Inn of the Hawke: Lambertville (VF)

(Crossposted from Yelp!)

74 S Union St
Lambertville, NJ 08530
(609) 397-9555
(no website)

Borrowed photo credit: Bill Wolfe NJ.com. Check out his photo tour here.

This has been our local for the last 2 years...even though we don't live in Lambertville. We drive 20 minutes just for the beers on tap, since the Hawke usually has good ones like Fuller's, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, as well as the usual suspects like Guinness, Stella Artois, Bud. (I was sad to see the Dead Guy Ale go though.) The emphasis seems to be on beer, but I always see regulars with basic cocktails and they have a decent basic wine list as well. Never ever seen anyone order anything pink.

But we never ate here till recently since we're vegan. However, when I peeked at the menu the other night I was surprised to see they'd added several vegetarian options, most of which can be easily veganized by removing the cheese or other minor changes. So we had the fried tofu appetizer with peanut sauce and a soy dipping sauce. I chose the portobello sandwich on french bread (minus the cheese it was perfectly vegan-friendly), which included roasted red peppers and balsamic vinaigrette, as well as a side of the house-made chips. I forgot to substitute the veg of the day as my side, but that option is available (just ask about butter). There's also a grilled veggie sandwich and a pasta that could have worked, in addition to a couple of the salads and sides. (Should have taken note--point being, there were actually CHOICES for vegetarians, not just one option.)

My sis had a tilapia entree with tofu and lemongrass sauce (if I remember correctly) that she found very tasty, and she was particularly impressed with the fresh baby corn. Skimming the entire menu, it all looked as if it'd been recently updated and made more creative than the last time I'd looked. The presentation of the dishes is definitely not fancy, but it's also not expensive and the space is cool, so who cares?

The Inn of the Hawke is laid-back and generally friendly, and the service is usually great unless they are jammed. Garden seating in season, and a fireplace in the main dining room for colder months. Across from the canal and towpath, and off the main drag in Lambertville. Basically, a great bar with decent pub food...and now veggie-friendly too. Hooray!

PS: It's also simple to get a vegan or vegetarian meal at Moustache, right across the street from the Inn at the Hawke. They've got fresh pita bread, hummus, pitzas (pizzas on pita bread), babaganoush, falafel, and all that good stuff (as well as nonveggie options for your omni friends). I'll do a review next time we go there, but figured I'd mention it here too in case you hit the Hawke and find it crowded or closed.

Lawrenceville Inn (NVFDB) & Acacia (VF): Lawrenceville

THE LAWRENCEVILLE INN

I noticed this morning as we drove by that the Lawrenceville Inn has reopened. Their website says they have a new chef. The style is French bistro.

Which means there's not one single vegan item on their new menu, not even the salads.

So I've invented a new rating of (NVFDB) for "Not vegan-friendly, don't bother!"

There's one vegetarian item--mushroom crepes--but with an egg-based crepe, cheese in the filling and "a light cream sauce" there's nothing left when the dairy is removed.

Presumably, per the French style, everything is sauteed and dressed with butter, including the otherwise vegan side vegetables.

Even an omnivore with a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance would have a helluva time here. Sigh. It's really too bad, because it's a lovely old house and the one time I went there (as a semi-vegetarian) I enjoyed the food quite a lot.

ACACIA

But good news: In the same area, Acacia will accommodate you! The 5-Spiced Tofu dish is vegan and was pretty delicious, and they were very helpful answering questions and checking with the chef if stumped about the bread, etc.

The menu has changed since I've been there, but they have a daily vegetarian special, and a semolina pasta (almost always eggless!) with shaved cheese that looks like it could easily be left off. Same goes for the salads, and many of the dressings are balsamic based, so those look pretty friendly. They also had a vegetarian spring roll when I visited, but that's rotated off the menu. On the lunch menu: a marinated tofu salad and a vegetarian burrito. Both look vegan--no cheese or sour cream on the burrito, but easily left off if so. Perhaps they'd be willing to serve you those dishes for dinner--call ahead. Even the dessert menu lists sorbets, which by definition are dairy-free.

Mmm, I'll have to make a point to go back soon.

Picked a peck of pickled peppers

Oh, and a relative brought a HUGE sack of organic jalapenos from his garden in Texas. I'm using some fresh, but won't get to them all before they start to go, so I've been pickling them. It's a snap--just boil some cider vinegar and pour over the sliced or whole jalapenos packed in a sterilized canning jar. Refrigerate and let age for 2 weeks to a month before opening. You can also do the boil-and-seal thing if you want to keep them for longer pantry storage. But they won't last that long around here!

Along with tomatoes, peppers are one of the simplest things to can because their natural acidity makes them less prone to bacterial contamination. Still, if you're a canning newbie, google for instructions since my mamaw's not around to show ya.

They're very pretty too--an attractive mix of green and red in the golden vinegar. Would make a nice holiday gift. Hmm.

6 mos. vegan

Feeling healthier, happier, and looking better. Having a lot of fun cooking new things with the veggies from the farm. (Haven't had much time for blogging though.)

We had a freak snow last Monday, which means the haul from the CSA was light this week, but we still scored some spinach, collard greens, arugula, broccoli, leeks, and best of all carrots--which they didn't do last year? They're gorgeous with tops and all. I threw one in a stir fry (which is actually a broth saute in our house, though I do drizzle on a bit flax oil afterward for our omega 3s) with the broccoli, green beans from 2 weeks ago (amazing how long things keep in the fridge when they are from-the-farm fresh), red cabbage (ditto), tofu cubes, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and a little tamari. Sautes like this are a great option for replacing salads on cold days when you want something warm; just barely cook the veggies so there's still plenty of crunch. Other options for seasonings include curry powder (with more broth and a bit of cornstarch in the last few minutes, to make a sauce). Or a spoonful of bottled Thai curry paste or spicy chili-garlic sauce. When I've got leftover quinoa or brown rice, bonus.

It's casserole season too. While we passed out vegan candy to the trick-or-treaters last night, I had this seasonally appropriate Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole in the oven. It's amazing!

I've also got plans for the leeks: Potato Leek Soup from one of my old Moosewood cookbooks. I used to make it all the time, but it's been a while. And I still have a bunch of tomatillos too, so I'm going to make a batch of the usual sauce to freeze for future tacos, as well as try out the Green Pumpkin-Seed Mole from Veganomicon.

And maybe a pot of beans. I have some dried adzukis in the pantry. Seems like those would be good with the collards and a ton of garlic. Mmm.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming

What happened? I have a bunch of photos (wild critters, CSA veggies, darn good meals) to post and even some new restaurant reviews (PA, ME, RI, NJ), but instead, I've been obssessing over the tragicomedy that passes for our nation's political scene. Um, how unvegan can Sarah Palin be?! (Though even if she were 100% cruelty-free with nootch on top I wouldn't touch her with a dairy-free breadstick.)

What was I saying?

Oh, yes, this news story caught my eye, and I've helpfully rewritten the headline: Meat-eating Maniac Engages Sausage as a Weapon in Burglary & Assault.

Blood-Thirsty Carnivore Absconds with $2000 of Dismembered Corpses!

Just rewriting the headline on this story for them, since it's obvious that just like those wacky vegans who starve their babies, this man's diet provoked his criminal actions.

Feeling gassy?

The average American meat-oriented diet produces 3,000 more pounds of carbon dioxide each year than a calorie-equivalent vegan, or plant-based, diet, according to a 2006 University of Chicago study."

More on the [2006] study mentioned may be found here.