Let’s say you’re stuck in the Monterey Convention Center for a meeting. It’s lunch time and you have limited time to dine due to a busy schedule but you really want some good vegetarian food. What to do…what to do? Well, dash out the door, go a few blocks to Petra Cafe and you’ve got yourself an awesome lunch that will make your co-workers, who snarfed down a boring sandwich and a bag of chips, jealous.

The decor at Petra Cafe is nothing to write home about. It’s really a hole in the wall.

It’s sparse, save for a faux fireplace that glistened strangely on one wall of the tiny room. (Good thing it was a fake fireplace as the fish on top of it probably would get boiled to death.) But, don’t let that put you off, you’ll be greeted warmly and your meal will be made quickly.

I had the vegetarian sampler that included baba ganoush, hummus, dolmas, tabbouleh, falafel, and pita. All were fresh and delicious.

I also ordered a toasted pita with zaatar.

It was totally worth the mad dash to get to Petra Cafe not only for the chance to step outside, breathe some fresh air, but also to have some great food to go before having to head back into the depths of the meeting room. So, take *that* bland conference center lunch.

Petra Cafe
435 Alvarado Street
Monterey, California