Vegan New York

[bradders]

Red Bamboo, Red Bamboo, RED BAMBOO!!!!

[DiaShel]

I just don't get what the big deal with red bamboo is!!

[fondducoeur]

Mmmm....Red Bamboo's menu is enticing!
I'll run these by my man and see what he thinks.
We also have to find something to eat for lunch on Saturday, but I'm thinking something light since we are having a nice dinner that night. Maybe a raw place...?

[RubyDuby]

has anybody else been to curly's? I thought it was yummy, different and not too expensive.

[fondducoeur]

Have any of you ever eaten at HanGawi? I have never eaten at a vegan korean place and I'm intrigued...

[DiaShel]

I've done Curly's for brunch. It was really good. I'd love to try there lunch or dinner stuff though.

[Marrers]

I have always been a bit disappointed when I've eaten at Curly's, except for when I had the brunch.
I think I tried Hangwai a few years back but can't recall much about it without reading any descriptions in the Vegan New York guide book (which may jog my memory)

[bradders]

I just don't get what the big deal with red bamboo is!!

The big deal is that it's yummy and scrummy and decent portions and did I say yummy?

[Marrers]

Btw the portions at Red Bamboo seemed enormous to us. We normally ordered a few starters and a few side dishes, you get to try more items that way too. (The creole chicken was my favourite.)

[bradders]

I was thinking 'finally, a place with proper portions'
could easily have eaten starter plus main plus desert plus extra for the subway ride

(mind you bryzee will confirm that basically all I did the entire time I was there was eat, and eat and seek out a cup of tea, I seem to remember that I had a bag of crisps (some bags did even say crisps) on every subway ride)

[fondducoeur]

Thanks for the help guys.
While we were there we ate at a late night veg place/bar called Kate's Joint (on Friday just after getting in). Saturday we had Curly's for brunch and Candle 79 for dinner. On Sunday before leaving we had Red Bamboo for lunch (I had the creole chicken, Marrers and it was excellent; I even had leftovers to eat for dinner last night after driving home!)...and Babycakes to take with us!

Yum yum.

[Marrers]

I always over-order the creole chicken now just before I go home so I have something to eat on the plane!

[bradders]

can't wait to be able to afford to go on holiday to NYC again,
I bought three teany club sandwiches and a slice of amazingly good chocolate fudge cake for on the plane. That was a good plane journey.

[RubyDuby]

Thanks for the help guys.
While we were there we ate at a late night veg place/bar called Kate's Joint (on Friday just after getting in). Saturday we had Curly's for brunch and Candle 79 for dinner. On Sunday before leaving we had Red Bamboo for lunch (I had the creole chicken, Marrers and it was excellent; I even had leftovers to eat for dinner last night after driving home!)...and Babycakes to take with us!

Yum yum.

sounds like a great trip! did you take pics?

kate's joint was yum, but high prices for small portions I thought. What did you order at each restaurant?

[Holly78]

I am hoping going to be visiting New York City for a week in September. Not booked any flights yet but very excited!! I will be posting here nearer the time for recommendations for vegan eateries and also any 'must see/do' activities in NYC (I am guessing there are lots!)

[fondducoeur]

kate's joint was yum, but high prices for small portions I thought. What did you order at each restaurant?

Hmmm...let's see. At Kate's I got a buffalo tofu sandwich and fries, and my fiance and I split the sesame tofu sticks with ginger dipping sauce. I thought the sandwich was delish...it had a great sauce. He got a pizza burger that IMO was good, but nothing special.
At Curly's I had their breakfast enchilada, which contained scrambled tofu and spinach with sides of beans and veggies. It was a ton of food. Robbie had some sort of chicken bacon ranch sandwich I think, that he was really pleased with.
At Candle 79 we split a starter of butternut squash/cashew cream ravioli that was amazing and left me wanting more I had a garlicky seitan picatta variation (their entree special for the night) over mashed potatoes with some vegetables. We split a canoli with chocolate sauce and choc. chip ice cream for dessert. Heaven.
At Red Bamboo we ordered a ton of food so we would have leftovers. For starters, we ordered buffalo wings and asian dumplings, and as entrees we had creole chicken with mashed potatoes and mango chicken and veggies. It was all very good, but I liked the creole chicken with this tangy yummy dipping sauce the best.

I liked my dinner at Candle 79 the best...but it was a special occasion and we will likely not go back the next time I visit. I am looking forward to trying Candle Cafe if we go again (a bit more in my price range). Other than that...we both liked Red Bamboo the best of of the other places.

[RubyDuby]

re red bamboo: did you like the asian dumplings? I think we got those and thought they were blah... soggy and tasteless. Everything else was really good, but the place was overcrowded and I was sat under an air conditioner on a cold rainy day... ruined my experience.

[leedsveg]

Probably told the tale before but 5 years ago, Mrs Leedsveg and I went to the Chinese restaurant, House of Vegetarian on Mott St. We ordered the two most expensive main course dishes at $12 each, the other main courses being only $6. Mine was 'cod balls' in batter with rice, and whatever Mrs Lv had with her rice, we've forgotten. Anyway when they brought the 'cod' and 'forgotten' dishes in, there was easily enough for 5 or 6 people, maybe more. And then they brought us each a bucket of rice.....

Candle 79 restaurant seemed nice until our waiter told us that it was frequented by Sir Paul and Yoko Ono, but never at the same time because they don't get on. We had visions of them arriving simultaneously that evening, causing a scene and us having to tell them to behave or we'd ask for them to be thrown out. Fortunately they didn't appear and spoil our evening.

leedsveg

[Ribbon]

I went to NYC last week and had an amazing holiday and found it SO much more vegan friendly then here in the UK.i've had a nosy through this thread and can't see any mention of Peacefood Cafe.it's on Upper West Side towards Central Park. I had my "birthday meal" there and it was lovely.such a laid back atmosphere, everything vegan and healthy but YUM.i honestly felt good after eating there.anyone else tried it?

(sorry if it has already been mentioned- i did a forum search and couldn't find anything either)

[bradders]

re red bamboo: did you like the asian dumplings? I think we got those and thought they were blah... soggy and tasteless. Everything else was really good, but the place was overcrowded and I was sat under an air conditioner on a cold rainy day... ruined my experience.

I only like them soggy, to me dumplings of all kinds, English or Asian should be soggy, really not a fan of crispy ones. If I was sat under an air-conditioning unit that wasn't needed in the weather I'd ask them to turn it off/ down.

[Marrers]

I saw the Peacefood Cafe had opened when I was there in December but didn't go. Nice to have a review.

I know the table u mean RubyDuby, the first one behind the counter on the right. We found it annoying too.

[twinkle]

My friend is visiting New York later this year, and I want to send him with a shopping list - any suggestions of sweets or other goodies he'll be able to get a lot cheaper or more easily than if I mail ordered?

[RubyDuby]

I only like them soggy, to me dumplings of all kinds, English or Asian should be soggy, really not a fan of crispy ones. If I was sat under an air-conditioning unit that wasn't needed in the weather I'd ask them to turn it off/ down.

I wasn't complaining that they weren't fried. I like steamed dumplings too, but these were thick skinned, almost not even cooked all the way, wet and soggy. Everything else was really, really good though.

I know the table u mean RubyDuby, the first one behind the counter on the right. We found it annoying too.

that's the one!

They took our number while we waited and called when the table was ready. Then as we were waiting for our food my phone rang again, but I didn't recognize the number and it was super loud in there so didn't answer. When it rang again I picked up and it was the guy behind the counter, 2 feet from us, calling again to let us know our table was ready. oops.

[Holly78]

I went to NYC last week and had an amazing holiday and found it SO much more vegan friendly then here in the UK.i've had a nosy through this thread and can't see any mention of Peacefood Cafe.it's on Upper West Side towards Central Park. I had my "birthday meal" there and it was lovely.such a laid back atmosphere, everything vegan and healthy but YUM.i honestly felt good after eating there.anyone else tried it?

(sorry if it has already been mentioned- i did a forum search and couldn't find anything either)

Thanks for sharing! I really like the sound of this place.

[Marrers]

My friend is visiting New York later this year, and I want to send him with a shopping list - any suggestions of sweets or other goodies he'll be able to get a lot cheaper or more easily than if I mail ordered?

The Jokerz bars etc seemed the same price to me so not worth buying. All the things below can't be bought in the UK as far as I know (although Sweet and Sara marshmallows can be - see stockists page).

Cocoa V is a totally vegan chocolate shop.

Sweet and Sara smores (from Wholefoods),
Chew-its dark Peanut Chews (in red packaging) from many corner shops and street stands. Many corner shops sell vegan cookies too.

There will be various vegan treats like cookies (Boston cookies are a really nice brand and Alternative Baking Company cookies are good too) in the bakery section in Wholefoods too. I also like Laura's Wholesome Junk Food bitelets although it is probably something you could make yourself if you are any sort of cook. I like the fudge and the lemon-vanilla best.

If he is a very good friend he might bring you a slice or two of cake from Atlas Cafe in his hand luggage - I do for my friends! All the cakes are vegan and soooo good. The double chocolate cake and the fudge cake are my favourites.

Pics here of the double chocolate cake and chocolates from Cocoa V.

Edit to add - more cake pics here.

[RubyDuby]

marrers- that last link isn't working for me.

eta: nm, it's working now. I think it was a vf prob.

[Marrers]

The very first person who can demonstrate a brand of beer sold in America, available in supermarkets or Astor wines with either the actual word "vegan" on the label or the "Vegan Society Flower" will get a free beer from me and/or I will do a humiliation dance for all and admit publicly I was wrong. Think how good that would make you all feel. Come on people, just one brand, that's all it takes.

I know Mahk is no longer here so we will not be treated to the 'humiliation dance' but I found a huge range of vegan labelled wines in a normal wine shop on my last trip to New York. Here are two which I bought.

[RubyDuby]

What was the "normal shop"? NYC may as well be it's own country.

[bryzee86]

I know Mahk is no longer here so we will not be treated to the 'humiliation dance' but I found a huge range of vegan labelled wines in a normal wine shop on my last trip to New York. Here are two which I bought.

hahaha - IN YOUR FACE!

[Marrers]

Ruby I didn't say because I couldn't remember but you've made me trawl my brain and it was this one - Warehouse Wines & Spirits (which just happened to be opposite where we were staying, so I presume any similar store would stock a good range).

In case anyone is interested they also sell alcohol-free wine which I know is vegan (from research the Alcohol-Free Shop and Lo-No companies here have done). The fizzy stuff is really quite good

[RubyDuby]

What's the brand on the first bottle? I will def look for Stellar Organics next time I'm in a liquor store. I've never seen the word Vegan on a wine bottle like that around here... I prob would have in LA but didn't drink much wine when I was there. There just isn't a call for it in most places like there is in NYC.

[Marrers]

What's the brand on the first bottle?

I can't remember but can see from the photo the back label says OrganicWineWorks.com

[RubyDuby]

thank you ma'am. Always looking for new choices!

[twinkle]

Thanks Marrers!

[MariaTrekker]

Vegetarian Dim Sum House in Chinatown, Candle Cafe, Angelica's Kitchen, & Babycakes Bakery are THE BEST in NYC!!