Last Vegan MOFO 2010!

It's the last one and the last one for NYC! I'm both saddened (mostly because you didn't even see my other blog because stupid google beleted it), but I'm also very glad! I'm finally coming down to the wire on my NYC pictures and after this post I'm going to show you all how we MN vegans do this shit. In Minnesota. Yup.



STOGO! Ice cream! Who doesn't like this stuff? If you tell me you don't like ice cream, I'm going to call you a witch and never let you be my friend. Ever.
This place was really great, save for the tiny portions. It's always enough for me, but something a lot larger in size would really make the price you pay more worth it.
The taste though....droooool. That is all. FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS DOOZY!



That would be chocolate chip cookie vegan ice cream and vegan chocolate sorbet. Heck yes!



The lady behind the counter was super nice and let me have an extra one of these-a raw pumpkin macaroon! She chatted with us about where we should go the next time we come to NYC. What a nice lady! This macaroon was pretty good-I'm still trying to make myself like shredded coconut, but this was okay.

AWESOME!

I also would like to quickly write about Kate's Joint. We had some really excellent bar food at this place. It felt like I was back in Minneapolis at what I like to call "my bar", "my Cheers", etc. Where every knows my naaaaammmmeee!!!!!!!!! aka Triple Rock Social Club.
OK but seriously. Manfriend had vegan chick'n fried steak and I had an awesome vegan taco salad. They were playing Velvet Underground and had some badass (but super nice) lady serving us some very hard liquor. Like I said, it felt like home! Go if you get the chance.

We also tried Little Lads, for their vegan buffet! This was totally worth it. So much vegan food to look at and such an interesting selection! All good. I can't really tell you what all I had, because I ate a fucking shitton. But I recommend you get here not at the buttcrack of closing time like we did to ensure that you get the best food ever. Their menu looked promising too. You don't just have to get the buffet. It's also kind of confusing to get there...so I will say this. It is in that huge skyscraper you think it's in. Yay!

STOGO
159 E 10th St
New York, NY 10003

Kate's Joint
58 Avenue B
New York NY10009

Little Lads
120 Broadway
New York NY 10271

MN, we have arrived. You're next.

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO #12: Drumroll please...

This is the one place that I hear everyone talking about when the conversation involves veganism and NYC....
LULA'S SWEET APOTHECARY!
And yes, this was as delicious as the rumors say it is. I got the cake batter ice cream with graham crackers on top. It was fucking fantastic. That is all. There is no other way to describe it. Just go-and if you really need further encouragement, check out their menu.



GO....NOW!



I mean it. NOW!!

Lula's Sweet Apothecary
516 E 6th St
New York, NY 10009

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO #11: NYC!: Cocoa V's

I knew from the get-go that we'd have to try to this place out. I wanted to try the nut cheeses, but since I could get those online, we opted for just a sampling of a couple of chocolates. The chocolate was incredibly smooth! Very good. And each flavor that we tried-key lime, chocolate peanut butter, the cocoa v truffle and chocolate hazelnut. I'm going to cut to the chase and make with the food porn!
But first, I would like to mention that the place was very fancy on the inside. Like I said, I would've liked to try more, but it was pricey and we wanted to save room for other delicious things that day. They give you a cutting board and knives to cut the pieces of chocolate. Very cool! OK seriously, food porn PRONTO.





From the left, peanut butter and key lime.



From the left, cocoa v truffle and the hazelnut truffle.

Yum!

Go now!

Yep.

Cocoa V's
174 Ninth Ave
New York, NY 10011

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO #10: NYC! Foodswings...

Holy hell. Foodswings would be my go-to for, um, ANYTHING.
The only place that we have in MN that I would compare this to is the Triple Rock Social Club, where you have the heftiest selection of vegan all-American comfort food in MN. But Foodswings...they have it beat in selection. I mean, look at the damn menu on this wall!:



Here's what we got:



From left to right, vegan Mac n Cheese (the kind with Daiya in it, "creamy"? I think), vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu and a vegan Bacon Cheeseburger. Not pictured is the shake we got, which was a vegan chocolate peanut butter shake I think. It was really delicious! I personally really enjoyed the Chicken Cordon Bleu the best. It had this creaminess I didn't expect, and I can't really tell you what it was that made it creamy, but it was fucking tasty!
Manfriend's sammy (Bacon Cheeseburger) was pretty darn good too! I'd liken this place to Veggie Bite in Chicago, IL, but with a much larger selection! Everything was pretty much excellent, though I was longing for an even creamier Mac n Cheese.
Personally, when it comes to vegan Mac n Cheese, this brand is the best I've EVER tried, bar none. Vegan Mac n Cheese in any restaurant that I've been to has not yet topped this stuff. I shop for it at Ethique Nouveau, a great vegan shop in South Mpls. Love that place!

Tasty! Fucking magic! Go to Foodswings NOW people.

Foodswings
295 Grand Street
New York, NY 11211

MN Vegan

A little background on Manfriend, because I've never really explained him: He and I have been together on and off for the last 5 years or so. He's my best friend at the least and he hasn't put a ring on it yet, so he's not a boyfriend, he is Manfriend. You will never know his real name unless you know me in real life or if you email me about it. Sorry.

Vegan MOFO #9: Mooshoes and Melisser's booksigning!

I know. It's ridiculous but I still have not shown you all where we went, what we did and what we ate in NYC. So let's press on shall we? I swear I'm going to finish this vegan MOFO for you in style.
Now, put me in Mooshoes and I will be sad forever because I'll buy everything. A testament to this would be that I bought 2 pairs of shoes that I was originally going to leave for "Santa" to get me on Christmas, but they were there, right in front of me. My point is I tried to resist, I promise! But the shoes are too damn cute.
They are, indeed, the most comfortable heels I have now so I'm very glad I made the purchases.
Here's the shoes!


And here's Melisser's booksigning for The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life. It was spectacular! I got to visit with her and ask her a couple of questions, which was really great. She's awesome, so keep your eye on her! She blogs about awesome stuff as The Urban Housewife and she also has a great, cruelty-free make-up site, which I check everyday. If she's ever in town when Donut Cooperative opens, I would be honored to serve her up the best donut Minneapolis has to offer.





Wait! There's more! She had Bakesalery do the catering for the event.



So really, what more is there to say? This event had it all! It captured my eye, my stomach and my mind. I read her book from cover to cover on our plane rides back to MN. It was a treat to read...so go get her book now!

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO #7: NYC! Part 3!

Babycakes NYC, mmhmm. You gots it going awwn, let me tell you. You are where I want to work eventually someday, all cooped up in the back of a kitchen making delicious-smelling things. I was so excited for this bakery that caters to those with food allergies. I love it. A lot of their baked goods were gluten free and all of them were vegan. If you have a mega sweet tooth like I do, I would suggest getting your ass to Babycakes NYC like NOW.
I will put both visits to Babycakes in this post. We went once the first day we were there and once before Melisser's booksigning at Mooshoes. Get ready for some deliciousness to hit you hard and fast, people.


The front counter.



The BAKERY CASE!! Holy crap that's a lot of delicious vegan treats.



The first visit. Starting from the left-pumpkin bread, lemon cupcake with raspberry frosting, cinnamon donut and a pumpkin donut. Yes! All were delicious. Also, I took away a chocolate velvet muffin top. Everything here was fucking spectacular both time we went. Keep that in mind while feasting your eyes on this!:



Our last visit consisted of a chocolate brownie, a pumpkin donut (drooool) and I think that was another lemony cupcake because Manfriend likes lemon a lot.

Overall, this place was tiny but cute. Sweet and satisfying without feeling too guilty afterward from eating the stuff. I love it! Babycakes NYC, you rock.

Babycakes NYC
248 Broome Street
New York, NY 10002

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO: NYC! Part 3!

All right. Candle 79. Here I go.
This place is fancy schmancy and quite pricey for what I'm used to. I mean it. Don't come here if you don't want to spend at least $20 on an entree and nearly $15 if you're sticking around for dessert.

They first brought out "palette cleansers" which was a bunch of veggies (I think zucchini, mango, and some others) in a delicious creamy white sauce on a spoon. Pretty tasty. Tasted like a bunch of veggies in mayo kind of. We started out ordering a side order of onion rings with a "special sauce". The onion rings were quite bland, but the "special sauce" (they had a name for it, I just don't know what it was), was fucking amazing. Perfect. I call the sauce "special" because I liken it to the "special sauce" typically on a Big Mac.


Next came our dishes, which were exceptional. Mine was a medley of collard greens, "meat" slices, tomato sauce and onions. It had many different levels of flavor in it. I LOVED the avocado on top. Fucking delicious.

Manfriend's was just as epic. It was barbecued seitan topped with slaw and a side of sweet potato fries. The fries were not crunchy, but pretty damn tasty. I had only a bite before he wolfed this dish down, and from what I could tell, the seitan was damn addicting. You wouldn't want it to stop.


We finished off our meal with the vegan cannoli. Lordy, this dessert was perfect. I have never had a cannoli in my life, but this vegan cannoli was surrounded by a deliciously smooth chocolate sauce, sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with a smooth ice cream. Manfriend said he, and I quote, was "going to only have one bite". Fat chance. He ate almost the whole damn thing. No wonder though, as this had a delicious vanilla cream in the center of the cannoli pastry and pastry itself, was incredibly crisp and delicious.

Candle 79 is a must-go for NYC's vegan visitors (and any visitor, really). They keep the portions small, but at the end of the meal, you are STUFFED.
This place started to get busy after 7pm, but before that, the restaurant was enjoyably quiet with dim lighting and had a very pleasurable ambience.
Hot damn.

Candle 79
154 E 79th St
New York, NY 10075

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO: NYC! Part 2!

Yerp. Time for another blog update from yours truly. And a delicious one at that! But kind of short.
Vinnie's in Willamsburg, recommended to me by Isa for its huge fucking slices, had just that! Huge slices! OK, now people. Do NOT do what I did and try to bring back two pieces back to your sleeping manfriend on the subway. It ruins the melty deliciousness of the cheese. I think they use Teese. But anyhoo, the slices are in fact GIANT. And they have interesting flavors, like buffalo chik'n and macaroni-topped slices (pictured below).

The crust is perfect-chewy and delicious. Daiya may have been a better cheese alternative for the pizza's in my opinion, but I appreciate the Teese nonetheless. At least I got a fucking huge vegan pizza slice SOMEWHERE. We don't have this stuff in MN, let me tell you. I was pretty stoked. Also, Vinnie's of Williamburg serves the same pastries that Atlas Cafe does, which is pretty awesome! I got a chocolate donut, and it was fucking heavenly. Not grainy at all, perfectly pillowy and delicious.


Vinnie's did it for me. It can do it for you, too. Stop in soon if you're in the NYC area, mang. Very convenient to have this decent vegan junk food in one area.

Vinnie's Williamsburg
148 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

MN Vegan

Vegan MOFO: NYC! Part 1!

So we made it in around noon on a Wednesday...just in time for Atlas Cafe to have in a new order of donuts! Vegan Treats does their donuts, and they were bombass. Check it check it out yo:

THAT, my friends, would be a raised vanilla frosted donut with sprinkles and at the top of the photo, a raised oreo topped cream-filled donut. I know. You're jealous with rage. It's ok. *pats you on back* They are available online at Pangea Vegan Store as well if you can't make it to NYC anytime soon to fill your donut needs.
They were pretty delicious, albeit a little grainy in texture. In short, it's enough to hold me over until I go back to Portland this coming summer, but fuck. It ain't no Voodoo donut. But! We also got breakfast there another one of the days, and that will be another update.
The place itself is cute and cozy and the menu is fucking huge (see above)! You're bound to find something you like there and bakery case will make you drool big time.

Atlas Cafe
73 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

TASTY!!!!!!!!!!!!
MN Vegan