From the monthly archives: September 2009
“The girls” and I embarked upon dinner and a movie in this past Friday. Our intention was to make VeganYumYum’s fried green tomatoes and watch the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. But a long agenda of topics to be addressed on top of multiple bottles of carefully selected wine, and you got the hotbed of monkey-wrench development. Dinner in soon became a lot of drinks in (and eventually out) and there Fried Green Tomatoes stayed, obedient in its Netflix sleeve. But eat we did. As host, I laid out a spread of spinach and artichoke dip, horseradish and dill dip leftover from my autumn latkes and some onion and garlic infused olive oil for a fresh whole wheat baguette. Nibbling on the spread we managed to eventually pull together the recipe for fried green tomatoes, which were succulent and satisfying. Dessert was three amazing toll house cookies from Lifethyme. So we never did get to the movie. But the spirit of “Idgie” (Okay, I watched it the day after.) permeated our our greasy fried green tomatoes. Towanda!
How do you know summer is officially on the outs in New York?
1. The San Gennaro Feast has begun in Little Italy.
2. The Mets fail to make it into the play-offs.
3. Manhattan’s Chinatown becomes bearable, making a visit to Vegetarian Dim Sum House far more enjoyable.
True, I am not in love with Manhattan’s Upper East Side but I am more quoting the hilarious Ma Kelly in Johnny Dangerously when she plainly states, hobbling to her L.E.S. tenement: “The Lower East Side. This really sucks.”
I’m back on the Upper East Side for my fieldwork placement. So making lemon cake out of lemons, I thought I’d scour the area for vegan eats since I won’t soon be returning for leisure purposes. Look for the Upper West Side… This Really Sucks version soon as I acclimate to another semester of higher uptown education.
{—–Green Bean Cafe—–}
1413 York Avenue between E. 75th & E. 76th streets
Green Bean is more like a storefront for their menu of pre-packaged salads and sandwiches than a cafe. Though a cold sandwich from the fridge is always a bit disappointing, it is a cute space with super friendly staff. The nice woman at the counter even took a trip to the basement level to see what kind of vegan cheese they used in their seitan cheddar sandwich (It was Follow Your Heart.) I also had to splurge on some fresh juice. I chose the carrot, beet, celery, kale & spinach 16 oz. And a chocolate cupcake to boot cuz… when there is a vegan cupcake available it will soon be in my mouth.
Breaded seitan, vegan cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber with vegan mayo.
My “body fuel”… I vant to vite your neck juice.
The cupcake: kinda greasy, not the greatest after taste and too-sugary frosting. Kinda like a non-vegan cupcake!
My “body fuel”… I vant to vite your neck juice.
The cupcake: kinda greasy, not the greatest after taste and too-sugary frosting. Kinda like a non-vegan cupcake!
{—–Gobo—–}
1426 3rd Avenue @ E. 81st street
A satisfying vegetarian meal at an Asian (or Indian, Ethiopian or Middle Eastern) restaurant is kinda easy to find. But often an exclusively vegetarian Asian place’s menu too much relies on the soy protein mock meat stuff, to which I am not the biggest fan. Gobo is certainly a step above with 100% creative, fresh, flavorful and vegetarian fare. In fact, the West Village’s Gobo has long been one of my favorite New York City vegetarian hot spots. I had never visited its Upper East Side location till this grey afternoon. With the lunch crowd, I enjoyed slightly less swank prices at $14 for my entree, the tender sliced seitan in ginger marinade on a bed of asian kale, two heavenly chunks of butternut squash and a bed o’ brown rice. It was a delectable well-rounded dish with a variety of satisfying textures and tastes. The delicious, tender seitan was a bit over-marinaded but so damn good.
{—–Good Health Natural Cafe—–}
1435 1st Avenue between E. 74th and 75th streets
I happened upon this innocuous cafe en route to the U.E.S. gem Slice and decided, for the good of blog reporting, to drop in. After all, I reported on Slice not too long ago. Unless the menu’s paperstock and font choice is a total coincidence, I am going to make the assumption that Good Health Natural Cafe is related to Village Natural. Their abridged menu, however, is much less vegan-friendly, the only vegan burger being the black bean. The burger was good but much less than one I could have made at home. With the side of dry tortilla chips and a questionable cole slaw, I wasn’t very impressed. It did the job, I suppose, but uninspiringly.
{—–Slice—–}
1413 2nd Avenue between E. 73rd & E. 74th streets
Slice calls itself the perfect food. I have to agree that their vegan pizza is, by far, thee best I have ever tried. You would think it wouldn’t be so hard to do yet places like Viva Herbal have been complicating vegan pizza for years. Most vegans remember pizza; it was never like eating a salad on wet bread. Slice’s slice is real pizza. This I credit mostly to Daiya, which they pile on generously and cook to a delicious heat-retaining stretchiness. True, the crust could be a bit thicker and sometimes their service could be a bit more on the ball, but Slice is at the top of the vegan pizza game. And at $20 for an entire pie, the price is right.
{—–Franchia—–}
12 Park Avenue between E. 34rd & E. 35th streets
So this is not necessarily the Upper east side but I am so rarely on any street off Park Avenue that I’m going to count it. Franchia is unique restaurant with a wide variety of Asian dishes: from kimchi to sushi, to pad thai to Vietnamese rolls. Prices are a bit high but the food–tasty, and the ambiance–warm and relaxed. But $43 is a bit too much for lunch! Especially in light of the portion sizes. Given this, I am going to declare this a “date” spot and probably not return too often. My meal started with a citron tealatta, blended ice and tea topped with non-dairy whipped cream. Yum.
For starters, steamed kimchi buns with soy chicken. So very good. But, again, 9.95 for 2 of these lil buns? Park Avenue prices!
Pumpkin noodles salad. Very tasty buuut… I left hungry. Wait. I’m always hungry.
{—–Candle Cafe—–}
1307 3rd Avenue at E. 75th street
Though Candle Cafe’s food is exceptionally delicious, braving the UES moms’ clubs that hog the cafe’s cramped space with their strollers during the lunch rush takes away from the experience promised by the prices on the menu. That and I tallied the mommy next to me; she said “No… on your tushy” fourteen times. But the food! Quinoa crusted tempeh: sautéed kale and a brown basmati rice and red kidney bean pilaf served over a roasted garlic tomato sauce. Not being the biggest fan of tempeh, I figured I’d see what they could do with it. The dish was tasty and its height merited the $19 price tag but… I guess it is true–I am not a big fan of the tempeh.
Dessert was a must. I had their banana cake. And it was goddamn good.
Must-eat Day Trip series, Number 4
A blog series featuring the country’s best upscale vegan restaurants.
{—–Candle 79—–}
1307 3rd Avenue at E. 75th street
And this is where it ends. The UES’s Candle 79. One of the best upscale vegan restaurants in the country, as reported by numerous credible internet searches. And I, 12-year vegan, native New York-stater, had never been there before. I thought I had been but that was years ago and it was really Candle Cafe (above). Candle 79 is the real deal and my new favorite restaurant in New York City. No strollers in there, two spacious levels of dignified seating, soy-cream of the crop service and the food… Oh my goodness. Foodsparrow had long raved about the Seitan Piccata. It was a thing of foodie legend and I, having tasted the springs of vegan deliciousness aplenty, should have jumped on her recommendation sooner. The Seitan Piccata, is a tower of tender and flavorful seitan, creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, the most delicious oyster mushrooms all drenched in a lemon caper sauce. The dish could have been thee best dish I’ve ever eaten. Yes, I’m going to say it is.
Dessert was a pretty penny but c’mon. I’m all about When in Rome. Since I am at Candle 79 I might as well pretend money is not an issue. Accordingly, I picked with my taste and not my wallet: the brownie sundae topped with fresh strawberries, bananas, a scoop of french vanilla, candied pecans and chocolate-ancho sauce. It was gorgeous and tasted like a Samoa. The dessert of fantasies.
Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Standard Deli is a localvore’s dream. They’re all about supporting the community as a mart, cafe and bakery brimming with Brooklyn love. Like me! (Most of the time…) Thought sustainable corn cups were something only for far more environmentally progressive cities? Think again! Brooklyn Standard Deli is on it. And naturally, they got vegan options on their menu… Placing an order through Delivery.com, I soon had my first taste of what they have to offer. An avocado sandwich on a soft and hearty multi-grain/seeded hero with mango sauce, lettuce, smoked red pepper and grilled red onion; a side of quinoa salad with dried apricots, cranberries, lemon-mango vinaigrette, lavender oil, green beans and parsley; and an exploded gingerade kombucha. Yum. Can’t wait to drop in for their Banh Mi.
Ever since I got my first Le Click camera as a lil’ bambino I have loved taking pictures. I have albums documenting my life, its inhabitants and biomes, since elementary school. I have several theories about why that I’m sure you’ll find cogent had I the energy to explain. But it’s mostly that I think in pictures and I frame my experiences in regard to their relative light, composition and how I can flip through ‘em. Or perhaps, as someone who loves to write, I find a photograph’s efficiency appealing… the thousand words that I would toil over delivered much more easily? I bring this up now in order to help me make a decision. As my birthday nears and I decide what to treat myself with, I have narrowed down my options to either a new camera (Canon Digital Rebel XTi) or a MacBook Pro. Certainly, in a practical sense, the notebook would prove to be extremely useful to this avid traveler, blogger and graduate student… but lately my bumper reads “Practical Schmactical”. What to do?
In hopes to inspire an answer to my quandary, here are some of my favorite shots in the last couple of years.
I don’t often bake whole cakes. My oven is situated right smack dab in the middle of the dramatic slope of my kitchen floor and my cakes come out of the oven slanted and enchanted, taking a heavy blow to presentation. But in light of fellow blogstress and dear friend CandyPenny‘s birthday, I was happily on cake duty once again! Now, what to make, what to make? CandyPenny and I have had more than our share of cake through the years. Always up for a baking super-challenge, I needed something truly unique. Then I e-stumbled across something I have never seen before… a Zebra cake. My goodness, it is an absolute work of art! I managed to find a veganized recipe too. I’ll incorporate the recipe into this post with my notes as it needed some tweaks.
Of course you need to start with two separate batters. These batters are thicker and move like sloths off a spoon. They also do not blend when dolloped gently atop each other, which is how you achieve the zebra’s stripes. It is important to use dark, Dutch-processed quality cocoa in this recipe and not that Hershey’s fast-food shit. You want a good contrast between your batters. Plus your cake is only as good as your ingredients. Ditch the $2.99 burnt umber stuff. Once you go black…
| Chocolate batter | Orange-vanilla batter |
| 1 cup flour | 1 cup flour |
| 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder | 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder |
| 1/4 tsp salt | 1/4 tsp salt |
| 2 TB cocoa | 3/4 cup juice of squeezed orange |
| 2/3 cup sugar | Zest of one orange |
| 3/4 cup water | 1 tsp white vinegar |
| 1 tsp vanilla | 4 TB canola oil |
| 3 tsp white vinegar | |
Pre-heat oven to 350 and grease a 9″ springform pan.
Make your separate batters in the standard way: sift together dry. Mix together wet and combine.
Now your ready for the zebra part. Spoon about 3 tB of chocolate batter into the center of the greased pan. If you’re doing this on a table on a slanted floor your batter will veer to the right like mine. On top of this glob, spoon 3 TB of the vanilla and pour it to the center of the chocolate glob. Do this until no batter remains. Be patient.
How pretty it looks! All ready for the oven.
And even more beautiful out.
Traditionally I believe the cake is unfrosted. However, I decided to cover it with a rich chocolate ganache so the stripes would be an added surprise. I used Vere dark chocolate and banana-macadamia chocolate
All iced up and ready to celebrate!
Happy Birthday CandyPenny!
Babycakes is such an inspiring success story. Owner Erin McKenna has racked up an impressive trail of publicity and celebrity affiliation through the years. Her baked creations–vegan, gluten-free and with no refined sugars–are a breath of fresh air to New York City’s vegan sweets market. I remember my first visit soon after they opened their doors in 2005. Had I been food-blogging then I would have declared this then: Babycakes sells the best cupcakes in New York City. Clean, unhydrogenated, delicious and oh-so pretty. I’m proud to be a long time, pre-Martha Stewart customer… even though I mostly now sneak in around closing to gratiously collect less-than-fresh surplus goodies from the generous counterfolk. This last visit we scored 4 extra cupcake tops and a huge slice of banana bread! 
I ♥ Babycakes.
Not to be confused with this Baby Cakes, who I kinda love too:
Autumn is my favorite season. For so many reasons: many discernible, others crackling lightly in the cool air, in the shifts of the Earth’s axis, my stars up at bat. What I love:
1. Sweater weather
2. Long nights
3. The Harvest Moon (October 4)
4. Butternut squash
5. New England foliage
6. Halloween
7. Corn mazes
8. Piles of leaves
9. My birthday
10. Sweet potatoes
11. The Feast of San Gennero
12. Bike rides
13. Cidar
14. Dia de los Muertos
15. Applepicking
16. Boots & Beets too
17. Crafting season
18. Gourds
19. The World Series
20. Vegetarian Awareness Month
21. Free elections
22. Central Park
23. Giving thanks
24. Winter blankets preview
25. Bread baking & soup making
In honor of the ending summer I spent my afternoon whipping up thee messiest recipe I’ve ever made. Autumn Latkes from Veganomicon. Forget the pale potatoe, shredded beats, carrots and sweet potatoe are the key players to these delicious oil-fests! Beet, you dear thing, you painted all you encountered a vivid magenta, so oozingly alive. It looked like an alien murder scene on my hardwood. In the end I had to do some tweaking to the recipe as my shredded veggies were way too wet to form patties. I had to hand-squeeze each one like a vice as my sink caught the flowing river of pink. In the end (and during as I snuck bites), my efforts paid off and I chomped these latkes with a horseradish dill dip that was truly delectable. Ok, autumn. I’m ready.
I don’t get out to Park Slope much. But after the hiatus-ed FoodSparrow reported that Daiya was now on V-Spot‘s menu, we followed our hungry hearts. V-Spot is one of those places I’ve been to several times but never seem to order the right thing. I keep trying because I really want to love the place! It’s 100% vegan. It’s got an extensive menu stretching many cuisine types and price ranges. And it’s in Brooklyn, my home. But after each visit, I soon forget what I ate, making each visit like the first time. Fumbling with the menu, like the first time, like some neophyte.
This time, however, the inclusion of Daiya on the menu helped narrow things down a bit. We had the nachos: guacamole, soy sour cream, black beans, mock beef (t.v.p. I think?), salsa and a stingy serving of Daiya piled on fresh-made tri-color tortillas. These hit the comfort-food spot but the Daiya, at $1.00 extra, was hard to find. This didn’t stop me from devouring the flaky and satisying chips quickly… (Begin: aside) as only a dame who grew up with 3 hungry siblings knows how… all those years fighting for the last of the Cookie Crisp and I may have the skills to compete in Austin’s annual veggie dog eating contest. (End: aside)
To continue on the theme of Daiya and steering away from soy protein cutlets, I ordered the tofu panini: tofu, lettuce, tomato, sundried tomato topped with a balsamic reduction… +Daiya. This was yum but the Daiya was a bit unmelted and, again, distributed too sparingly. I understand it is a delicate balance, melting this science cheese, but the texture did not add to the sandwich in its in-between form.
So, Brooklyn, what should I get at V-Spot next? Because my socks are still on.
To continue on the theme of Daiya and steering away from soy protein cutlets, I ordered the tofu panini: tofu, lettuce, tomato, sundried tomato topped with a balsamic reduction… +Daiya. This was yum but the Daiya was a bit unmelted and, again, distributed too sparingly. I understand it is a delicate balance, melting this science cheese, but the texture did not add to the sandwich in its in-between form.
So, Brooklyn, what should I get at V-Spot next? Because my socks are still on.
Vegan Reporting By Location
