I Love New York – Part 2
Well that went quickly, it’s already the final day of my trip! I’ve spent the last week in Brooklyn and I must say that these guys kill it in the vegan food department, sorry Manhattan. That’s not to say that I still didn’t head back over to enjoy some more of Manhattan’s delights though, they still do a pretty ace job.
I headed back to Cafe Blossom because I thought I should try something other than the awesome bacon and cheeseburger. I had the Tofu BLT with sweet potato fries and it was super tasty but definitely not as good as that cheeseburger. The cookie dough shake I had was delightful too. So the next night I had the folks at Cafe Blossom send some delivery to my hotel room; Mushroom Calamari and a Caesar Salad with tempeh. Both were great but the calamari was a stand out, perfectly crumbed and lovely texture.
Also in Manhattan, I stopped by Primo Pizza 84 for a couple of slices; one marinara and one soy beef. While they weren’t amazing, it was still better than most options at home plus it was a great quick and cheap dinner.
If you’re checking out Grand Central Station, there are a few options in their dining hall for you to try however continuing with the pizza theme, I grabbed a couple of slices from Two Boots. One was called the Earth Mother which wasn’t anywhere near as good as the other one I had which wasn’t on the menu so I can’t recall what it was called (it’s the one with the cheese).
Let’s talk about Brooklyn now. I posted about Champs once before and because it was so dope, I’ve been back a couple of times since then. The first time I had myself an Orange Soda Float, Oven Roasted Fries with Bacon and Cheese which were AWESOME, the Buffalo Chick’n Sandwich which was great and finished it off with the Sundae (the whipped cream on that thing is wild!) The second time I wanted to try the breakfast menu. Because the waffle machine was broken, I had the Chick’n and Waffles with pancakes instead of the waffles. That chicken was INSANE; amazing, stringy texture with the most perfect crumb ever. I wish I could take it home with me!
As if I hadn’t had enough pizza already, I swung by Vinnie’s for some of the vegan pizza I had heard so much about! I grabbed a slice of the Spare Rib with Pineapple as well as a Ham Wheel. I’m always a sucker for pineapple on pizza so I really enjoyed this one, plus a meal under $10 is always an awesome bonus!
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to Wild Ginger now but if you’ve been there you’ll understand why. The lunch specials are under $10 and come with miso, rice and a spring roll but because I love to try everything I had an appetiser each time as well. You can see below the Miso Soup, Tofu Nuggets, Black Pepper Seitan (Lunch Special), Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream, Crispy Soy Protein Nuggets, Malaysian Curry Stew (Lunch Special) and delivery of the Sweet and Sour Sesame Soy Protein and Seitan Skewers. Everything I had at Wild Ginger was sensational, a must visit in Brooklyn.
Keeping in the Asian mood, I headed back over to Manhattan to pay Soy and Sake one last visit. They too have lunch specials and I opted for the Lunch Box with Chicken Tempura which also came with miso, sushi, salad and gyoza, wow! This was a serious lunch, I wish I could eat it every day. I didn’t really need the Pork Buns but I got ’em anyway.
If wings are your thing, you simply must visit Foodswings (which may be closing down soon so get there while you can). Oh man, these wings are wicked good plus they have four different kinds to choose from. I went for the Combo Plate which comes with three wings (I chose Buffalo, Southern Fried and the Sweet Southern Fried Barbecue) and your choice of side (I chose Mac n Cheese). I was craving wings again last night so luckily Foodswings deliver because I got myself some more wings and some Disco Fries (fries with cheese and bacon) which I ate before managing to get a snap, soz.
Bliss Grand isn’t far from Foodswings and they have a rather large menu full ranging from healthy bowls to burgers and fries so it’s a great choice for those times where you’re not exactly sure what you wanna have. As you guys know, I love jackfruit so I decided to try their BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Bun which comes with slaw and fries. I was especially great when you pop the slaw on the bun with the jackfruit, otherwise it would have been a little dry.
No trip to NYC is complete without a visit to the amazingly awesome Dun-Well Doughnuts. I haven’t decided yet if I prefer Dun-Well or Voodoo but these guys have over 100 flavours on rotation. On this occasion I couldn’t resist getting half a dozen donuts and went for the eggnog, choc peppermint, glazed, peanut butter and jelly, choc peanut and maple glaze. I ate all of them (not in one day) and they were all ace. The eggnog was probably my favourite, I love how food joints here really get into the Christmas spirit with their menus!
This trip has been real. It’s almost infuriating to see so many amazing vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants over here when back home it’s slim pickings but I truly appreciate the opportunity to sample it all. Thank you for coming on this trip with me and stay tuned for my Like a Vegan Abroad – USA Wrap Up early next week.
Where We Stayed
The Milburn Hotel (Manhattan)
Pros: Great location (close to Maoz, Candle Cafe and Cafe Blossom as well as the subway), free wifi, free continental breakfast, friendly staff
Cons: Smaller room, some dated decor
Hotel Le Jolie (Brooklyn)
Pros: Location (walking distance to subway and basically all of the Brooklyn restaurants I visited), free wifi, free breakfast, friendly staff)
Cons: Not a lot in the immediate vicinity of the hotel (only a couple of blocks to fun stuff)