I love New York: Food Snaps 2

Second round of delicious food stuffs from New York. If it's pictured, I recommend it.

Lula's Sweet Apothecary- All vegan ice cream parlor

Papacitos- delicious Mexican street food with a good chunk of the menu available to be made vegan. I apologize for the horrendous quality of the picture, but it was dark and I really wanted to dig in.

Red Bamboo- Right off Washington Square Park, with a focus on faux meats and lunch specials Monday - Friday. I got the fish and chips and loved it.

Not pictured but highly recommended:

• Peacefood Cafe
• Vegetarian Dim Sum House
• Curly's
• Foodswings
• Champ's (donuts! cinnamon rolls!)

Wishes Do Come True: My Adventures With Dosa Man

Many years ago, as a baby vegan, I was watching Food Network and saw a man. A dosa man. I dreamed of one day eating this man's dosas. Fast forward four years and I found myself in New York City, ready to dosa it up. However, when I arrived in Washington Square Park, there were no dosas to be found- dosa man was on vacation. Tragedy.


Undeterred, I returned this year, determined to eat my dosa. First visit: no dosa, vacation again. Second visit (and double checking via the discovery of Dosa Man's facebook page): success! I got my dosa! Waiting in the line for the truck, I selected the special pondicherry from the 100% vegan menu and then placed my order. Once I received my dosa, along with chutney and a tiny cup of soup, I sauntered over to the tiny dog park (it's a dog park for tiny dogs) to enjoy my dosa. Despite the 100° weather, I ate my steaming hot, crispy dosa and felt all my dreams come true via delicious potatoes and vegetables and chutney. If you go to New York, definitely take time hit up Dosa Man- nearby you can find the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Mark Twain's home and the Stonewall Inn.

I love New York: Food Snaps

Shockingly, I ate an abundance of delicious food in New York. Here are some snapshots from that adventure.

Sushi from Vine- get the vegetable sushi entree and get three rolls and salad for $13.50!

H & H Bagels- delicious bagels slathered with vegan cream cheese, best when eaten on the steps of The Met

Good To Go Organics Food Truck, featuring vegan hot dogs, located by Wollman Rink in Central Park

Delicious, filling vegan omelet at Organic Grill

New York City Food: Part Four of Four! Whee!

This will be a short one! I only have one restaurant left to talk about: Terri. Located near the shopping strip by Union Square, this is a great little place to get a lunch on the run. They have minimal seating, no bathroom and a well stocked grab and go cooler. I opted for the buffalo chicken sandwich and a Butterfinger shake, as well as a bottle of strawberry mint lemonade for the road. The menu is all vegan and I was not disappointed at all with my last meal (for the moment) in New York City. The buffalo sauce was appropriately spicy and evenly smothered over what I think was Gardein and the shake was smooth and just what I wanted after hauling my luggage through the subway. For an impromptu dining choice (Dosa Man had been my first choice), I feel like I got pretty darn lucky.

I am looking forward to future trips and having the chance to explore new things and to return to favorites. What were my favorites? You will have to wait. That's a whole other post.

New York City Food: Part Three of Four? I think?

You may want to sit down for this installment of the riveting series of what I ate in New York City. I am covering a potent trio of Lula's, Candle Cafe and Soy and Sake. Whoa. I know. Can you handle it?

Let's start with Candle Cafe. Alice and I decided to eat here because A) it was close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (yay for more planning!) and B) it was cheaper than Candle 79. Alice and I decided to split an appetizer and an entree for maximal dining pleasure with minimal cost. I was a little intimidated by the prices- I tend to get nervous in fancy restaurants, but the amazing food quickly quelled all my fears. Alice and I started our meal with the delectable quesadilla- crisp on the outside, melty goodness on the inside, with a serving of fresh salsa to top it all off. The appetizer was a success. Our entree was the Tuscan Seitan Parmesan Sandwich (which came with two sides, more fiscal prudence) and was also a hit. The cheese on it was freakishly melty and the tomatoes in the side salad were unbelievably fresh. If I get the chance to go back, I will probably order the tofu club, but this was the perfect introduction sandwich to Candle Cafe- hearty and delicious with a topping of quality vegan cheese.

That evening we ventured to Soy and Sake, a vegetarian sushi restaurant, with a full non-sushi menu similar to Red Bamboo, located by the IFC Center (more planning!). While it wasn't the same quality as Shojin, they did have the advantage of filling your sushi with fake fish. Fake vegan fish. Of course, I wanted to try it all, so I got the maki platter with the ginger salad. This meant I got three rolls: tuna avocado, salmon avocado and eel avocado. Whoa. The rolls were all delicious, though they had an appearance reminiscent of cat food and I couldn't really tell which fish was which, but they were filling and savory and calmed my strange craving for vegan fish. The meal was finished off with a Peanut Butter Bomb from Vegan Treats. Rich, delicious, made for sharing. I was definitely satisfied with this meal.

The final installment in this trilogy of joy is Lula's. Lula's is an all vegan ice cream shop with a smorgasbord of flavors, and ice cream coming in both traditional and soft serve. Due to my two visits there, I got to try both types. Of the traditional ice cream, I had the drumstick flavor covered in hot fudge. This flavor consisted of vanilla mixed with bits of cone and chocolate, much like the non-vegan treat of the same name. Yowza. Creamy and rich, but not overwhelming, I wanted to get a second scoop but did not have the money at the time. Fortunately, I came back to Lula's for a second time and treated myself to a flurry, which is basically Dairy Queen's Blizzard, but without the dairy. It was even better than I could have dreamed. Cake batter soft serve with mint creme cookies created a perfect treat for sitting on the sidewalk and watching people go by. Lula's is an adorable little shop and will definitely be on the itinerary when a return trip to the city is scheduled. Highly, highly recommended.

One more and then NYC food is done! Portland soon!

PS- I'm sorry these photos are arranged in a visually displeasing manner, but blogger is being wonky about letting me put them where I want them. Sorry!

New York City Food: Part Two of ????

I won't lie: the majority of the time I was in New York, I had songs about the city running through my head. Remember me to Herald Square indeed.

Fortunately, I was also full of delicious food when I was there. This leads to part II of the food I ate on my trip to NYC.

When I last left you, I briefly mentioned that I ate vegan omelets at the underrated Organic Grill. This has not changed. I had heard nothing about the Organic Grill prior to arriving in New York, despite years of menu reading, and only went when my dear friend Alice suggested we brunch there. I have no idea why I haven't seen this place all over the internet. Not only do they have a Disney-esque exterior, spacious bathrooms, delicious food and servers with charming accents, they have customizable vegan omelets. You pick your fillings and can even add vegan cheese that is cooked perfectly. I went for kale, black olives, white mushrooms and "mozzarella". The omelet at first seems a little spendy, clocking in around $10, but you get an enormous omelet, a generous side of home fries, some toast and the ability to go without eating until seven that evening. Anyway, go here, blog it, tweet it, make it big. Totally worth it.

Dinner that night was at Curly's, located by Union Square and Trader Joe's- good to know if you plan on shopping in the area. I opted for the buffalo burger and fries. I didn't get a picture because, um, I forgot to take one, but I will tell you this: ask for extra napkins if you order this guy. Also, bring your crayons and creativity, because you can color on the placemats here. Awwwww yeah!

The next morning saw me introduced to my first NYC bagel and my first foray into tofu cream cheese. Both were a success, and were obtained at The Bagel Store. It was a salt and vinegar bagel with tofu vegetable cream cheese. It was good. Here is a picture (you don't need me to explain a bagel, do you?).

Dinner that evening was at Angelica Kitchen. I ordered the marinated tofu sandwich, and it was one of the most perfect sandwiches I have ever eaten. Light but filling with delicate flavors that mingled incredibly well. The vegetables on it were also marinated, so they weren't as crisp as I thought they would be, but they added an unexpected flavor that I really enjoyed. Evan was also kind enough to bring me danishes and a mini loaf of banana bread made with raspberry chocolate- best dessert ever.
Next time: Lula's, Candle Cafe and Soy and Sake. A trio of awesome!

New York City Food: Part One of ????

I just took the most amazing trip to New York City for the first time. Everything about it was incredible. In fact, I procrastinated on blogging about it because I simply did not know where to start. So, with a deep breath, please allow me to dive right in.


My journey into the foods of New York began with a trip to Peacefood Cafe. Ignoring the name, this place is excellent. I had the creamy chickpea fries (pictured above) and the seitan medallion sandwich (right), which is a sandwich worth $12. Seriously. Alice and I had to take home leftovers, along with a tiramisu to go. Highly recommended, and it is very close to the American Museum of Natural History, for your planning purposes.

 The next day was the hottest day of the trip. Thankfully, it was also an extremely fun day, and filled with fabulous food. The lovely Gwen of What I Wore took me shopping, eating and comedy showing. Store-wise, I loved Old Hollywood and Beacon's Closet (APC dress for $30!), but I'm focusing on food right now. Gwen took me to Boneshakers, where I had the Club Racer and she had the tuna melt. I had honestly intended to order something other than the Club Racer but it was so hot that I just ordered the first thing I saw on the (intimidatingly) large menu. Luckily, Boneshakers came through and gave me an excellent, filling sandwich and a wine bottle full of water, just what this girl always needs.


Dinner was at Foodswings, which meant buffalo wings! They had a little wooden skewer in the middle to really create that drumstick effect. I also got the Butterfinger shake, but neglected to take a picture because it was so freaking hot that I started drinking it the second I got it. Definitely get something other than water to go with those drumsticks- you'll want to cut the heat a bit.

The following days meals consisted of grapes on the steps of the Met (thanks to Blair Waldorf for that idea) and dinner at Vegetarian Dim Sum. I didn't get any pictures because I was already late and didn't want to ask everyone to wait just a little longer so I could take pictures, but let me give you some advice: the treasure balls are better than the treasure boxes, and the shrimp dumplings taste eerily like shrimp.

My next meal took place at the severely under-rated Organic Grill and since this is getting long and I'd like to wax poetic about my vegan omelet (just you wait!), you will have to wait, breathlessly, for the next installment.