Vegan on the Jersey Shore, Part 2: Bashful Banana

Over the 5 years I have been blogging I have only reported on vegan eats in the Garden state twice: Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, barely outside of the Lincoln Tunnel in Rutherford, in 2008 and Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ in 2010. That is it! I think I dismissed New Jersey prematurely, assuming anything it had the Empire had better.

I was so very wrong.

Welcome to Ocean City, New Jersey, home to a beach, a boardwalk.. and the wondrous Bashful Banana Bakery & Cafe.
When I had stumbled across their Yelp page in preparation for my New Jersey jaunt, I was perplexed and very curious, teeming with a tamed excitement: Could this be another amazing discovery?  What was this “Banana Whip”? What was this vegan treat made from 100% bananas? To CP and me, the 2-hour round-trip detour was worth satisfying those questions.

As I approached I saw that this Banana Whip was subject to quite a bit of local hullabaloo. Curiosity growing, along with a bit of worry as I knew very well I’d need longer than the 15 minutes my parking spot allowed to experience this award-winning treat, I was ready.

There it was… in print. We were ready to order and dive into the unknown. Unlike their cafe menu, there was no v-bomb dropped on the frozen treat page. Maybe for fear of scaring some away? As someone who drove several hours just to try the whip, that v-bomb is what drew me in.

This is the Bashful Banana boy, a heartthrob to the local teen community, and the magical machine that creates one amazing treat. The treat is an astonishing vegan soft serve made up of 100% bananas. Just bananas, frozen, aerated and whipped into a spectacular alternative to dairy ice cream. It was creamy, it was delicious–but clean. No coating of processed gums and chemicals in your mouth (I’m talking to you {insert name of any soft serve I’ve ever had, excluding Divine Treasures.’}) It is, again, spectacular. Bafflingly spectacular.

Our Banana Whip Sundae, topped with an ALL-FRUIT hot fudge sauce and non-dairy chocolate chips. Can you believe this?

Let’s look again.

Bashful Banana also has vegan sandwich options and a bakery with v-bomb cupcakes. Is this place amazing or what?

After my chocolate discovery in Connecticut recently and this wonderful find in New Jersey, I am filled with a new giddiness.  What else had I been overlooking so close to home. (Foreshadowing!)