I Loove New York

Last weekend I took a 2-day trip to NYC to catch some of the Big Apple's vegan offerings (as well as the Colbert Report!)  And what I found happened to be amid the coldest, rainiest 48 hours of spring the big city has probably ever seen.  

The first joint I hit up, and probably the most anticipated for me, was Babycakes Bakery.  Which in case you don't know- is the best vegan bakery I've experienced.
Granted, Vegan Treats is truly top dog when it comes to vegan sweets, but while the white sugar, flour, and food coloring may make the treats look lovely, their nutritional content doesn't match up.  So here to save the day for junk food-loving vegans as well as those allergic to gluten or sensitive to refined sugar and flour is Babycakes!
I've been watching their videos, reading their menus, and following them on Twitter for quite some time now, so seeing the bakery in real life was like bumping into Jennifer Aniston.  And the assortment of cupcakes, sweet loaves, doughnuts, brownies, biscuits, and breads was unreal- it took me about fifteen minutes to decide as I stared at the humble pastry case packed with goodies. 
I chose a two-fer deal on day-old pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top (which tasted incredible despite being a day old) and a miniature donut coated in dark espresso chocolate chips and a bit of frosting.  My boyfriend got the strawberry jam and "cream" biscuit I was eying up, which was something I haven't eaten since the pre-herbivore days.  Overall, Babycakes was one of the biggest highlights of the trip, especially with the adorable but humble inside of the shop- think 1950's diner without the kitschy roller blades, but girls dressed in retro dresses and aprons, homemade tip jars clad with pictures of Michael Jackson, old fashioned Christmas lights glittering in the background, and the daily baked goodz scrawled on chalkboards.  If I could live anywhere for a while, I'd pick New York just to be able to walk to Babycakes every day.

As day turned into night, one of the destinations I got to hit up was Blossom, which is one of the two top fine dining vegan establishments in New York- Candle 79 being the other.  The dessert menu wasn't quite up to par for me, but thankfully Cocoa V was located right across the street.  And what's Cocoa V, you say?  It's a 100% cruelty-free and free trade chocolatier.  That's right- as a vegan, you could eat everything in the store, from the rich, dark truffles to the creamy "soy" version of milk chocolate.  So without further ado, Here's mah completely objective review of the renowned restaurant and chocolatier.

    New York’s Upper West Side hosts brownstones, above-average incomes, and the artiest folks in the whole city.  And perhaps the culinary prowess of Blossom vegan restaurant on 9th Ave. illuminates this part of the city for it is over-priced but artfully-executed face-free food.
This vegan gem is high up on the list of animal-product free gourmets popping up across the eastern seaboard.  California has long been known for holding a vast number of fine-dining venues for vegans and vegetarians, but New York City’s Blossom and Candle 79 are sharp competitors in the world of vegan gourmet.  Philadelphia, the city of cheesesteaks and Italian cuts, even possesses a renowned vegan establishment; Horizons, which is elevated as a top dog even among the New Yorkers.
    But Blossom falls far from the Big Apple tree, for as your walk in, it’s impossible to tell you’re in New York City.  Nestled away in a dimly lit, romantic townhouse, Blossom’s black-curtained lower dining area makes you feel as if you’ve accidentally busted into some secret society of devil worshipers.  But by the time the menu arrives, you’ll forget about all any speculations as your peruse through the extensive lists of American wines and multi-cultural appetizers.
    Everything on the menu is animal free, meaning butter, eggs, cheese, honey, and milk are absent as well as meat.  But dishes such as Cape Cod Cakes, raw Sweet potato Rolls, and Seitan Empanadas seem satisfying enough to entice any meat-eater’s palate.  The meatless menu scans the globe, and the helpful but not over-bearing waiting staff is well-versed in guiding picky customers to their perfect dish, even if they have near hear of seitan or tempeh before.
    When my appetizer arrived, the Parsnip Cappelleti unguised itself as two little deflated, dry pockets.  I realized it looked more like defrosted pierogies than “fresh, hand-rolled ravioli” and no taste of savory whipped parsnip or truffle oil could be detected.  Extremely discontent with my appetizer, the Porcini Flutes compensated for my loss.  The porcini mushrooms, almonds and ground tempeh were wrapped in truly “fresh, hand-rolled” phyllo dough and set afloat in a shallow pool of  a cashew pesto, which tasted like green, buttery, herb-filled heaven.  The creaminess of the pesto drenching the crisp phyllo dough, these decadent textures highlighted the savory taste of the ample filling.  While the porcini flutes will rock your taste buds, opt for the richer but well-reviewed Ravioli with Cashew Cream, a savory mixture of smoky tempeh, spinach, pine nuts, and white mushrooms in a genuine pasta coating.
    And the main course proved to match up to the previous h’oerderves.  While my tofu dish proved excellent, light, but satisfying, the other dish failed to wow a vegan and probably would be spit out by someone not used to faux meats.
    The subtle flavors of the Pistachio and Pepper Dusted Tofu were enhanced with the coating of tangy, creamy lemon truffle emulsion on the plate.  The tofu was cut into two triangles set atop a cold crepe that was stuffed with root vegetables, which ended up tasting like soft carrots and maybe a few pieces of sweet potato.  While the crepe wasn’t all that spectacular, the pistachio-encrusted tofu drenched in the citrusy cream was to die for.
    On the other hand, the intriguing Feijoadinha with Smokey Tempeh was not at all a “lighter version” of Brazil’s national dish of hearty beef, black bean, squash, and sweet potato stew in a cilantro-lime broth.  The stew’s beef was traded in for tempeh, which seemed cold and uncooked amid the sweet and scant barbeque-like broth.  The vegetables tasted alright, but who can’t cook up some sweet potatoes and pour a can of black beans into a dish at home?
With such a multi-cultural list of delicacies, Blossom seems to execute about half of them correctly.  Instead of indulging in dessert on the spot, I decidedly trekked across 9th Ave. to Cocoa V, their sister restaurant, which is a vegan and fair-trade chocolatier and wine bar.

There, I found more success with a not-too-sweet soy mocha latte and three truffles: vanilla berry, puffed rice marshmallow cluster, and peanut butter.  They were all creamy, rich, and dark, although the peanut butter truffle tasted so smooth that it could have been mistaken for a rich milk chocolate.

  

Whether Blossom flourishes or wilts, it remains one of the winning titles in the vegan dining world.  Preferably, I would choose Philadelphia’s Horizons over Blossom, proving you don’t have to travel to the Big City to dine glamorously.  However, I would suggest making a trip to Cocoa V, which is the only vegan chocolatier heard of on this side of the states, truly making it a match made in herbivore heaven.


Next post will highlight a few other "things" I found in New York... including one ancient fruit (oo, ahh!)

xoxo,
Jane