Monday, August 16, 2010

New York!

I love a trip to the Big Apple. I try to make it there a few times a year and I'm always amazed. Vegans in NYC, your cup runneth over. For this reason, my short visits always involve the same question: Do I return to old favorites for the food I love or do I try out any of the numerous spots I've yet to visit? Well, I set out to do a little of both on this trip.... and failed. In a good way. Let's start with something new, shall we?
For dinner we went to the Organic Grill. Cute, no? This small cafe is not all vegan, but there are plenty of options. My choice for the evening was the mesclun salad with cashew ranch dressing and tempeh bacon.

The 'bacon' was beautifully smoky and the dressing was creamy and delicious. One of the better salads I've had for sure, and I would have ordered more but I was saving room for dessert at Lula's Sweet Apothecary - an old favorite just a few short blocks away. So we left Organic Grill and headed out into the city's July heat for some of the best ice cream in the world.... and were greeted by a CLOSED sign. Sadly, Lula's air conditioning was broken and they had to close up shop. On the one day I was in NYC. Boo! (See you in October, guys...)

Luckily, I quickly remembered that Cocoa V, the all vegan chocolate shop I've wanted to try for a while, served ice cream alongside their fantastically decadent chocolates (above). Out with the old favorite and in with the new (to me) place! We got in a cab and were there in no time. Our bellies were hungry for some sweets and boy were we not disappointed.

In addition to the wide variety of chocolates we sampled (all unbelievably good) we also got our ice cream fix. My sundae may have been simple - vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream - but it was divine. A sweet and refreshing way to end a hot day in the city.

But wait, there's more! Earlier in the day I met up with new friend and fellow vegan blogger, Evan of bjorkedoff, who baked me a dozen of the most amazing vegan danishes EVAH. They were flaky, buttery (yes, it is still possible to be buttery without butter) and full of yums like chocolate and peanut butter. If you're in NYC and want some of your own (and you do!) contact Evan through his blog and order some and be happy.

That's it for NYC this time around. I'll be spending more time there in October, but next up: The vegan eats in NJ just keep getting better. Stay tuned!

5 comments:

Andrew Bellware said...

Are most dark chocolates vegan?
I think there's a way to put milk in dark chocolate too, and some chocolate makers do, but as a default dark chocolate is vegan?
Or am I just making this up?

Sky said...

You are correct. Always read labels, but yes, most dark chocolate is vegan.

Andrew Bellware said...

Hey (read this in a very thick New York accent) at da places I frequent, you ain't gonna be readin' no labels. You gotta speak to de owner poisonally about his ingredients. Dey won't tell you no secrets, but dey won't tell you no lies neither.

Sky said...

Well you tell Vinny you don't want no stinkin' animal puss in your freakin' cocoa and see what's what!

Andrew Bellware said...

Ha!