I Love New York – Part 1

Here I am in NYC and it seems like this trip is flying by! This New York portion of blogging is going to take me at least two posts to cover since we’re here for nearly three weeks. We’ve only been here for a week so far and it feels like I’ve already eaten a bunch of amazing food this city has to offer. I haven’t been back here since I was a kid so it’s my first time visiting NYC as a vegan.

I started my first night with a Brooklyn Nets game and finished off the night with a visit to Champs; a really cool vegan diner with an extensive menu. I can’t wait to get back to Champs when I spend some time in Brooklyn at the end of my trip but you want to know what I ate this time, right?

We started off with the Oven Roasted Fries with Chili and Cheese plus the Ham & Cheese Croquettes. Oh yeah, what an awesome start to the meal and let me tell you, it got better! We followed that up with the Country Fried Seitan Sandwich and the Baja Fish Burrito and they were equally as awesome so of course we had to get dessert; a slice of choc-mint cake and a waffle sundae coming right up!

After wandering around Times Square, I walked a couple of blocks to Blossom Du Jour and picked up a BBQ Sizzler wrap with a Chocolate Peppermint Pattie Shake. Such an awesome quick lunch, I highly recommend stopping by one of the BDJ locations. So good, that I decided to hit up Cafe Blossom for dinner the next day, where I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The Soy Bacon Cheeseburger is THE BEST! I actually had it delivered to my hotel room the next night.

If you’re wandering around looking at Moo Shoes and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, you should stop by Moby’s old cafe Teany. A great deal of the stuff is vegan and they have a bunch of desserts plus a huge selection of tea. The Turkey Club I had was awesome and the atmosphere of this little place is really sweet.

After that, I wandered past Babycakes and picked up an eclair. It’s crazy to be able to walk from place to place and pick up amazing vegan food along the way, that does not happen in Newcastle.

If you’re chasing down late night eats, B.A.D Burger is located in Manhattan and Brooklyn plus they’re open til 5am! They serve meat but also a whole bunch of vegan options are available as well as an extensive breakfast menu. On my visit to the Manhattan location we had the Nachos Fully Loaded, Dirty South Sandwich and finished it off with the Chocolate Banana Chimichanga. I can’t wait to visit their Brooklyn location before I leave!

I’ve been to two great Japanese restaurants since I arrived here and one of them was Kajitsu. The restaurant has a vegetarian section and non-vegetarian section. The menu is very simple, like the decor but it is so freaking fresh and delicious. On this day we had the Vegetable Katsu Don and the Nabeyaki Udon and Inari Sushi. Everything was so perfectly presented and tasting AMAZING. After eating so much junk food, a nice fresh meal was exactly what I wanted.

The second Japanese restaurant I went to was Soy and Sake and these guys have a HUGE menu, it was so hard to choose just a couple of things to try for lunch. The Vegan Boston is the best shake I’ve had so far on this trip (only just behind Blossom Du Jour) plus it has a big scoop of ice cream on top which makes it extra special. I ordered the Coconut Shrimp which was so perfectly golden and crispy plus the Buffalo Wings which came with some vegetable sticks and blue cheese sauce. Let me tell you, those wings were ace and I plan on replicating them at home. I also had a miso soup, because I was craving one and I am certainly glad I did!

If you’re looking for a nice night out, Candle Cafe is an awesome place to be. They have a great bar with plenty of cocktail options and a really great menu which again, made it difficult for me to choose what to have. Luckily, they have the Market Plate, which allows you to pick four sides and two sauces. I had the Wheatballs, BBQ Tempeh, French Fries and Sauteed Greens with the Spicy Peanut and Chipotle sauces. I was also craving ice cream so decided to have the Ice Cream and Sorbet Sampler which consisted of a mango sorbet, vanilla ice cream and taro ice cream (I think). This place was so awesome that the next night I had them deliver a Cajun Seitan Sandwich which was also delicious.

If you’re after something quick and easy, Maoz Vegetarian is a great option and there are plenty of them scattered throughout the city. If you’ve bean to Sabbaba in Sydney before this is the same kind of vibe. You get a pita with falafel and fill it with salads from the salad bar. They also have a bunch of vegan sides and rice pudding for dessert. I’ll probably go here again because it’s so quick and easy.