It's Only Natural

It's Only Natural Restaurant
and
It's Only Natural Market
386 Main Street
Middletown, CT

http://www.ionrestaurant.com/
http://www.itsonlynaturalrestaurant.com/

It's Only Natural is a restaurant and market in downtown Middletown offering scrumptious vegetarian and vegan food. The restaurant is deservedly known for its sweet-potato fries, which are thick, homemade, and utterly delicious.



The entrees tend to go for $10-14, and at that price they're a bargain. All of the sandwiches and burgers are served with a side of the amazingly delicious sweet potato fries. The Bella Burger, a vegan portabella mushroom burger served with red peppers, onion, soy mayo, and lettuce on wheat or focaccia bread, is particularly good, although you may have to resort to a knife and fork to finish it off.




The classic Veggie Burger is also exceedingly well done. I don't know how they make their soy mayo, but it beats the hell out of any regular mayo I've ever had! Any of the burgers can be served with ION's vegan cashew Parmesan cheese. I highly recommend it.



The beverage menu is impressively diverse, offering such items as China Cola, Carrot Juice, Fruit or Rice Smoothies, and Italian Sodas.

Other items of note on the menu include the Sweet Potato Enchiladas, vegan Pirogi, the Macrobiotic Plate, and vegan Chili.

The dining area is attractive and the service is attentive. Happy hour is from 4-6 on weekdays, when you can order $2 pints of beer and $2 sweet potato fries (I always avail myself of the latter).

A To-Go Menu is available, and they offer catering for special events.

Down the hall from the restaurant is the ION market, where you can purchase all sorts of vegetarian and vegan groceries. They offer not only an impressive variety of food, but also all sorts of natural toiletry and health products. Their website even features a health reference library.

Overall, the ION restaurant and market is an exemplary purveyor of vegetarian and vegan foods. Whether you're a vegetarian looking for a great place to eat and shop for groceries, or a carnivore in the mood for a delicious meal that's also healthy, ION is a terrific place to go.

Athenian II

Athenian II
846 Washington Street
Middletown CT
(Try this or other locations!)

This chain of diners has kept Connecticut residents happy and full for years. Open 24 hours a day, the Athenian diners are great places to go for a late night breakfast. I’ve only been to the diner in Middletown so I will limit my review to that particular institution. Many Wesleyan students and graduates who have found themselves sitting in the 60s style booths may agree or disagree with my assessment.

Now, let’s be honest. There’s nothing particularly special about the place. The eggs are eggs and the bacon could be crispier. The prices are also a bit high but my some time traveling companion says that any eggs are overpriced. Still, the coffee is free flowing and you get the partially unhealthy breakfast that you expect and order. They know how to do eggs and their fried potatoes are pretty tasty, especially the ones that have been slightly burnt.

As you can tell by the picture, the cantaloupe is also a fine dish to order.

Like most diners they have lunch and dinner specials all day. These can be pricey and range from lamb to stuffed grape leaves. Again, like most diners, their vegetable choices could sure use some improvement. The lettuce looks like it’s pretty drained of any nutrients and the broiled broccoli looks like it might benefit more from the vitamins inside me. The cream of broccoli, on the other hand, is pretty good as is their cream of chicken.

Whatever the criticisms, the food is tasty and you have a good time there. The wait staff is friendly and many of them wander the aisles armed with hot coffee. The management might consider increasing the size of the water glasses though. The shot glass style probably saves on water but it just doesn’t quench the thirst.

If you’re in Middletown and you’re just not in the mood for anything special but want to have an enjoyable time, try the Athenian diner.

(Images by AG)