This afternoon I went with one of my coworkers (who is also a vegetarian) to Hillstone for lunch. We decided to dine there because Hillstone is participating in a fundraising initiative our company is sponsoring called the Good Belly Project. The way it works is, restaurants agree to participate and when you dine there you take photos of your food with the mobile app called Instagram (iPhone only) and then tag those photos with #goodbellyproject. Every photo shared with that tag donates $1 to UNICEF to fight famine in East Africa. Pretty cool, right?
We walked from our office on Broad Street over to Hillstone, hopping over the rain puddles as we went. The entrance to Hillstone is pretty unassuming, especially in the rain. When the sun is shining, their outdoor patio is bustling.
When you enter the restaurant, the first thing you notice is the bar on the right side. The Hillstone bar is always packed - lunch time, happy hour, dinner or late night. It's mostly a financial district crowd (men in suits with the occasional trophy wife) and today was no different.
We had made a reservation so the hostess walked us to a cozy booth in the middle of the restaurant. I love the Hillstone decor. I hate to use this word, but it's very sexy. The rich wood, the dim lighting, the black leather booths. It's the perfect date spot.
We started by ordering drinks - lemonade for her and ice tea for me.
We had a tough time deciding what to order because the menu was so fabulous.
We decided to start with the spinach and artichoke dip. It came accompanied by salsa, sour cream and a bowl full of yellow corn chips.
I have no idea what type of cheese was in that dip, but it was so rich, creamy and delicious! We practically wiped the bowl clean.
For our main course, we both ordered the veggie burger. Though Hillstone is known mostly as a steak house, those who really know it, know they make the absolute best veggie burger. I have had it probably five or six times before and it never disappoints.
The veggie patty comes blanketed in cheese:
With the freshest garnishes of lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles:
The burger shares the plate with McDonalds style, shoestring, french fries. These aren't quite as good as McDonalds. They are a little bit bland.
We both made it half way through the burger and had to call it quits. It was so filling!
We asked to have the burgers and fries wrapped up and they came in literal doggy bags. Actual, brown paper bags.
Though the dessert menu looked incredible we were way too stuffed for a third round. Next time!
Between me and my lunch date, we shared 6 photos on Instagram with the tag #goodbellyproject, so we added another $6 to the donations to UNICEF. Learn more about how you can participate on the Good Belly website.
