A few weeks back while celebrating my cousin’s birthday, I was reminded how much I loved going to Asbury Park, New Jersey, as a kid. It always seems so out-of-the-way, and my family tends to stick to our summer beach routine, but throwing in the odd trip was a much-needed break from our usual spots.

Getting out of Philadelphia for the night, my sister and I drove to Bradley Beach to meet a group of friends for an all-vegan dinner at Luna Verde. To say the restaurant was unassuming from the outside is an understatement. I almost missed it.

The cozy, no-fuss interior didn’t exactly say “Mexican restaurant,” but the food definitely did. Everything on the extensive menu was somehow completely vegan, although you wouldn’t know it by taste and sight.

We started with nachos, which could have fed an army, and I ordered the community bowl, basically a huge burrito bowl and fitting of the name. The name was an obvious red flag I chose to ignore while ordering, but it was worth it — it was delicious.

We headed to Silver Ball Museum in Asbury Park right after dinner and had some good, clean fun. Silver Ball Museum is mostly a pinball arcade with interesting facts, retro games and a lot of history. Both the arcade and restaurant are BYO, so we brought in whatever we wanted to drink and wandered around the arcade looking for games to play. The Silver Ball Museum charges by the hour and the games are free to play — no need for quarters.

— Angelique Platas, associate editor