Vegetarian-Friendly In Bayside: Where To Eat Green Near You

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Ever considered going vegetarian? According to Livestrong.com, plant-based diets are lower in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol than carnivorous diets.

But sometimes, the hardest part about switching to a vegetarian diet isn’t the food itself; options are important. For those interest in taking up or maintaining their veggie-friendly diets, Bayside offers a number of choices:

Avli Little Greek Tavern

Address: 38-31 Bell Blvd.

Avli is a Greek spot on Bell Boulevard. The restaurant serves traditional Greek cuisine, and a number of dishes are veggie-friendly, such as falafel, the Greek salad wrap, spinach pie, vegetarian moussaka (baked eggplant with zucchini, potatoes, feta cheese and plum tomatoes) and the grilled, stuffed baby eggplant. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Press 195

Address: 40-11 Bell Blvd.

Press 195 is the sandwich king of Bell Boulevard, with a selection of vegetarian-specific eats that includes fresh Mozzarella with sliced tomato and maple syrup pesto; the grilled zucchini with yellow squash and red pepper, fresh swainish and black olive spread; black-bean hummus and grilled mushrooms with imported red peppers and Monterey Jack cheese — the list goes on, and the choices are extensive.

BCD Tofu House

Address: 220-05 Northern Blvd.

Tofu is, of course, the highlight of this Korean bistro. BCD’s story starts with Hee Sook Lee, a first-generation Korean immigrant who loves to cook and share with her family, the restaurant’s website explains.

Lee chose to focus on tofu due to its taste and health benefits. The menu is not exclusive to vegetarian cuisine, but such diets are largely catered to at BCD.

BKNY Thai

Address: 4711 Francis Lewis Blvd.

BKNY Thai is bringing Bangkok to New York City, the restaurant’s website says. The BKNY menu gravitates toward traditional and authentic cooking, but some of the restaurant’s daily specials border on Thai fusion.

For veggie-leaning diets, options include spring rolls, tofu dishes and a full menu of noodle entrees that offer vegetarian variants (the pad thai and tom yum, for starters).

Juice For Life

Address: 34-07 Francis Lewis Blvd.

A trip to California once inspired Juice For Life owner (and Queens native) Patricia Bonnen to go organic, prompting her to open her own healthy eatery in 2000. According to the Juice For Life website, the goal is to “provide fresh, healthy, wholesome and nutritious food.”

Vegetarian-friendly options are virtually endless at Juice For Life, from the extensive selection of smoothies to the shop’s wraps. Some wraps come with meat, but many do not.

Image via Pixabay