Vegan New York

[terem]

Mahk, both sides of whatever argument is going on have been made.
This is a thread for great vegan places to eat in New York, and the subject has gone a bit off topic.

Let's bring back the love for vegan New York eateries, hm?:heart:

[DiaShel]

Mmm... I can't wait to sample those fine NY eateries! We need a NY meet-up.

[terem]

Glad to hear it DiaShel! I posted a Northeast meetup thread in the Northeast group and no one has responded yet. :(

Have you seen it, or is it just that no one really looks at it too often?

[DiaShel]

I stopped looking because no one ever posted! I don't get updates when someone responds. Not a big fan of the "groups". I love the idea of a meet up though. :D I'm tried of the UKers having all the fun :hmm::tongue_ani:

[terem]

Ahh everyone else probably stopped looking too. I'll post a thread in the America forum then so everyone sees it.

Yeah, the UKers all seem to have crazy fun meetups, it's our turn!:D

[Mahk]

Mahk, both sides of whatever argument is going on have been made.
This is a thread for great vegan places to eat in New York, and the subject has gone a bit off topic.

Let's bring back the love for vegan New York eateries, hm?:heart:

Good point. Sorry everyone to stray off topic. I did however promise a humilation dance offer and that still holds.


Here is the new thread. (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=570166#post570166) A continuation of the side topic. [psst, did you hear about apple juice?]

[Marrers]

I've posted a few photos of some of the vegan food I had in New York here (http://veganforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=570252&postcount=6) and here (http://veganforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=570254&postcount=7).

[Marrers]

Also two pictures of the beach at Coney Island / Brighton beach here (http://veganforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=570257&postcount=396). I wasn't expecting it to be so nice and sandy! I found nothing vegan to eat there though so if you go bring something with you.

[terem]

Hmm, not even some French Fries?

[Marrers]

Not on that occasion! But I think a starter of the Creole Chicken with fries or sweet potato fries is a better option than having it as an entree with dull mash and undercooked veggies!

I thought the fries at Pomme Frittes were delicious though!

[DiaShel]

Where did you get the cakes?! I'll be there for my birthday!

[Marrers]

Atlas Cafe (http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=cafe+altas+new+york&fb=1&split=1&view=text&latlng=13429418273711963966&dtab=2&pcsi=13429418273711963966,1&ei=XXb4ScTnN8iZjAf8j6CzDA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=result&resnum=1) on Second Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets.

Photo here (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.8coupons.com/storeimage/big/atlas_cafe_333733383334_1_image.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.8coupons.com/discounts/atlas-cafe-new-york-10003-212-539-0966&usg=__7ng1tIQszBmjh5luqUrqWWXJGjU=&h=134&w=200&sz=12&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=S6b3x3GBaiWmxM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcafe%2Baltas%2Bnew%2Byork%26hl%3Den%2 6client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1).

[DiaShel]

Atlas Cafe (http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=cafe+altas+new+york&fb=1&split=1&view=text&latlng=13429418273711963966&dtab=2&pcsi=13429418273711963966,1&ei=XXb4ScTnN8iZjAf8j6CzDA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=result&resnum=1) on Second Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets.

Photo here (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.8coupons.com/storeimage/big/atlas_cafe_333733383334_1_image.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.8coupons.com/discounts/atlas-cafe-new-york-10003-212-539-0966&usg=__7ng1tIQszBmjh5luqUrqWWXJGjU=&h=134&w=200&sz=12&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=S6b3x3GBaiWmxM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcafe%2Baltas%2Bnew%2Byork%26hl%3Den%2 6client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1).

Think they sell whole cakes?

I'm amused that the person that lived in NY her whole life up til 3 years ago is asking the person from a different country all the questions.

[Marrers]

I'm sure they would but not necessarily at any discount. Perhaps you'd be better off ordering a whole cake mail order from Vegan Treats (http://www.myspace.com/vegantreats) direct?

[Gorilla]

so i'm back from New York...

i didn't have anywhere near enough time there, but i knew that would be the case before i went. at least there will be lots more things for me to do if i ever go back.

the first evening i got to the hotel an hour later than i'd hoped because the flight was late due to bad weather (it rained nearly the whole time i was there, sadly). i would not recommend the Hotel Pennsylvania - it's certainly central, but the rooms are crap. they only had a smoking room left when i checked in, which absolutely stank; the sink was hanging off the wall, there was mould on the air con unit and the room was just creepy. i really didn't want to sleep in it. the corridors were really shabby too. i complained in the morning and they upgraded me to a suite which was a much better room but i wouldn't have been able to afford to book it outright.

anyway, onto the food. :D

the first night i went to Red Bamboo which was lovely (no pictures, i couldn't be bothered to take my camera, i just wanted to eat). i had the BBQ 'chicken' to start which was great, followed by the tonkatsu (?) 'pork chops' which were a little bland and came with an overpowering sauce. they'd run out of cake unfortunately but i had a scoop of pistachio ice cream and a scoop of mint choc chip which were both great.

the second day i went to Greenwich Village, stopping in Westerly Health Foods on 8th Ave to buy a vegan quesadilla and some Luna bar flavours we can't get in the UK. i had lunch at S'Nice, which i liked the atmosphere of. i had the Philly 'steak & cheese' sandwich but found it really filling so i didn't feel like buying a cake even to take out afterwards.

dinner that night was Kajitsu. it certainly was an experience. the price has now gone up to $70 for the full menu but i think it was worth trying everything. it was 8 courses and the food was so unusual, the waitress explained each course as she brought it over. i wouldn't say i loved everything i ate in there, but some of the dishes were wonderful. it's obviously not somewhere you'd go very often and you have to be prepared for some strange tastes, but i was glad i went. the food was all beautifully prepared and i'll post some photos in the food picture thread as i can't fit them all in here.

the next day i had lunch at Candle Cafe after walking around Central Park. i liked the place, but it was soooo noisy! i don't know how New Yorkers manage to eat anything, they talk so much! :p it made me feel a little stressed by the time i'd finished my meal. i had the tofu club sandwich which was enormous:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/Gorilla_31/P5060438.jpg

followed by the tofu cheesecake which was delicious:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/Gorilla_31/P5060439.jpg

i had dinner at Blossom and i think it was probably my favourite meal in New York. i didn't take any photos because it was quite dimly lit and atmospheric, although i didn't find it as intimate as i was expecting because again it was incredibly noisy. to start i had the ravioli with cashew cream which was amazingly good, followed by the crispy Thai tofu, which tasted wonderful but my only complaint was that it was rather gritty and i can't stand gritty food. :( for dessert i had lavender creme brulee, it was a bit overpowering on the lavender at first and i wasn't expecting it to be cold, but it was really good.

on the last day i bought a huge yummy tofu and veg pizza slice from Whole Earth Bakery in St Marks Place and ate it in Tompkins Square during the brief period it stopped raining. i also bought a choc chip chewy slice in there but i didn't like that at all.

i just had time to pop into Lula's for a sundae before i had to head to the airport. as you said Marrers it's a very low-key place and i walked right past it once too. the lady serving was very sweet and i chose one scoop of peanut butter fudge ice cream, one scoop of lemon cream pie ice cream, marshmallow sauce, and crushed cookies. none of the many cans of Soy Whip she had would work (so it's not just the UK ones that don't work properly!) so i tried the coconut whip on top which didn't really taste of much. the ice creams were both lovely but didn't really go together, whoops. it's a great place but much too small.

here is a rubbish photo of my sundae:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/Gorilla_31/P5070453.jpg

i did a lot of shopping and a fair bit of sight-seeing. my favourite areas were Greenwich Village and the East Village. i took the subway a couple of times but mostly got taxis or walked. some cab drivers were good, some were completely crazy!

one thing i couldn't get used to was how they add tax onto everything, so the price you see is never the price you pay. i found that annoying. i also disliked how some of the shops confiscate your bags on the way in because they're convinced you'll try to steal from them. :rolleyes: i was hoping to find some vintage clothes but found them all overpriced and no better than what i can get here on eBay for a fraction of the cost.

i didn't find any peanut chews but i wasn't really looking that hard, i didn't have time!

overall i had a great time and i would like to go back if i ever feel capable of getting on a plane again!

[Stu]

Sounds like you had a good time! Shame about the rain. Looks like you had some nice food though.


i didn't find any peanut chews but i wasn't really looking that hard, i didn't have time!

Camden Town be the place for these!

[Cherry]

Gorilla - Wow! All your pics *almost* make me think getting on a plane wouldn't be so bad. Thanks for sharing.

Stu...are you trying to imply that you can get PEANUT CHEWS in LONDON!???!!!?!?!?!

[Stu]

Um, not sure. The ones I'm thinking of, are like small Marathon/Snickers bars.

[Cherry]

YES!!! They were the best thing on the veganstore website, and when they stopped selling them I tried to find out why, and for some reason got the idea in my head that they weren't vegan anymore. They're sooooo nice.

[Marrers]

Thanks for the reviews Gorilla.

Cherry SSOV have something they say is similar to Peanut Chews but I haven't tried them yet to compare. I think VS stopped selling them because of import problems. I tried to order direct by the company said they wouldn't ship outside the US.
(FYI after lots of people on here and my o/h saying they couldn't find Peanut Chews on recent visits I made a point of looking this time and found them on many street stands selling choc bars and most corner shops I looked in, though the priced varied quite a bit.)

[Mahk]

I think VS stopped selling them because of import problems.
They stopped selling them when they realized that they had no assurance that the sugar they contained wasn't filtered through bone char (which roughly 25% of US sugar is). This is true of all products (and restaurant foods) that contain sugar manufactured here in the US, BTW, unless they specifically label themselves as "vegan" and even then you don't really know for sure. For instance, they may:

A) not know that they need to scrutinize the filtration methods of the sugar they buy. "Sugar comes from a plant. How could it not be vegan?"

B) not care because they go by the "contents based" definition not the "processed based" definition of vegan. This is true of many established vegan organizations I might add.

[References for all data in this post available upon request. My posts are now being administratively screened prior to being posted so there will be unavoidable delays.]

[Gorilla]

a friend posted me one of the SSOV's peanut chews (they're called Nutty Chews) and it was even more chewy than the Goldenbergs ones and got stuck all round my teeth, not much flavour either i didn't think.

[RubyDuby]

crap... seems i missed some meet-up opportunities. Anybody visiting anytime soon?

[Cherry]

Not just yet, RubyDuby:)


a friend posted me one of the SSOV's peanut chews (they're called Nutty Chews) and it was even more chewy than the Goldenbergs ones and got stuck all round my teeth, not much flavour either i didn't think.

I acquired some too (thanks Stu :)) and I think they're great. In fact I'm eating one now. I think they're very similar to the Goldenbergs ones.

[DiaShel]

crap... seems i missed some meet-up opportunities. Anybody visiting anytime soon?

A couple of us are planning a meet-up towards the end of June. There's a thread called "northeast meet-up" by terem