Everyday Vegan: Restaurant Plan B

Birthday parties can go either way, either fun and festive or dark and maudlin.  As we get older, the chance of the latter grows and the former may become forced or fueled more by drink than food.  When one of my favorite people and good friends, JVV, announced the date of her birthday fete this year, we all knew we’d go to Asbury.

Asbury’s become our first choice destination whether the night is planned or impromptu.  With more and more venues to choose from, how do you select the perfect place for large group of friends to spend a few hours relaxing and celebrating?  Some restaurants in the area have a specialized menu, others great locale, and a few entice with cheap drinks and bar fare.  When JVV ran into trouble finding a place that could seat and serve omnivores, vegans and those odd gluten free folks, she asked me to make a recommendation.

I chose Restaurant Plan B of course!

I discovered Plan B about two years ago when I organized the first AsburyPop event at Parlor Gallery just a few doors away.  Jeffrey Haveson, the owner, wandered into the gallery a few times when I was either planning the use of that space or freaking out that no one would show.  That Christmas, a group of teachers had a casual Christmas dinner there before one of our number went off on her (first) maternity leave.  I brought my parents there for brunch, my kids for buffet, and friends for dinner.  Last summer, Jeffrey turned the restaurant over to me and a good friend on the one day it’s closed so we could shoot scenes for our @projecttwenty1 film entry.

Restaurant Plan B has been good to me and came through once again for JVV!

“The food and atmosphere were excellent.  Jeffrey and the staff at Plan B did a great job of accommodating the needs of everyone in attendance at my party,” said JVV, the guest of honor.

The always delicious vegan options impressed diners once again.  I split the arugula salad sans cheese with another friend, thoroughly enjoyed the grilled curried tofu and cous cous, and relished my fruit crisp with vegan ice cream for dessert.  JVV enjoyed the Black Angus burger (always a favorite whenever I bring omnivore friends to dine), and the table was abuzz about the spaghetti squash, cranberry and cream cheese ravioli.  One diner even leaned over and asked me to see if the chef would share the recipe with us!

Another guest summed up the night for all of us:

“Plan B was the best overall experience I have had in a long, long time! The food was amazing, the atmosphere is homey chic, and the staff is amazingly friendly.”

Business

NaBloPoMo Daily Prompt:  If you could start any type of new business, what would it be?

I started voxpopnj last February after the success of AsburyPop in November of 2009 and a few social media workshops at the beginning of 2010.  I was all set to take the local social media scene by storm… and then was asked to produce a short movie for the ProjectTwenty1 Film Festival that August.  Having no idea what this entailed, I said yes.

I’m glad I did, but it sent my vision for voxpopnj way off course.  When I reflect upon what I want my business to be, I realize I should concentrate on what I both love to do and do well.  I started this blog to get back to writing; I have a B.A. in Writing from Rutgers, my Dad paid good money for it, and I love to write, so that was an easy choice.  I also love web design and development and over the past few years, have done very little in that area even though the vast majority of my work experience is in that discipline.

That’s going to change in 2011.

Got a website you want designed?  Need a custom wordpress layout?  Not sure how to manage a social media campaign?

Maybe voxpopnj, the “new” business I started a year ago, is the answer.