Currently viewing the tag: "upper east side"
I can count the times I’ve been above 34th street this year on my thumb and index finger creating a big “0″… but today I ventured uptown, on the east side, to have a sweet bite from a newly opened bakery. Vegan Divas Bakery, a health-minded baker supplying NYC with sweets since 2010 (check out my shot of their yummy caramel pecan brownie here), opened their very own storefront on the Upper East Side. And nothing gets this gal more excited than “all” and “vegan” hanging around a hyphen. Here’s my report.
Vegan Divas is a health-orientated vegan bakery. The menus posted outside boast the low calorie counts for each of Head Baker & Founder Helene Safdie’s delectable treats. Although I am not one to feign guilt over eating decadent treats being the ravenous glutton that I am, I understand that there is a real need for healthier eating options across the board… and that many are vegan for health reasons. That being said, Helene’s treats are delicious and healthier than many of the Manhattan’s baked good options. They hit the sweet notes on target but also feel clean and vibrant, a testament to the quality of the minimal ingredients she uses. 
So the helpful young man at the counter gave me some advice and I selected my goodies: a chocolate-glazed donut, a coconut vanilla-glazed donut, and a deep, dark, rich chocolate brownie. Each were yum-yum: cakey and Earthy but with a sweet punch. While I sat photographing my goodies, another man offered me a free cup of their soft serve! It was a tofu-based ginger vanilla ice cream topped with coconut and nuts. The ginger flavor was subtle and unexpected. I am curious what other flavors they have coming down the pipeline. 
The donut spread. There are minis up top that I cut off in the excitement of wanting to sit and eat my plate of treats.
Besides what’s pictured they also have fresh squeezed juice and some breakfast items, as well as cakes, cookies, and muffins. I will certainly be back to sample the rest of their goodies. Thanks Vegan Divas and best of luck!
My beloved friends Andrea and Tim tied the knot this past Friday! If that isn’t happiness enough, the bouncingly happy couple brought the quasi-wedding party and both sides of the family to the beloved Candle 79, New York City’s best vegan upscale restaurant. The very un-vegetarian group offered their gift of flexibility and were pleased to find the food delicious.
The veg-power couple high five, very aware of a slight weight wrapped about their ring fingers. Congratulations T & A!
I couldn’t resist diving into the Seitan Chimichurris on the table, sneaking in bites in between emotional toasts and speeches. Such tender seitan drizzled with horseradish cream and a red pepper coulis. Luckily, the need to photograph the plate was completely understood by the happy couple.
The Seitan Piccata, noted on the menu as the couple’s favorite, was my entree choice. I had had the cutlets of succulent seitan atop creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms and flooded before. I had revelled in the scrumptious lemon-caper sauce on a previous visit to the highly awarded all-vegan spot. Heavenly. Although there were several other entree choices on our menus, I couldn’t stray.
For dessert: The Chocolate Peanutbutter Bliss.. a rich chocolate mousse layered with a sweet and salty peanut butter mousse, covered in a chocolate shell and sitting on a dark chocolate base, drizzled in a berry coulis. A perfect ending to a fabulous meal to celebrate the love of my dear friends.
The Upper sides of the isle of Manhattan might as well be in another state. I’m rarely there. I despise the 4-5-6 trains, and I still don’t know how on Earth to get to the Uptown 6 from Houston street. But I’ve traveled farther and wider for some high-end all-veganness. So uptown in the downpour it’d be, to meet my gal CandyPenny for a sophisticated birthday dinner at V-Note, an all-vegan bistro on the Upper East Side. The start of my birthday season.
I kind of have a rule while traveling to other cities for vegan fare: order an appetizer, entree and dessert for you don’t know when you’d be back. The same is true for the UES of Manhattan. So for an appetizer, Lentil Rings: French lentils and root veggies wrapped and baked in a delicate phyllo dough wading in a shallow pool of pistachio mustard. These were a nice start with a subtle mustard kick. I was so hungry after a long day I ate them way too quickly. The savoriness and texture perfect for a starter.
I wasn’t able to distinguish many recognizable flavors in the Rings. This was a minor detail.
I knew I’d feast on seitan but how? Would I choose the medallion cutlets in the French peppercorn sauce with the pureed potato-cauliflower? Or the Scaloppini with the white wine and lemon-caper sauce with mash and kale? In need of a real salty fix, I went with the Seitan Scaloppini, trying my darnedest to bite slowly and not ask for a straw to suck up the remaining sauce. Ah, seitan done well.
Though the dimly lit restaurant wasn’t the best for food photography, this captures all the layers in their glory.
I opted for a fruit-based dessert, though this is not usually my thing. Partly because I wasn’t all too impressed with the dessert selection. My Drunk Fruit Parfait was brandy-infused peach and mango, pecan oat crumble, port-infused black and blue berries topped with a delicate vanilla cream. It was delightful.
Thank you CP for a wonderful birthday meal. xo
Candle 79‘s Black Bean Pumpkin Seed Burger (Upper East Side)
Pro: It’s absolutely yummy, polenta fries
Con: It’s also a mush-fest, pricey
Josie’s NYC‘s Organic 3-grain vegetable burger (Upper West Side)
Pro: Quinoa, bulgur & cous cous-oh my!
Con: A bit pricey
Goodburger‘sVeggie Burger (Union Square)
Pro: Separate grill, good quick burger
Con: Mushy
Bliss‘s Tofu Hijiki Burger (Williamsburg)
Pro: Tasty & fresh
Con: Too much bun
Kate’s Joint‘s Broke Back Burger (East Village)
Pro: Great focaccia, reliably good
Con: A bit dry
Village Natural‘s Vegan Burger (West Village)
Pro: Ample veggies on plate, sweet potato fry option
Con: Soy science meat
Atlas Cafe‘s Sunshine Burger (East Village)
Pro: Eh.
Cons: Iceberg lettuce, crumbly served on mushy sprouted bread with 3 potato chips
Cafe Blossom‘s Veggie Grain Burger (Upper West Side)
Pro: Glorious mush-fest
Con: Also a crumble-fest
Green Cafe‘s Vegetable Burger (Midtown)
Pro: They fetched the ingredients
Con: Eh.
Gobo‘s Home-made Veggie Burger (West Village)
Pro: fresh veggies
Con: standard mush texture
Cafeteria‘s Veggie Burger (7 ave & 17th st)
Pros: big, tasty, fresh
Con: crumbly
Oneness-Fountain-Heart‘s Ponderosa Burger (Flushing, Queens)
Pro: Topped with freshness and flavor
Con: Soy science meat underneath
That is the question. A good, hearty and satisfying veggie burger is an occasional must. And luckily it they’re pretty much a menu staple at both veg and omni eateries alike. But where to go? A group of vegan field reporters and I bring you this expansive report on the good, the bad and the ugly. In no particular order:
Cafe Blossom East‘s Soy Bacon cheeseburger (Upper East Side)
Pros: Satisfying, juicy, doesn’t crumble, vegan cheese option
Cons: pricey, upscale environment
Energy Kitchen‘s veggie burger (several NYC locations)
Pro: Quick if in a bind
Cons: Mush-fest, bland, Del-Monte veg fest (peas, cubed carrots, lima beans), place uses a ton of disposable plastics
Bliss‘s veggie burger (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Pros: Beets!, big, hearty, fresh & clean
Cons: Earthy, a bit dry
Anytime‘s Quinoa and lentil burger (Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Pros: Quinoa, late night delivery, comes with mound of tater tots
Con: Mush-fest and crumbly at the same time
Good Health Natural Cafe‘s black bean burger (Upper East Side)
Pros: hearty, good bite
Cons: frozen patty, chips on the side
Lodge‘s veggie burger (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Pros: Huge, hearty, housemade, lentils, waffle fries
Con: questionable bun
Lucky’s Famous Burgers‘s California Veggie Burger (Chelsea)
Pro: friendly service?
Cons: mushy, Del-Monte veg fest, questionable bun
Better Burger‘s Soy Burger (Chelsea)
Pros: hearty soy protein patty, reliably good, quick and easy
Con: not served hot, maybe sitting around?
Red Bamboo‘s Bamburger (West Village)
Pros: hearty, greasy fast foody fulfillment
Cons: processed soy science meat product, bad bun, bad vegan cheese
Bone Shakers‘s Magnus (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Pros: Hearty, house-made patty, great fresh bread and fixings
Con: I am enamored by this place and have yet to find a critique not overshadowed by their food’s greatness.
Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop‘s Big Mack Daddy with vegan substitutions (Lower East Side)
Pros: Hearty, great fixings/sauces, great bun… um, perfect
Con: I said…um, perfect
Quantum Leap‘s Vegan Grilled Burger (East Village)
Pros: Hearty, vegan cheese option, great fries on the side
Cons: Seems to be a frozen patty, soft bun
It is most definitely soup weather. Rustic, roof-scratching bread weather too. Luckily Le Pain Quotidien, the global high-end chain, is a few doors down from the mysteriously closed Peacefood Cafe and was able to satisfy my hankering. I meant to include La Pain’s Upper East Side location in my report a few weeks back but it fell through the cracks, probably because their menu isn’t all that vegan-friendly. But said menu clearly marks all vegan items and waitstaff is vegan-schooled–big pluses. I had the all-vegan 6 vegetable quiche on gluten-free crust. Delicate and yummy, it was difficult not to gobble it up in a few spoonfuls. Next time I’ll slow down so I can report on which 6 vegetables they put in there…
Let’s look at this gorgeous specimen a little closer.
Vegan Reporting By Location
