Recently I tagged along on a weekend staff retreat that my husband and his colleagues had arranged in Hershey, PA. It’s a beautiful place to visit but it’s not ideal for a vegan. Surrounded on all sides by a variety of milk-chocolate confections and photos of supposedly happy dairy cows, it’s definitely not a vegan utopia.  (And if you’re vegan, be careful about what you eat there — because even Hershey’s dark chocolate candies contain milk products!)

Hoping to find a more veggie-friendly dinner spot, I hopped onto Happycow.net and found the perfect spot — the Vegetable Hunter Vegan/Vegetarian Cafe and Boutique Brewery in nearby Harrisburg, PA. Four of us piled into the car and headed over to check it out.

The Vegetable Hunter Cafe is located in Restaurant Row in Harrisburg, PA. According to Visit Hershey and Harrisburg, Restaurant Row offers a “walkable wealth of restaurants, ranging from quick bites and sports bars to wine bars and breweries.” The area features quaint historic buildings, and the Vegetable Hunter is located in a former townhouse that is narrow but deep.

Charming, Eclectic Decor

The table tops in the Vegetable Hunter are cheerfully striped in red and white, and they are fitted with rustic-styled, unmatched chairs. The floors are beautiful hardwood, and one of the walls is classic red brick. Restaurant guests can enjoy board games, attractive murals, antique-style ceiling fans, and a guitar propped up in a corner.  Most of the tables are small, mainly two tops — we felt lucky to snag a table that would accommodate all four of us.  If you bring a larger party, you might have to split up and sit at different tables.

Service is provided from a butcher-block counter at the front of the restaurant. When you arrive, you can pick up a paper menu and place your order for food and perhaps a flight of the small-batch beers on tap. The menu includes Appetizers, Large Plates, Bowls and Tacos, Sides, and Desserts. Interestingly, the Dessert heading comes in all-caps, while the other headings are in initial caps. Hmm. Maybe it’s a suggestion, as the saying goes, to “eat dessert first, since life is uncertain.”

I thought that the menu offered quite a few interesting options, with some unusual ingredients and creative combinations.  I think it would definitely be worth coming here often to sample different items on the menu.

Unusual Ingredients and Creative Combinations

I ordered the Walnut Lentil Burger, which was served in pita bread with cucumber salad, lettuce, onion, and hummus. The side dishes were Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Vegan Mac and Cheese. Everything was tasty and well prepared, although the vegan mac and cheese was exceptionally good. The other members of our party absolutely raved about the Tempeh Reuben Sandwich, which included chickpea tempeh, sauerkraut, and vegan thousand island dressing on grilled rye.

Bottom line: I’d like to visit the Vegetable Hunter again so that I could try more of the enticing items on the menu (and get more of that yummy vegan Mac and Cheese). If you live in the area or are driving through, be sure to check it out.