On the Side of the Road

Imagine you’re hungry and heading south on the I-95 from Providence back to New York. Through the hum of the Volvo and the 90’s indierock, trees run by the 2-lane stretch of interstate and not much else. The usual blue signs for gas, food and lodging mark the more populated exits. And then you see it! A exit sign of food offerings graced with the word “vegetarian”! Did I just read that right? After demanding we exit through cries of maybe-irrational giddiness, I doubt myself. I think I just read it wrong. Then another billboard: Shoreline Diner and Vegetarian Enclave.

It’s one thing to have researched vegetarian eateries when planning a road trip but it is far rarer stumbling across a compatible eatery unexpectedly. It is also kinda rare to find an omnivorous eatery that displays its vegetarian sensibilities so boldly. As we walked to this diner I was brimming with excited anticipation. To me its discovery was kismet, special. Although a later Google search would prove this place no secret, walking to its door this late morning, I was an eager explorer who’d just discovered gold. 

Here’s the diner menu. The typical over-sized plastic-covered pages like those I had flipped through a million and one times having grown up on the south shore of Long Island. So often the only choice would be french fries or, my usual diner order, a toasted bagel with lettuce, tomato and mustard. Real hearty, huh? I opened the menu eager to see the vegetarian choices.

And there they were. A vegan section of options, clearly labeled. Real diner fare! Not just a burger and grilled vegetable sandwich option, but tempeh, lentil bulgur meatballs, quinoa, tahini, vegan mayo, vegan desserts like chocolate cake… gluten-free options too! Yes, the place had plenty of meat too, as seemed to be the trend of the eateries we had hit in Providence, and, with that, the risk of cross-contamination. Though in New York City I have a strong preference for veg-only establishments and often go without even seeing a piece of meat for months, I am less rigid on the road. Unfortunately, everybody ain’t vegan. But I’ll take vegan openness, vegan options and omnivorous-vegan coexistence over a bagel with lettuce, tomato and mustard anyday.

I got the Tempeh Reuben because if a place offers one I pretty much always have to get one. Having been vegan for going on 14 years and vegetarian for 4 years before that, I never had a “real” corned beef rueben sandwich (As I have also never had steak besides the Swanson Salisbury kind). But I have a thing for vegan ruebens (drooool). Shoreline’s tempeh rueben was delicious. Their tempeh was light and flavorful and mos-def housemade. Between the grilled rye bread slices was that tempeh patty, a wild rice cake, maple mustard and sauerkraut. I was wholly impressed!

So, after some dive-y vegan bliss in Rhode Island and Connecticut, I’m on french fry detox. Until the road calls again…