New York City Dietary Concerns

The travel section of The Vegetarian Resource Group’s website, at www.vrg.org/travel, has a comprehensive list of organizations and websites that are geared toward helping vegetarians and vegans traveling. They also provide a restaurant guide. Vegetarians will also find many resources on the web; try www.vegdining.com, www.happycow.net, and www.vegetariansabroad.com.

Vegetarians won’t have any problem eating cheap and well in New York. Excellent vegetarian restaurants abound, and almost every non-vegetarian place offers non-meat options (see Food). The North American Vegetarian Society, P.O. Box 72, Dolgeville, NY 13329 (☎518-568-7970; www.navs-online.org), publishes information about vegetarian travel, including the Vegetarian Journal’s Guide to Natural Food Restaurants in the US and Canada. For more information, visit your local bookstore, health food store, or library. You may want to consult the Vegan Guide to New York City by Rynn Berry and Chris A. Suzuki (Pythagorean Books; US$10) and the Vegetarian Traveler by Jed and Susan Civic (Larson Publications; US$16).

New York boasts an extensive selection of halal food; consult www.zabihah.com to find your nearest halal restaurant, deli, or grocery. Travelers who keep kosher should call a synagogue for information (your own synagogue or college Hillel office should have lists of New York Jewish institutions). Chabad houses (centers for Lubavitch Hassidim and outreach) should also be able either to provide kosher food or direct you to it. Columbia’s Beit Ayala Chabad Student Center, 510 W 110th St., #5C (☎212-864-5010, ext.44), and the Upper East Side’s Chabad shuckles, 311 E 83rd St., Ste. B (☎212-717-4613), provide general information, support, and classes for religious visitors. Another good resource is the Jewish Travel Guide, edited by Michael Zaidner (Vallentine Mitchell; US$18).