Le Viet, Lancaster PA

I love Vietnamese food. I love Pho. I love rice noodles. So when I saw there was a place in Lancaster, Le Viet, that had soup we had to go check it out. We started with the spring rolls - Deep fried tofu, fresh herbs, vermicelli, wrapped in rice paper served with peanut sauce. These were...well they didn't really have any flavor by themselves. The peanut sauce was alright, but nothing special.


My mom ordered the Pho Xao Rau - assorted stir fried vegetables with soft rice noodles. The veggies were just lightly cooked and the noodles were pan fried. The sauce was really light, but really tasty. My mom commented on how it was like nothing she had ever tasted and she really enjoyed it.


I ordered the To Thuong - veggies and rice noodles in a veggie broth and I added tofu to it. My sister had also gotten a soup, but not vegan, and she commented on how the broth had lots of flavors like cinnamon and such that I would expect from pho type soups, and what I was expecting in my soup. It is not what I got however, I just got a normal vegetable broth that tasted like carrot and celery. I was disappointed as it was just like what I could have made at home anytime. Good, but nothing special.

Overall - The noodle dish was really good, but everything else was just okay. The non-vegan food though got rave reviews.

Sukho Thai, Lancaster PA

Last time I visited Lancaster we stopped by Sukho Thai, and it was good so I decided to try it again on this visit. This time I started with the fresh rolls filled with pickled carrot, lettuce, and rice noodles with this peanut sauce. The sauce was...not very good. It almost made me gag for some reason. I did not really like it. The fresh rolls were just alright by themselves.


I decided to try something different for my main and ordered the Drunken Noodle - smoked chili sauce, rice noodles, veggies and tofu. When I ordered I asked about egg in the dish and was told there was no egg. The server then asked if chicken broth was okay and I said no, so she said okay you want it vegan right? It is always nice when I don't have to go through and ask about a million things to try and make sure what I am eating is in fact vegan. It is nice when the servers are on it and know what is going on. The veggies were cooked nicely, still crisp, and the tofu was really good, however the sauce was not my favorite. I don't usually order this dish so I have nothing to compare it to, but I was not the biggest fan.

Overall - I would go back here again. It is a little pricey, but the server I had was knowledgeable about veganism and made sure my food was vegan for me which is always nice. I didn't like the one dish, but others I have had here have been good.

Marion Court Room, Lancaster PA

Marion Court Room holds a trivia night every week, and while I was visiting family my mom and I decided to check it out. We decided to get some dinner beforehand since we didn't know how busy it would be. We started with some spring rolls. They were alright. Nothing special.


I ordered the Grilled Veggie Wrap - roasted peppers, caramelized onions, zucchini, broccoli, and a balsamic glaze served with a pickle and chips. This wasn't very good. Somehow they made all those veggies taste just alright. I could have made a better wrap at home.

Overall - I would not go back to Marion Court Room for the food. I did really enjoy their trivia night though.

The Seed, Lancaster PA

I was very excited to try The Seed as it seemed like it would be an awesome place. I love co-ops and vegan food and it is a community space and their Facebook page makes them just seem so nice. Well we walked in and...no one was very pleasant that we had to deal with to get our food. We were the only people there, three people working and it was...they just were not friendly at all. Though I did love how bright and colorful the space was. On to the food. I ordered the Cuban sandwich (seitan ham, cheese, pickles and mustard) with Mexican Quinoa (quinoa, black and kidney beans, onion and spices). The sandwich was alright, not my favorite I have ever had but alright. I have never had a Cuban sandwich before (really I had never heard of it before this day) and it was fine. The quinoa though I was very disappointed in. They said it had all of these spices and such in it but really it was very bland with a hint of hot spice afterwards somehow. If not for the beans there wouldn't have been much flavor at all which is unfortunate.


My sister ordered the BBQ Sweet Potato Wrap (BBQ Sweet potatoes, micro greens, carrots, cole slaw) with chips. I was disappointed in this one. It was alright, but the cole slaw was not the best and overpowered everything. The sweet potatoes were just okay by themselves which was unfortunate since they are supposed to be BBQ flavor and should have more flavor than they did.

Overall - Not the best, but I would give it another try to see if they just had an off day.

California Tortilla, Lancaster PA

One day while out shopping we needed a quick lunch so we stopped into California Tortilla for a burrito. I ordered the No Meato Burrito - veggies, rice, beans, guacamole, spinach and salsa. This was...nothing special. I could have made it at home, and it would have had more flavor. I mean it wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything I would go out of my way for either. There was a ton of rice in it and the rice was just...if I needed something to eat and there were no other options sure I would get it again. But if I could go somewhere else I probably would.

Overall - Just a pretty average burrito. Nothing special and not worth a trip just to get the burrito. I have had much better elsewhere, but if you are in dire need of food and this is your only option it is okay.

Manna, Lancaster PA

My mom suggested we try Manna while I was in town. We stopped by for a late lunch/early dinner as we had a late breakfast and were the only ones in the place. We ordered and then they brought out some miso soup (which I forgot to photograph and was alright. I am not the biggest miso soup fan so) and some cucumber salad and spiced nuts. Apparently they come with everything. The cucumber salad was light and tasty (I love cucumbers so it was good) and the nuts were warm and spiced well.


Then in my quest to keep trying sushi I ordered an asparagus roll. I used to only be able to eat sushi if the rice were on the outside, but I have now found that I like it with the seaweed on the outside as well. This was sweet and delicious and I loved it. I am going to have to start making more sushi as I never did since I didn't really care for it. It is so simple, but so tasty.


Then I ordered the Pad Kee Mao - rice noodles with onions, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus and snow peas. This was so good. I love Thai food and I love rice noodle dishes and this is one of the best I have ever had. It was a little oily, but so so incredible I didn't really care. The flavors were amazing and I wish we would have been able to get back there again to try more of the dishes. I know the photo doesn't look like a lot of food, but they have these odd bowl plates - the center is a small bowl so it was actually a lot of food.

Overall - Mann had one of the best rice noodle dishes I have ever had. Everything they brought out was really good and I would definitely go back again. Definitely a highlight of my trip to Lancaster, and I wish we would have been able to eat there more than once. If I lived in the area I would go often.

Cafe One Eight, Lancaster PA

Last time I was in Lancaster we stopped into Cafe One Eight for some lunch. This trip we stopped in again and I got the same thing - the vegan delight - Hummus, cucumbers, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, grapes, apples, baby carrots, mixed greens, tomatoes, and balsamic dressing on a wheat wrap served with chips. This was just as tasty as the first visit. I really need to remake this at home as it is so simple, but I never think to get all of the ingredients.

Overall - Cafe One Eight is a nice little cafe downtown Lancaster. They have a really good vegan wrap and you can also get some soy coffee and tea drinks as well. It is a good option if you are downtown.

Iron Hill Brewery, Lancaster PA USA

On a recent trip back to visit my family we ate out one night at Iron Hill Brewery since it was recommended by one of my mom's coworkers. They recommended the Southwest Black Bean burger and upon confirming it could be served vegan that is what I ordered. I had ordered it with fries, but before it came out someone from the kitchen came over to ask if I really wanted the since they are fried in the same fryer as everything else (chicken and such). That was nice, and our waiter didn't really seem to know what was in things or whatever he did write vegan burger on the slip so they wanted to confirm if that was okay. Very nice of them to do so so I give them props for that since most places wouldn't, and I changed it to a side salad instead. The burger did come out with no bun or anything which was odd...apparently their bread isn't vegan and I was fine with that as I prefer my burger with lettuce instead of bread, but it still would have been nice to be informed of that. The burger was alright - not the best but not the worst either. I wouldn't go there just for that again, and I would probably try their wrap next time, but it was okay. It was full of veggies (mushrooms, sweet potatoes, corn, peppers), but it just wasn't as flavorful as I would have liked. I also got the balsamic vinaigrette with my salad and that was...well it was just like oil and didn't really have a flavor which was disappointing.

Overall - Even though our waiter didn't seem to know much about the food, the kitchen staff was very aware of what is and isn't vegan. They checked to make sure I still wanted fried things that had been fried in the same oil as meat which was really nice and unexpected. However the food was just alright so unfortunately I cannot highly recommend it, but it is an okay place to eat if you are in the area and hungry. I wouldn't seek it out, but I wouldn't refuse to go either. It is just an okay place.

Macaroni Grill, Lancaster PA

So I normally don't eat at a lot of national chain restaurants. I had some coupons for Macaroni Grill and when visiting my mom we decided to use them (I have had them for years and never went in Seattle). My mom and I both chose the create your own pasta dish. My mom got the gluten free penne with pomodoro sauce, sun dried tomatoes, snap peas, and spinach. This was...just alright. I could make it better at home and have actual pieces of veggies in instead of slivers.



I ordered the capellini with garlic olive oil, cannellini beans, roasted tomatoes and asparagus. This was disappointing. The oil did not have much garlic flavor, so it was just like eating oily plain pasta. The roasted tomatoes were good and added some flavor to this otherwise disappointing dish.

Overall - I would not go to the Macaroni Grill normally. If there were a family event or something there I would go, but it would never be my top choice for restaurants.

Cafe One Eight, Lancaster PA

While visiting family in Lancaster we took a day to go to the market downtown and walked around a bit waiting for lunchtime. We happened to walk by Cafe One Eight. It was hot out and I needed a beverage so we walked in and while we were waiting I glanced at the menu. They had a wrap that sounded delicious and summer so we came back for lunch. The Vegan Wrap contained Hummus, cucumbers, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, grapes, apples, baby carrots, mixed greens, broccoli, tomatoes and balsamic dressing on a wheat wrap served with a side of fruit or chips. I chose chips since there was so much fruit in the wrap itself (and really the fruit was what drew me in as I never thought to put fruit in my wraps before). This was amazing! Seriously my favorite wrap ever. The fruit was nice and crisp as well as the veggies and the balsamic really brought it all together wonderfully. There were so many different things in this wrap and I loved it! I am definitely going to be recreating this at home. Especially on a nice hot summer day it is so refreshing and delicious.

Overall - Cafe One Eight is a small place with a few vegan options (or easily veganizable). I highly recommend the vegan wrap as it was amazing! Definitely stop in if you are in the area.

Addisu Ethiopian, Lancaster, PA

From Food

When I saw that Lancaster had an Ethiopian restaurant I knew I had to try it. We have a lot of Ethiopian places in Seattle and a lot of them are very good. I love getting the veggie combo (as long as I can eat everything) so I can have a little bit of everything. We walked into Addisu Ethiopian and it was pretty empty, though it smelled amazing. It is also a small Ethiopian store where you get get everything you need to make your own food at home. While we were waiting we heard the other people who were leaving say "This was a lot better than the place we go in Seattle." I was pretty skeptical - I really like the place we go to in Seattle, but I was hopeful that this would be good. The veggie combo came with Yëmisir Wët (Split lentils with garlic, onions, canola oil and finished with berbere sauce), Yëdifin misir Wët (Whole lentils with garlic, onions, canola oil and sliced green peppers), Yëkikk Alicha (Mild yellow split peas cooked with onions, garlic, and sliced green peppers), Fasolya  (String beans, carrots, and onions sauteed in a blend of exotic spices), and Cabbage & potatoes (A special blend of cutup & cooked cabbage, fried potato slices, onions and mild spices). This was amazing! Definitely better than the place we go to in Seattle. The Fasolya was probably my favorite dish, but they were all incredibly good. All of the lentils were cooked to perfection. The beans and carrots and cabbage....perfect. The spicing was spot on. I loved everything (usually I don't like all of the options in the combo). One veggie combo was plenty of food for both of us. We left full but not completely stuffed. If you are in Lancaster and need 1 place to eat this is the place I would recommend the most. I cannot say enough good things about this food - I now wish the place we go to here in Seattle was this good. Definitely will go back when I am in Lancaster again.

Señorita Burrita, Lancaster, PA

From Food

Senorita Burrita is a small burrito place in downtown Lancaster across the street from the art school. For some reason I find it hard to get a good burrito in Seattle and I don't know why...just some veggies, beans, rice and it should be good. We went in here after walking around all day and they had a lot of vegan options - two pre-selected options, or you can create your own choosing from the list of fillings they have (including vegan ground round and sour cream) as well as a vegan chili. We decided on the two pre-selected options.

From Food

The first one was the burrito barley - Sun-dried tomato tortilla, brown rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, romaine lettuce, shredded cabbage, spicy barbeque sauce, and non-dairy sour cream. I didn't know how I would like this one as the spicy barbecue sauce might be too much, but this was my favorite. It was a little sweet and completely delicious! Raymond didn't like it that much and prefered the other one so it worked out as I didn't like the other one as much.

From Food

The second burrito was the west coast burrito - Black bean tortilla, brown rice, vegetarian chili, spinach, Señorita house salsa, and non-dairy sour cream. It was good, but not as good as the burrito barley. I will definitely come back here next time I am in Lancaster.

On Orange, Lancaster,PA

From Food

While looking for places to eat while visiting family in Lancaster I came across a listing that indicated On Orange had vegan breakfast option. Since breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out (for some reason I dislike making breakfast - I live to cook, but not breakfast) we had to try it out. We got there around 10am on a weekday and it was packed! We waited about 15 min to be seated at the bar. Everyone working there was very accommodating. They have 2 vegan options - one of which was the vegan Swedish pancakes (there is a surcharge to make them vegan). These were made with organic oats and usually come with stewed apples, but since these were not vegan they offered us applesauce instead. They also have vegan margarine to use if you would like and real maple syrup. We also got a side of vegan sausage. I really enjoyed these pancakes. They were a little gooey and very hearty and filling. I think one would have been plenty, but we thought they were going to be thin pancakes some got two and brought one of them home. The sausage was pretty good - not my favorite vegan sausage, but good.

From Food

We also tried the vegan waffle with sausage. I believe they use the same batter as the pancakes but for some reason I really didn't like these. I think there was too much surface area that was cooked and kind of crispy. I don't know...whatever it is I would order the pancakes I instead.

From Food

With the check they usually give you chocolate chip cookies, but since they are not vegan they gave us chocolate covered coffee beans! It is very nice to still be included like that. Overall a good option if you want to go out for breakfast while in Lancaster. The people are very accommodating and all in all it was a great dining experience.

Lanviet, Lancaster,PA

From Food

Lanviet is a small hole in the wall restaurant in a strip mall type area. When you walk in the dining room is nothing spectacular - it feels more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. They have a whole page of vegetarian options. I had read a review that most everything on the vegetarian menu was vegan, but upon asking the lo mean and chow men noodles contain eggs. Everything else we could eat. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and helpful. When I had originally asked about things being vegan she had thought the lo mein was, but she went back to the kitchen to double check which is always nice. Everything was also incredibly cheap here - you could get a comination lunch special for $5! Anyway, we tried an order of the Bean curd, vegetable, and mock duck spring rolls. The vegetable spring rolls...well I wouldn't order them again as they were basically just lettuce in a rice paper wrapper. The tofu and mock duck spring rolls were both very good. The mock duck was probably my favorite (I believe the mock duck was just flavored seitan).

From Food

For entrees we got the special combination fried rice (combination means tofu and mock duck). This was another place where they do not add egg to the dishes so no need to ask for them to leave the egg out of the rice. This fried rice was good, it had a very light flavor. One thing I would change though is offer brown rice because I prefer that to white, but this was still tasty.

From Food

We also got the special vegetarian rice noodles. This also had a very light flavor which was nice, though it was a little oily (but I was in the mood for it at the time go it was good).

From Food

The last entree we ordered was the curry mock duck and bean curd. I really enjoyed this. The flavor was really good, just a little bit of spice (though too spicy for my mom who cannot handle any spice) and I really enjoyed it. Overall I would recommend this place. The mock duck was delicious, the favors very light and the staff incredibly helpful.

Sukhothai, Lancaster, PA

From Food

I grew up in PA (southern Lancaster county) and there were never very many diverse options as far as food goes. One time while home from college after having Thai food that was amazing we tried the only Thai place in Lancaster and it was....disgusting. This time when we were there we decided to try a Thai place that my mom liked since there are so many new restaurants open there now. We went to Sukhothaifor lunch and had 3 of the lunch specials(we shared with my mom). The lunch specials came with an appetizer and an entree. We ordered two with fresh rolls

From Food

And one with Crispy rolls. These were both good, but the usual. They are the standard appetizer, rice noodle, lettuce, sprouts, cucumber, and carrots. I really enjoy fresh rolls - they are definitely one of my favorite foods - and there were enough veggies that they were flavorful, though they came with a sweet and sour sauce which while it was tasty I prefer a nice peanut sauce to dip them in.

From Food

For the main course we had pad Thai with tofu which surprisingly was better than most I have had. It seems like pad Thai is always hit or miss (at least here in Seattle - for some reason they like to use ketchup in the sauce which I find disgusting). This had a nice flavor, not very greasy and really good. Also, just as a side note - this dish doesn't come with egg so no need to ask for it to be left out. I would definitely order this again.

From Food

We also had mas samman curry with tofu. Usually I do not like whole nuts in my food, they get kind of soggy and just bleh. I didn't mind the cashews in this curry. I don't know what they did different, but whatever it was I wish more places did. This was tasty, not super spicy (I don't like super spicy things) but it was not the best curry I have ever had. If I were to go back I would consider getting this again, but would probably try something else.

From Food

My mom ordered the vegetable stir fry with tofu. This came with lots of veggies in a light flavored sauce. The veggies were not overcooked - they were crispy and delicious! This one I would definitely get again. Overall I really enjoyed our lunch here at Sukhothai. If you find yourself in Lancaster and want some Thai food this would be a god option. Next time we will have to try the other new Thai options in the area to compare.