Room at the Inn for a Vegan

Diggin’ In with Kennedy

The line is long at the Dig Inn but it moves fast. Its popularity is comforting. My falafel addiction had gone on vacation and Midtown is no East Village when it comes to vegan options. My bud Kennedy suggested this “Dig Inn.”   As usual, I checked out their website to see what I could eat. I opened up their Allergen Chart .  The last column on the chart, “vegan.”  The vegan column was checked a lot.  In fact, the food at Dig Inn is about 90% vegan and it is a big menu .   Set up like an edible Boston Market with fresh gourmet food, I was ready for this.

We got two of the four existing seats so if you go, prepare to take-out.  The Dig Inn is not a new restaurant but a rebranding. Originally created for the 90’s bodybuilder, it was formerly known as “Pump Energy Food.”  Dig Inn explained the name change this way:

“As New Yorker’s swapped out dumbbells for yoga mats, our relationship with food started to change. Something of a food revolution was taking hold…we’ve come up with a name that we’re truly pumped about”

The Dig Inn’s prices are fair and the dishes unique, inspired and farm fresh. I ordered the veggie platter because the tofu protein looked a little boring. The veg plate gets you 4 sides (small) or 5-7 sides (large).    Their website is one of the best out there. Just click on any item, get every ingredient and full nutritional information.  D.I. calls it full transparency, I call it a bar set high for restaurants everywhere.  I get flustered sometimes in these long-line situations so using their site, I was able to pick my meal and calculate how many calories I was getting. So what did I get?

Veggie Platter Large ($7.58): Tomato Brown Rice (199 Calories), Mushroom with Celery (41 Calories), Broccoli & Quinoa Salad (119 Calories), Lentils (58 Calories), Wheatberry Salad (124 Calories), Kale & Apple Salad (94 Calories) = 635 Calories. Maybe a bit steep in the calorie department but this is nutrient-rich cuisine.  Kids, you are going to want to eat these vegetables.  Kennedy (King of Control) went with the small veggie platter ($5.51) bringing him in under 500 calories.

I can’t say there was a losing dish on my plate.  My favorite was the Wheatberry Salad which they note, does have honey in it so you uber-vegans will have to pass on that one.  They also have some amazing sauces. I had the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (toasted almonds, roasted garlic and cayenne).  Next time I’m trying their House Hot Sauce.

They sell “picnic pints” as well $2.99/$5.51. Kennedy, hooked me up and I thank him for that. Dig Inn is my current Midtown favorite and possibly my new world favorite.  They really got it right. The only thing that irks me is that Dig Inn is the kind of place I would open up.  Julia’s got to check this place out. Perhaps I’ll bring home some picnic pints.  I’ll bet they deliver to my office.