Dharma Bums — Restaurant in Plumstead Township

A lot of last-minute decisions were made on Saturday afternoon, and this was one of them. I stopped by Dharma Bums with an old chum for lunch prior to a wild winery visit a few minutes' drive away. I grew up probably 25 minutes or so from this area in Hunterdon County, and I have quite a few young pup memories of driving past the wild, large antique store just up the road on the way to visit Peddlers Village or the sheep in Lahaska. Despite not being entirely sure where this was located, the signage made it pretty easy to spot, and I was able to secure parking right off the street with minimal drama.

It WAS a little more difficult to find the entrance, which was on the side toward the very back of the building (a ye olde stone one, for the record). Our first attempt to get inside (which admittedly just involved staring quizzically at a door that didn't look like it got a ton of use from the public) was unsuccessful, but there were instructions there to use a different, "barrel" door. Upon discovery, the barrel door was exactly what it sounds like - a giant barrel-like structure that had star decorations hanging from the interior that reminded me of Spencer Gifts. Once inside, my chum noted that this space used to be a dive bar, which sounded about right. Dive bars around here are either in dilapidated shacks or restored colonial buildings, and I was pleased to be in the latter.

Although the mac and cheese bites looked intriguing, I ended up getting the Grilled Cheese entree with fries. The Grilled Cheese was prepped with naan bread and tomato chutney; it was better than I thought it would be, with a fun flavor profile for the palate. The chutney gave it some sweetness and spice that separated this from the standard menu option you'd get anywhere else. The fries were a mistake, at least in terms of my personal palate preference - I'm a crispy fry adherent and these were pretty squishy on the whole. They also definitely needed ketchup for flavoring purposes. I'm sure there are plenty of customers who enjoy these, but they weren't my jam.

As much as I enjoy my spot at the top of the food chain, I didn't mind putting that to the side for a meal here (an unapologetically vegetarian establishment). There were a few other options on the menu I'd have zero issue sampling as well, and the service was perfectly fine. As an added bonus for the literary nerds out there, you can munch on your food in the presence of a portrait of Jack Kerouac. I prefer the thirst trap known as F. Scott Fitzgerald, but different strokes for...

new edit: heard from a band they wouldn't let them accept tips and they made the band remove their business cards from the tables because they said they were "tacky" these people are out of touch, should've opened their bar in new hope, doylestown, morristown or philly/nyc. this is unacceptable in our river valley

a local dive bar turned into a hip place with $8-10 beers and $17 cocktails. Old Granddad Whiskey (which is $20 for a 24oz bottle at the store) costs $9. a miller lite is $6, we all need a place with a $3 beer option (see Gardenville) and to be honest, the manager (?) is not nice, and im not the only one to say this. the food is vegetarian which can be very yummy when executed right (see Sprig n Vine in New Hope), currently it's just fried bar food like onion rings, french fries, mac n cheese bites, the seitan is great. once they have a full menu then we'll really see what's up.

Positives: the building is beautiful inside and out, they have an outdoor area with ping pong and fire pits. the bartenders are amazing. they host a lot of events which is cool, it's good to have a place for live music except i've heard from multiple people they're cheap when it comes to paying bands what they deserve.

RIP: applejack/the local, also RIP the rathskeller, landslide/american spirits and pattenburg house. i guess the continued invasion of nyc/philly to our quaint river valley is inevitable.

it sucks leaving reviews like it, but gotta keep it honest. i'll be back for certain events but that's...

⸻

All I can say is… I’m addicted!! What a hidden veggie gem (at least for me 😅) in my area!! Are you ready? Drum roll please… You are seriously not ready for the food at this place! The food is fooding here!!

I honestly couldn’t choose what to order — I was overwhelmed (in the best possible way!), and that almost never happens to me. Normally, 99% of the time, there’s only one thing on a menu that catches my eye. Here? I was wishing I had seven stomachs so I could try everything 😭😅

Almost every dish can be made vegan and gluten-free, which is amazing. We had the salad and the falafel naan — and that dish was singing! The freshness, the flavors, the colors on the plate — a solid 100/10. Truly, we had nothing to complain about. The portions are huge (we were kindly warned about this by the super sweet waitress when ordering).

It was hands down the best vegan meal we’ve had in a long time — 100% worth it.

The only downside for us was the outdoor seating. The benches and tables outside didn’t quite match the top-tier food experience. That part could definitely use an upgrade. The garden itself is very pretty though, and the interior is nice — maybe a bit too ambient for our taste, and the AC was blasting a little too strong.

Still, if you care about PLANT BASED, excellent, fresh, high-quality food with unique twists, you have to come here. You will not be disappointed.

See you...