NYC Vegan
Freeman’s
We had an excellent party for a campaign my agency recently launched last night at Freeman’s, and it was very delicious. The meal was family-style, and though I was not able to eat too much (had a plate of expertly dressed greens instead of the infamous artichoke dip), I was served a vegan version of their roasted spelt risotto with stewed leeks, fava beans and english peas as pictured above. It was outstanding. The drinks were also excellent, and I believe I had four (yeah, that kind of night) Fleetwoods - hibiscus infused Gin, cucumber, lime juice, and grapefruit juice. Great atmosphere, great food, and I was in excellent company. Just let them know in advance you’re vegan and they’re happy to modify dishes for you.
Freeman’s is located at the end of Freedom Alley off Rivington between Bowery + Chrystie. You can get there by taking the F to 2nd Avenue or the B/D to Grand Street.
Westville
I’ve been dying to go to Westville forever. The restaurant always has a sign out front that is essentially a list of a fresh vegetables they’ll be preparing.
I got a Market Plate, comprised of four different vegetable sides. It was fabulous. The sauteed tomatoes and broccoli really stood out on my dish.
My friend Andrew got some sort of egg-dish, which was very beautiful.
They have vegan hot dogs there, so naturally I’m quite excited to go back this summer, many times I hope!
Westville is located at 210 W10th Street, between Bleecker + W4th Street. They also have locations in the East Village and Chelsea. I suggest taking the 1 train to Christopher Street to get there.
Candle Cafe
Before an exhausting day at the Met, Joelle and I decided to grab some grub at Candle Cafe, Candle 79’s less expensive and equally delicious other arm.
We started out with gorgeous Candle Cocktails. I got a carrot apple snap - carrot, apple and ginger while Jo got the green goddess - mixed greens, apple, lemon and ginger. Both were delightful, mine perhaps more so. The one problem I have when I get juices in the city is that they are weird and warm, but these were the perfect temperature for juice.
For an appetizer, we split the Mezze Plate, a combo of hummus, quinoa tabouli, lemon-date chutney, marinated olives, parata bread and zataar. The quinoa tabouli was a great twist on traditional bulgur-based tabouli, the olives were a great selection, the bread was exceptional and the hummus so creamy and the chutney fabulous. This appetizer is so worth it. I would even just eat this as a meal!
We then split two sandwiches.
I ordered my personal favourite, the cajun seitan sandwich - pan-seared seitan, steam greens, caramelized onions and avocado on toasted focaccia with ancho chili aioli and coleslaw. I hate coleslaw. I think it’s weird and disgusting. But Candle Cafe’s coleslaw, I eat with gusto! The seitan is perfect and the avocado adds a nice touch. I would never eat this sandwich on a date because it’s giant and you have to open your mouth REALLY wide to cram it in, but DAMN is it good! Joelle commented on the caramelized onions and enjoyed them.
Joelle ordered the BBQ tempeh and sweet potato sandwich with wilted kale and grilled red onion on toasted multi-grain bread with shallot sage aioli and a mesclun salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. The tempeh was so good, and a cool combination with the sweet potato. We loved the kale, and the shallot sage aioli is TO DIE FOR. If I wasn’t so full, I would have eaten the leftover aioli out of the container. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again.
We spent less money than I had budgeted - yay! The service was fast, and we got a seat near the back where I drooled at the kitchen until my food came. I love the lively atmosphere, and it was truly a pleasure to eat surrounded by other happy herbivores.
Can’t wait to go back soon.
Candle Cafe is located at 1307 3rd Avenue between 75th and 74th Street, near the 77th Street 6 train.
I have been meaning to go to Wild Ginger for a long time now, especially after reading stellar reviews of it and always spying it on wanders through Williamsburg. Finally, I got a chance to go on Friday with my lovely booboo Kai.
We actually had a strange evening, first meeting in Greenpoint where we attempted a visit to Brooklyn Mac. Sadly, we were not aware that Brooklyn Mac was merely a takeout spot with a couple of benches, and we had been really looking forward to a sit-down meal, possibly with wine.
So we used the power of my iPhone to look up other vegan eateries in Greenpoint, and came across the highly rated Paulie Gee’s, which looked and smelled amazing…and had an hour and a half wait. If only it was nicer out, and we could have waited…alas, in the cold, we wanted to sit down right away. I would love to make a reservation and come back here for dinner another day, looked like it would be a great date choice (sadly I’ve only dated omnivores, which is always an interesting experience and I’ll totally make another post about this another day…before going vegan I was a pescetarian for two years and vegetarian for three+ years before that…honestly I don’t even remember when I went veg as a teen…ooh, another post idea).
Another twenty-minute walk later and we ended up at Wild Ginger. I didn’t take any photos, but I got the Tom Yum Ramen which was great! I’ve been in the mood for Tom Yum ALL the time lately. The tomatoes were kind of huge and scary in the soup so I avoided them, and I would have loved some straw mushrooms, as have come in other tom yum soups I have had, but it really hit the spot at a totally acceptable price (9$). My darling Kai got the udon, which was delicious - wonderful broth, great noodles! Both dishes were nourishing and pleasing to both the eye and stomach, a yummy comforting meal. The service was also excellent - we were in and out! The eatery had a very relaxing atmosphere and was full but not totally packed.
The menu was great, especially the appetizer list - I would love to come back and try a few appetizers with a group of friends, have a tapas-style meal! I actually have a secret fantasy of snagging at table at the Brooklyn Brewery, playing stupid board games all day, and having Wild Ginger delivered for linner.
Join me?
Wild Ginger is located at 212 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, off the Bedford stop on the L train.
Last night, in the wind and the rain, my lovely roomate Erin and I wandered the exquisite streets of Bushwick in search of noms. After a disappointing trip to The Loom, a collection of small artsy shops with a yoga studio + cafe - Kave Cafe to be exact, which is so cute and has free wifi (I will be hanging out there a lot over the summer) - in search of vegan chocolate chip cookies, none were found, regrettably. The woman who bakes them was away on vacation, so I’ll have to go back in a week or two - I had one of their cookies before and it was wonderful. I am a terrible baker.
And so we carried on to Shinobi Ramen, a small ramen shop located across from my favourite bar in all of NYC (Pine Box Rock Shop). It was a sweet, though overpriced, ramen joint. We thought the service was great, as well as minimal cafe decor and concise menu - sometimes it is nice to not have a lot of options. I was a fan of the community-style seating, it makes for a more interesting experience, and that they left over holders with utensils in them so you had a choice of spoon, fork or chopsticks (naturally I used the chopsticks).
We split the boiled vegetable dumplings (pictured left, 6$), which were quite good but difficult to eat with chopsticks, and I had the vegetable ramen (pictured right, 11$). The dish was good and I was grateful for the vegan option, as most ramen broth is made with some sort of animal or another, but 11$ for a bowl of ramen left a bad taste in my mouth and the wheat noodles used were not quite as good as traditional ramen noodles. Additionally, I really don’t like corn and it seemed out of place with everything else, the tofu was not the best, and the dish really could have used more vegetables than cabbage, corn, scallions and bean sprouts. Hopefully there will be more vegetable choices to add as the restaurant ages. I was pleasantly surprised with a bowl of hot oils, which added a VERY spicy note to the ramen. Don’t use all the oil they give you - bad choice!
Overall, I would give Shinobi Ramen a solid B. I would go back, as it’s close enough to home (1/2 on foot) to walk and it was tasty enough, but overpriced. Next time, though, I’d bring some beer - it’s BYOB and a Japanese soda will run you 4$, which is nuts!
Shinobi Ramen is located at 53 Morgan Avenue in Bushwick, steps away from the Morgan Avenue L train.
