pita bread. This is, without a doubt, the best falafel I’ve ever had. Check this place out for a quick and easy, protein packed lunch. You won’t be disappointed!
Falafel Veggie Wrap $5.75
Dinner
Bella’s Casual Dining- Mill Road Plaza
This is such a cute little place! It’s perfect to bring your parents to, or go for date night. I ordered the veggie burger, which comes with homemade chips (or yummy sweet potato fries for $.50 more). The burger itself was like no other veggie burger I’d had before. It is a fresh, baked quinoa patty that has an awesome crumbly texture to it and comes topped with lettuce, tomato and onions.
Veggie Burger $12.99
Thai Smile 2-Jenkins Court
Full disclosure: this was my first time trying Thai food. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered the yellow vegetarian curry and an order of fresh rolls. The fresh rolls come two to an order and are filled lettuce, cucumber, and some sort of sprout. They had a very minty, fresh taste to them and came with a peanut dipping sauce. The curry itself was full of super fresh carrots, zucchini, snow peas, peppers, potato, red peppers and tofu. You can get it as hot or as mild as you like it. It also came with a small side salad and a spring roll. I had enough leftovers for two more meals, score!
Yellow Curry $7.95 (lunch special price) and Fresh Rolls $4.95