Currently viewing the tag: "VV Brooklyn"
Cubana Social is a Cuban restaurant on Brooklyn, Williamsburg’s north side. Vegan Cuban food? It was a quick addition to the calendar!
Though their website has a denoted and separate veg menu, the menu in-house is not as informative. First, on the safe side: The Winter Root Asado: boniato, delicato squash, kabocha squash, carrot, parsnip, kidney bean, garlic, cumin and crispy sage. Kind of totally delicious.
And The Chiquita sandwich (pressed pickle, plantain and avocado), whose vegan-ness was suspect, though the waiter said it was totally vegan… which I now see on the online version of the menu is not vegan, due to its buttery Cuban bread… that CP and I stopped eating after a few bites detecting the butter.
Chef Merida hosts Vegan Secret Supper-s in her apartment in Brooklyn.
And a 4-course, from-scratch, all-vegan, local, and organic high-end break from cleaning out the last of my life in Brooklyn is just what I needed. Like me, Vegan Secret Supper (VSS) is moving on from Brooklyn. The Chef is heading back to Canada to pop-up in Vancouver and Montreal. And despite CandyPenny‘s and my aversion to communal dining, we were happy to have gotten a reservation to one of the last of her dinner parties in the country.
First course: Cream of celeraic soup with baby bok choy and pain l’ancienne. Flavorful and alive with herbs, this was a great winter soup.
Second course: Russet apple, pear, watermelon radish, diakon and cashew cheese with raw olives, shiso and sesame. The cashew cheese was the star here, tying all the bright and fresh components together in a velvety smooth savory bite. The texture was unreal, unlike any cashew cheese I had ever tasted, as if it was pushed through a fine sieve repeatedly by angels. I would have loved a juicy pop of freshness amongst the roots and greens.
Third course: Sprouted walnut and lentil cake with tahini, avocado, roasted black carrot, crispy onions and yam chips. This was a hardy yet delicate entree. The lentil cake was earthy and satisfying and topped with gorgeous black carrots.
Missing the chalkboard menu with its description, we were baffled by what this dessert was. First, we thought, a bit disappointingly, that we were being served ice cream. When we broke our spoons into the smooth white lump, it was astonishing. The texture was indistinguishable as I never had anything like it. The smoothness, the creaminess–the vegan world could surely learn a thing or two from Chef Merida’s technique and artistry.
Dessert course: White chocolate cashew mousse in a white chocolate shell with pomegranate reduction, oat tulle and herbal root beer foam. We saw the sign.
Goodnight, Brooklyn.
After another day of moving stuff at my apartment, a well-earned lunch at Bliss Grand. I wanted to come back for their Seitan Taquito. I ordered the large plate which included sauteed greens. The dish as a whole was super-salty. The greens and the Daiya-filled taquito needed something to balance out the salt… and needed a texture to combat the wet, wet, wet. I was looking jealously at my friend’s crispy french fries.
I forget Daiya makes me sick to my stomach. Glad I’m not the only one. Vegan cheese… house-made or bust!
It had been a while since my first and only visit to Brooklyn’s Dun -Well Doughnuts. Even though I lived very close, I only managed to make it there when I was with vehicle. They’ve got the best vegan doughnuts in New York City. With 200+ flavors, I am way behind in tasting all they have to offer.
What to eat, what to eat…
We chose the vanilla iced and toasted coconut. Yummy.
There’s a lot I won’t miss about Brooklyn. Hipsters. Transplants. Or worse, hipster transplants. But I will miss the food. After a long morning of hauling 8 years of stuff out my apartment, CP and I needed a satisfying lunch. We needed carbohydrates, and plenty of them. We needed Bliss Grand, the over-achieving sister to Bliss on Bedford ave, a Williamsburg vegetarian staple. 
Bliss Grand‘s menu is full of savory selections, surpassing their other location’s reliable earthy plates with more variety and foodie lure. On our table: foreground–my Polenta Florentine, poached Silken Tofu, cashew Hollandaise & homefries, background–BBQ Pulled Jackfruit on a Bun. Yeah. The real deal. Heavenly.
No more words. Let’s just look…
Chocolate cake… Happy Out of Brooklyn! I’ll have to visit again for those Grilled Seitan Taquitos…
Healthy Nibbles, on Flatbush & Prospect Place, is a cute conter sandwich and juice spot that’s kind of awkwardly connected to a frame shop.
I ordered their I Have Peace, or their vegan curry chicken sandwich made of tofu, vegan mayo, raisins & curry with shredded carrots & mixed greens on toasted breaded. It was a tasty sammy and I appreciated its yummy simplicity.
This curried tofu rocked my world and made my fingers yellow.
They also have housemade vegan baked goodies. Since I was with cold, I forgoed the excess sugary treat. Next time.
Also on Flatbush, Vegetarian Palate is one of them fake meat meccas.
Deep-fried wontons with coconut filling.
Tarot steak. All hail the starch!
Brooklyn Crepe & Juice, on 5th avenue in Park Slope, has vegan crepes. And they’re real, real good.
You can create your own from their vegetable spread… and they also have the vegan cheese stuff.
Maimonide Of Brooklyn (or M.O.B.), a communal eatery that upholds the philsophy and health beliefs of founder/French hotelier Cyril Aouizerate, touts “avant garde” vegetarian food for all. I usually shy away from vegetarian eateries steeped in quasi-spiritual practice… (I’m thinking of places like Little Lad’s, Loving Hut, and Oneness Fountain Heart.) Honestly, I just really only care about the food. I don’t resent being preached to, no. I have just found that the quality of the food preparation is often overlooked in their missions. But M.O.B. seemed to be well worth the stop, judging from the pictures on their site and their great write-ups. So after a long first day back in my classroom, I stopped in, greeted with a warm smile and a plate of dried kale. Ok, I’m a believer.
I ordered an appetizer of “nuggets.” Because I deserved it and because they weren’t frozen, but fresh made. Fresh-made is a running theme at M.O.B. They even make the sandwich buns and pizza dough! And no packaged stuff on said buns and doughs. The cheese is cashew-based; the sausage, a hunk of fennel, sage, sun-dried tomato, and mushroom; and the “nuggets:” oyster mushroom and chickpea flour-based. (*Note that they use honey. Luckily all of the ingredients they use are listed on their website.)
I then had to spring for the MOB Burger Deluxe: Ready? A Crimini mushroom burger on a house-made sweet potato roll, their own secret sauce, Brooklyn brine pickles, charred onions, tomatoes, smoked eggplant and lettuce with a side of yucca fries. Yes, maam. And house-made ketchup I believe. What a bite of scrumptious.
Looking more closely now…
They also have desserts but I had to make a run for it. I’ll be back, M.O.B., for your Anti-oxidant MOB! Banana confit, chocolate fig marmalade, fresh mint on graham bread- oh my!
Asiadog is a fantastic little hot dog shop on the Soho-Little Italy border serving up Asian fusion on a bun. And they have veggie options, as most Asian cuisines do! Veggie dogs topped with some delicious goodies honoring the diversity of New York City’s Asian cuisines… Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai. I’m salivating just thinking about it. Yes, Asian on hot dogs–it’s Asian fusion-fusion. FYI, Asiadog started as a pop-up and continues to hit Brooklyn Flea culinary hot spots (Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Saturday foodie fair Smorgasburg and DUMBO’s Flea Food) as well as the Summerstage in Central Park.
The helpful counter-person confirmed the veg dogs were vegan and then clarified which of the toppings were v-bomb friendly. Little did he know I had been reading their store menu in advance… drooling. I chose 2 dogs (for $8): The Vihn, their Vietnamese dog topped like a traditional banh mi–a ton of pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, jalapeno and lots of fresh cilantro. The bun was smeared with veggie pate. And Mash with sweet and spicy ketchup, jalapeno mustard and CRUSHED POTATO CHIPS. Sorry, I had to yell that. Both dogs were so, so good. Clearly Asiadog uses super fresh ingredients. They transform a relatively unexciting hot dog into something unique and absolutely scrumptious.
I barely had a second to take pictures as I devoured these so quickly. I wanted to capture that crushed potato chip on the Mash, so I managed to put it down for 3 seconds. I miss it dearly.
Other vegan options include the Ito, a dog topped with Japanese curry and kimchi apples. That’ll be my next one. I will be back, Asiadog!
I am happy to say that another all-vegan bakery has landed in Brooklyn! Clementine Bakery, deals cake… and muffins, and cookies, and lotsa sweet, delicious goodies. Located on the Clinton Hill-Bed Stuy border, Clementine joins the growing family of all-veganness that is growing in New York City: most recently–Blossom Bakery and Dun Well Doughnuts. It is about time we have more than one devoted option for sweet treats made local! I had high hopes of Clementine after trusted CandyPenny stopped by recently and had this to say. So I stopped by one early Spring-like day to taste their goodies.
I’m never in this area. So I had to get two treats to last me till my next visit. As per usual, I always need to try a bakery’s vanilla cupcake. Luckily the cake was covered in a rich ganache! I also picked up a sandwich cookie with cream cheese frosting in between. It is not my usual taste but I panicked under pressure.
The sandwich cookie was delectable! The cookies were much like the adored Toll House cookies from the adored LifeThyme but striped with a chocolate drizzle that leaves your finger tips sugary and nostalgic. The cream cheese filling sealed the deal. With just a little tang and saltiness, the cream brought out the sandwich’s sweetness with enthusiasm.
The vanilla cupcake had spectacular flavor, far better than most other vanilla cupcakes I’ve tasted. It was boldly vanilla, as opposed to the very common bland cake/overcompensating sweet buttercream frosting combination. Paired with the chocolate: hubba hubba. My only criticism was it was a little bit undercooked and wet on top.
Welcome, Clementine! I’ll be back soon. Now you should go too.
I’ve been out of the kitchen for some time, wrapped up in work… and in the downtime needed to continue to be wrapped up in work. But I made some cupcakes for my brother’s birthday recently. And then I ate about 6 of them.
Is there anything better than chocolate ganache? I believe not. Fluffy buttercream ain’t got nothing on rich, thick chocolate ganache.
My daily walk home from work has me a couple blocks from Champs Bakery but I rarely stop in. But, every once and a while, when I have earned it somehow (this criteria fluctuates), I get myself a sweet treat. This time: the rocky road cheesecake. Though the presentation isn’t the best, the plate of sweet did the trick. The chocolate, Dandies and walnuts were delicious.
The Electrician likes to make sure I have “sweet treat” fixes around the house. We picked up this whoopie pie imported from Cafe Indigo from Whole Foods to quell my pestering cravings. I have tried Cafe Indigo’s treats before at 2008′s Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. I’d like to visit them in person one day. They’re on my list!
Look at that chocolate cakey cookie! I know what you’re thinking… it looks exactly like a Devil Dog! This whoopie pie satisfied on so many levels.
Vegan Reporting By Location
