New York City
I don't think I need to say that New York is a wonderful town. Dozens of songs have said it, hundreds of movies have shown it, and America really gets a lot of its entertainment and culture served up New York style. New York City has something for everyone. For vegetarians, New York has literally hundreds of vegan, vegetarian, organic and raw restaurants to choose from. If you are in an area that doesn't have a specifically vegetarian restaurant, you can bet you will find some vegetarian-friendly menus. Below is a too-short list of my favorite places to eat.
Angelica Kitchen
• Organic Vegan • 300 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003 • Map
Drew and I have spent many fall afternoons sipping hot apple cider and eating delicious vegan corn bread with tahini spread at Angelica. It has a great cozy atmosphere and it's worth taking the L-train to the East Village. Remember to take cash though, as they prefer it to any other kind of payment.
Blossom • Organic Vegan • 187 9th Ave, New York, New York 10011 • Map
We love the Chelsea neighborhood in New York, so we were thrilled to finally find an organic vegan restaurant on the West side. The servers are wonderful and friendly and passionate about the food. We had our Thanksgiving 2006 meal at Blossom and it was so good I wanted to cry. The atmosphere is romantic and upscale, the food is delicious and well presented. It is everything a vegetarian could ask for in a dining experience. My pictures do not do the food justice.
Blossom was the first restaurant to participate in our 3 Questions interview. Check it out!
Candle Cafe
• Organic Vegan • 130 E 74th St, New York, NY 10021• Map
We finally had the chance to visit this New York institution recently, and we were not disappointed. I had a ginger tofu stir fry, flavorful and filling. With no reservations, we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but there was a bench outside and the neighborhood is great. It took a really long time for me to decide what to eat because everything on the menu looked incredible. There's a small juice bar with muffins and cookies at this location.
While we didn't get to sample the brunch menu, we do own the Candle Cafe cookbook
Counter • Organic Vegetarian •105 1st Avenue • Map
Two words attracted us to this place: Organic Martinis. While purists do not actually consider vodka martinis real martinis, we decided to try them anyway, just for the sake of research. What could be more appealing on a Friday night in New York?
The food is just as tasty. This place offers a lot of vegan choices, and vegetarians will be happy to know that all the cheeses they use are sustainable and rennet free. What really stood out about Counter was that every dish we had, from the appetizer to the dessert, was infused with fresh garden herbs like tarragon, thyme and lemon-basil. It was really wonderful to taste all of the different herbal combinations.
TeaNY • Vegetarian • 90 Rivington Street • Map
So we visit TeaNY just about everytime we go to Manhattan because it's a great little place to recharge your batteries after running around town all day. The SoHo café is small and generally quiet, and practically everything on the menu is Vegan with lots of organic choices. Besides the amazing tea (you will get hooked on the golden monkey), their menu seems to have Vegan versions of everything a Vegan might not want to admit they have lusted over, like Quiche, Chicken Salad and (T)BLT. Even more impressive are the Vegan desserts. One afternoon I had my first Vegan Smores (or is that Smore?) – a sort of chocolate-dipped, marshmallowy concoction with graham cracker crust. I don't know how they did it, but it was incredible.
Note: TeaNY is owned by the musician Moby, but you would never guess someone famous created it just because it has a beautiful purity about it...which I guess you might say about Moby too.
Uptown Juice Bar • Vegan • 54 West 125th Street • Map
When you walk into the Uptown Juice Bar in Harlem, you feel like you are part of a strong community of people who believe in the beauty and power of real food. The people behind the counter are happy, and the menus are colorful and filled with healing words like "love your body", "juice cure" and "all you need." We ordered juice and than watched as the juice guy cut the fresh organic fruits and vegetables. There were no plastic containers filled with pre-cubed pineapple and papaya. The entire atmosphere really made us feel nurtured. The ordering area is cramped, but there is a dining area in the back. Also, they only accept cash.