It is the vegan mecca of the East coast. New York City is always my favorite place to visit regardless of why I am going there, because it means I'll get to eat at a vegan restaurant. Such was my Saturday, when my dad and I drove to New York to go rollerskating with the Big Apple Rollers.
I ate Clif bars for sustenance as we skated 20 miles around Manhattan. Little did I realize Manhattan has hills, some very steep, and it was hot outside. Of course I drank plenty of water but also grabbed an iced coffee on the way. My taste for coffee increases everyday, I swear. Also I noticed that if I had to, I could live off Clir bars for a substantial amount of time. They are so delicious and fill you up like meal. I'm definitely going back to Target and stocking up, because they sell them by the box over there.
Moving on, my roller blades killed my feet. They are simply designed poorly, so dad and I peaced out just before the skate crew reached their picnic spot. We donned our flip-flops and hit the crowded subways to get back to the car. After dropping our skates off, we once more entered the sweltering underground and set our compass for East Village.
College town, hipster-ville, I appreciate the NYU area of New York if only for the plethora of unique shops and restaurants, many of which cater to vegans. My father is spokesperson for Angelica's Kitchen, an all organic, all vegan restaurant that has been around since the 70's, I believe. He has been there several times while Saturday was my first. It was also a first for my vegetarian friend Courtney, who met us at the restaurant.
We own the cookbook for Angelica's, and for that reason I was already familiar with the menu. Of course I wanted to try everything, because I was 1) starving, and 2) everything spoke of vegan goodness. We ordered a pickled platter and curried cashew dip appetizer. Pickled beets, cauliflower and other veggies were piled atop a very small plate, and oddly enough I tried the beets. I had never eaten a beet before in my life, because they always freaked me out. However they were good. I don't really know how to describe what it tasted like, but I didn't hate it. The other plate consisted of carrots and celery around a dollop of curried cashew dip. Now that was excellent. Kind of like hummus, but different and just as delicious.
For my lunch I ordered a tempeh Reuben. I never ate a Reuben before, even in my meat-eating days, because, well, I didn't know what it was and it freaked me out. But I love sauerkraut, tempeh, lettuce and bread, so why not. It was very amazing. I ordered mine on spelt bread, just for fun. I'm sure it tastes the same on any bread. My favorite part was the Russian dressing (I believe made from tofu) and how it was warm. I could ate that sandwich all the time. I polished off the whole thing!
My dad ordered one of the specials, some kind of platter with tempeh, vegetables, rice, and a creamy dip. Courtney ordered the sushi rolls, which were huge but looked tasty. For drinks Angelica's only serves warm water, because they believe cold water negatively affects your digestion. I ordered Hibiscus lime tea (tangy and tasty), Courtney got the apple cider, and my dad got fresh lemonade.
I like the big windows, which we were seated by, and although everyone was friendly, the service was so-so. Maybe now that I work in a restaurant, I expect a lot more. It is a really neat local place, with lots of flavor (pun intended). I was happy I had read the whole "Angelica's Philosophy" from the cookbook, it gave me a lot of insight on this intriguing organic restaurant.
For dessert we traveled to Babycakes, a vegan and gluten-free bakery a few blocks away. Again, I own the Babycakes cookbook, so everything I saw I knew about, and even already tried, since I've baked their cookie recipe before. I was being silly and ordered a cookie sandwich, plus a plain chocolate chip cookie. I didn't even try a cupcake! I want to go back, just for that. The bakery itself is very small, but very "lived-in," bursting with local color. My favorite thing is the cookie sandwich, 2 chocolate chip cookies with frosting in the middle. They are very lightly sweet.
The (gluten free) chocolate chip cookies by themselves are, "eh." They are thin, hard, and crispy. Not my ideal cookie, but I know my grandmother would go nuts. She loves crunchy cookies while I'm a soft and moist girl. Also the chocolate chips are very minuscule, so there wasn't a huge chocolate flavor. But I mean, they were cookies, and they were edible so I devoured them regardless.
Once more the subway to the parking garage, and once more the tunnel back to New Jersey. It was a good day.
<3 K
P.s.- I'm working on getting pictures. Sorry words are boring without visuals !
