Queens College – Vegetarian Guide

Almost 20,000 students attend Queens College in New York City. That’s a lot of hungry mouths to feed! So it only makes sense that Queens College offers a variety of dining options, ranging from carts and coffee shops to a full-fledged dining hall.

This theme of culinary variety continues in the surrounding neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. Like the rest of New York City, Kew Gardens Hills is a melting pot of different people and cultures.

Kew Gardens Hills is also a melting pot in terms of restaurants. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there’s a real good chance you’ll be able to find it around Queens College.

For all you vegetarians out there: yes, that includes vegetarian food. To prove it, here’s a list of the best vegetarian-friendly restaurants near Queens College.

Naomi’s Kosher Pizza

Kew Gardens Hills is home to a sizable Jewish population, so kosher restaurants aren’t hard to come by. Look down any street and you’re bound to find one. Naomi’s Kosher Pizza is one of the best, though, and it’s under a 10-minute walk from Queens College.

Naomi’s has been around for decades, and lots of people rave about their pizza. But that’s not why you should go there.

Their real claim to fame is, believe it or not, their falafel. They fry up their falafel up fresh so it’s always hot, crispy, and delicious. You can get it in a wrap, on a plate, or just on its own. Whatever you do, make sure to get some extra falafel to go.

L’Bella Pizzeria & Restaurant

Unlike Naomi’s, L’Bella Pizzeria & Restaurant is a pizza joint that’s known mostly for their pizza. In fact, you won’t even find falafel on the menu there.

What you will find, however, is a medley of delicious vegetarian dishes and an upscale, white-tablecloth atmosphere. The fact that L’Bella is less than a half-mile from Queens College only sweetens the deal.

Start of your meal with one of their tempting appetizers. For vegetarians, there are options like bruschetta, Caprese salad, and stuffed mushrooms.

After that, move onto one of their pizzas. They’ve got a sizable selection to choose from, including a few you don’t see every day. Some of their more unconventional pizza creations include pesto Margherita, bruschetta, and creamy spinach.

Bodai Vegetarian Restaurant

Vegetarians can get their Chinese food fix just over a half-mile walk from Queens College at a place called Bodai Vegetarian Restaurant. All the food at Bodai is vegetarian, as their name would imply, as well as kosher.

See? We weren’t kidding when we said there’s a kosher restaurant on practically every street in Kew Gardens Hills.

Like most Chinese restaurants, Bodai’s menu features a wide variety of dishes. It’s practically the size of a book at 15 pages long. Trying to navigate such a massive menu is no easy task, especially for first-timers. Instead of wasting precious time scouring the menu when you could be digging in to a delicious meal, stick to tried-and-true favorites like the crispy vegetarian roast pig appetizer, vegetarian General Tso’s chicken, and cedar fried rice.

Save room for dessert, by the way! Past patrons rave about the tofu cheesecake and mango pudding. If your sweet tooth is craving something more out of the ordinary, try the fried ice cream.

Dumpling Galaxy

Fans of Chinese food, rejoice! Queens College is in the vicinity of not one but two great vegetarian-friendly Chinese restaurants. In addition to Bodai, there’s Dumpling Galaxy, an elegant sit-down eatery that specializes in delicious dumplings.

At just under a mile and a half from Queens College, Dumpling Galaxy is farther away than any of the other restaurants we’ve listed so far. Walking there from Queens College would take around a half hour, or you could go by car instead and get there in half the time. Either way, don’t let the distance deter you.

True to their name, Dumpling Galaxy offers a star system’s worth of different dumplings. There are over 100 in all, plenty of which are vegetarian. Get them steam or pan fried; either way, they’re going to be good.

Dumplings aren’t the only food in this particular galaxy, however. They’ve got a variety of other dishes too, including vegetarian ones like a sliced tofu appetizer, sauteed cauliflower, and fried hot peppers.

Once you’ve polished off your entree course, or courses, bring your meal at Dumpling Galaxy full circle with a couple orders of their dessert dumplings. These dumplings are filled with everything from red bean paste to hawthorn and white wood ear mushroom.

You could also give tang yuan a try. This traditional Chinese dessert consists of dumpling-like balls immersed in sweet syrup. Dumpling Galaxy offers a few different flavors of tang yuan, including pumpkin with black sesame, strawberry sesame, and peanut.

Temple Canteen

Whether you’re a connoisseur of South Indian cuisine or looking to try it for the first time, a visit to the Temple Canteen is a must when you’re in Queens. The food there is about as authentic as it gets, which is why it’s been praised by publications like Zagat, The New York Times, and the Daily News, as well as the late, great celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain.

The Temple Canteen got its name because it’s located in the basement of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, better known as the Ganesh Temple. This was one of the first traditional Hindu temples in the U.S., and it’s located about a mile and a half from Queens College.

The fully vegetarian menu at the Temple Canteen is as expansive as the prices are affordable. Out of over 100 dishes only a couple cost more than $10, and those that do come with a lot of food.

Now, with 100-plus dishes to choose from, you might feel a bit overwhelmed as you step up to the counter to place your order. The good news is that everything is vegetarian, so you don’t have to worry about slipping up and ordering something with meat in it. The bad news is many of these dishes have names most westerners wouldn’t recognize, such as upma, ven pongal, and uttapam.

If you’d prefer to keep things simple and get something you know you’re going to enjoy, stick to their dosas. These buttery crepes are a Temple Canteen staple. They’re made from a fermented batter, so they’ve got a slight tang to them, and are often topped or stuffed with a variety of savory ingredients.