Restaurant Suggestions Anyone?

Does anyone have any suggestions of vegetarian/vegan restaurants that I should try out in the NYC/NJ area and review on this blog?  If so, now is the time to speak up! I would love to hear from you and try out some new places that may not be on my list.     

Rating System (at last!)

I have wanted to have a shorthand indicator for the "veg-ability" of a restaurant so here it is:

VF  = vegetarian-friendly (as in lots of veggie options but not a vegetarian restaurant)

VEG = vegetarian

VGN = vegan

I will including these rating indicators in the title line for each review, starting with Kairo Kafe...

Kairo Kafe (New Brunswick, NJ) - VF

This Eastern Mediterranean restaurant is a gem - it's a cute little space that is made more intimate after the candles are lit, which add ambience as more people filter in. Later in the night college kids come in to smoke hookah pipes, kind of a bizarre offering if you ask me but it smelled good -- like incense.   Anyway, it's a great find for vegetarians due to the huge array of tempting options. 

The menu was so extensive that we relied on the very patient waiter to answer a bevy of questions as we decided what to order.   I decided on the mango iced tea, which reminded me of a lighter mango lassi, lentil soup, salad with red wine vinagrette dressing (salad was included with the entree), two tapas to share -- fava bean and hummus, which were served with delicious pita triangles, vegetable koshary (chick peas, lentils and macaroni - yes, macaroni - with a nice chile sauce),  and baklava for dessert.  I absolutely loved everything, especially the fava bean dip, which was served warm.  The baklava was probably my least favorite course, not that it was bad, it was good but it was  a little drier than I prefer in the honey department.   They made up for that in the presentation though, with chocolate sauce script messages on the plate (saying "Merry Xmas" and "Kairo Kafe").   [I have some pictures, however, I am having technical issues in uploading them to the proper insertion point.]

Now to the drawbacks, of which there were only two.  It sounded like someone was moving furniture upstairs throughout the night so that was a little distracting.  Later on, we were told there was an "event" upstairs.   Does that explain moving furniture?  I am not sure.  The other distraction was the overly loud, shrill restaurant telephone ringing constantly.  They need a more relaxing ringtone or at a minimum, a softer one.

The pace of the dinner was relaxed and not rushed at all, which I liked.   In fact, I think the waiter completely disappeared for a while.   The prices were amazingly reasonable - all that food for $30/person.  An outstanding bargain.   

Kairo Kafe

49 Bayard St.

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

www.kairokafe.com

732-545-2476

Hours:  

Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Friday 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Saturday 6.p.m. - 2 a.m.

Le Grainne Cafe - 183 9th Ave (corner of 21st St.), NYC (Chelsea neighborhood)

I dined here for lunch today as a backup choice. The restaurant I intended on dining at was closed, which provided the perfect opportunity for me to check out this adorable French café, which is next door and that I had wanted to try anyway.  I normally do not associate French food with vegetarian options, but I made it work, as you'll read in a moment. It is definitely not the best place for vegans, though.

I felt like I stepped into a café in Paris once inside; the décor was of a country rustic motif and charming with wooden tables and floors. It was vibrant and lively, busy with lots of customers in the cozy space (the picture was taken on the way out, after the rush slowed down). I liked the orange tiled walls and the maps of France and other artwork and photos depicting scenes of France on the walls. You may end up at a table with others, as I did, depending on how busy they are. The kitchen is open alongside the side of the restaurant. The only thing that seemed out of character was the eighties pop music in the stereo at the beginning of my meal.

I ordered the ratatouille side dish ($5.50) as an appetizer and the valhrona chocolate and banana crepe ($7) as my meal. (Yes, dessert was my entrée. Anyone who knows me will understand.) The ratatouille starter was a flavor burst of tomatoes, zucchinis, mushrooms, onions and peppers. Just perfect, and quite filling, too. The crepe was divine, and not too sweet due to the dark (homemade) chocolate and was stuffed with bananas. I should have taken a picture of it, but I thought of it too late as I had eaten most of it by that time. As a side note, they keep water in a wine bottle on the table, so don't ask for water like I did. They also served delicious bread, a panini (I think).

www.legrainnecafe.com
(646) 486-3000 
Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-12am

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stage Left (New Brunswick, NJ) - 5 Livingston Ave.

I have wanted to check out this chic restaurant in downtown New Brunswick, NJ for some time now; however, the hefty price tag for a meal at this consistently highly touted establishment kept me at bay.  Enter OpenTable's "appetite stimulus plan" (last week) to the rescue, where participating NJ and NYC restaurants offered 3-course lunches and dinners for $25 and $35, respectively.  Count me in, at last!

Now, I need to clarify that this is not a traditional vegetarian restaurant (in fact, it is quite the opposite), however, the staff made accommodations for me, which I confirmed in advance of dining and that is why I can review Stage Left in this space. 

So refined.  I am glad I dressed up and not in my usual well-worn jeans.  I would have felt out of place. The room I dined in, which was one of several dining rooms, was surrounded by wines bottles from the floor to ceiling, bookcase style.    Classical music fluttered lightly in the background.  Tres elegant.  Another dining room I explored had a lovely fireplace and the bar area, near the entrance, was small yet pretty.

To round out my experience, I opted for the $14 wine pairing since the wine list is extensive and award winning, I needed to try it. 

Service was attentive, as I expected it would be.  Before the first course, another waiter offered me a non-vegetarian friendly tart compliments of the kitchen.  I explained that I was vegetarian and they ultimately substituted it for a mushroom tart that was flaky, light and tiny.  I should mention that this same server mistakenly told me the second tart- the mushroom tart- was tuna on the second attempted serving, almost causing another trip back to the kitchen, but was corrected by my server when the tart was inspected.   I wish that experience were more cohesive.

My first course was an acorn squash soup with mushrooms and pumpkin oil.  The soup was good, very creamy and thus, filling with some cranberries which complemented nicely.  Not something I would normally order though it was tasty. The wine pairing was a white from Austria's Hirsch vineyards and was clean, crisp and refreshing.   A lovely accompaniment. 

The second course was a mini pumpkin cored and stuffed with Israeli couscous and mushrooms, surrounded by pumpkin puree drizzle.  This was a substitution they happily offered to me.  I absolutely loved it and devoured it, even the pumpkin flesh.  The wine pairing was a chardonnay (either Hartwick or Hartwig vineyards, not sure), which was a bit tart, like apples.    

Dessert was vanilla creme brulee.   I would have opted for the molten valrhona chocolate cake or the beignet with espresso cream, but I can't complain.  The creme brulee was excellent, with a perfectly creamy middle and crunchy top layer and the taste reminded me of toasted marshmallows, which I no longer eat but apparently still like.  I was completely stuffed by this point.    

When the bill came, I was surprised to see a 20% gratuity was already included.  I thought this was only done for large parties.  Am I mistaken?  Is this normal procedure for fancy restaurants and maybe something I am not familiar with?  I would have tipped 20% anyway, but I am left wondering.

Overall, the ambience was amazing as was the service.  The food was all very good but not entirely satisfying since I did not get to choose what I preferred to eat.  Of course, I knew that going in and it was the "sacrifice" I agreed to in exchange for value-friendly dining.   

www.stageleft.com

732-828-4444

Thanksgiving Menu

In case anyone is wondering, or even if you weren't, here is my veg-friendly Thanksgiving menu...

*organic herbed stuffing (from Wegman's) with celery and shallots

*organic yams sweetened with maple syrup

*cauliflower with fresh lemon sauce/dressing (I really wanted organic lemons since I will be using the rinds but Wegman's didn't have any today)

*my famous (or is it infamous?) vegan chocolate mousse pie. Yum.

Recipes

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to post some veg-friendly recipes that you can use on Turkey Day (or Tofurkey Day, as it may be).

Maple Pumpkin Butter

This recipe is very loosely based on one I found in last Sunday's paper, in Parade. I prepared this yesterday and loved it.  My preparation is way healthier though, due to my ingredient upgrades.   It is also simpler to prepare and that's purely by happy accident (some people may call that accidentally skipping a step, but hey, it worked out fine. Tasted delicious.).

One 15-oz. can organic, unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/3 cup each agave nectar, organic unsweetened applesauce and pure maple syrup

3/4 tsp each cinnamon and ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F.

Put all the ingredients in a large, heavy ovenproof casserole dish and stir to blend. 

Once the oven is pre-heated, slide the casserole into the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin butter has thickened and there is no liquid around the sides of the pan.  

Cool the pumpkin butter, then cover and chill.  Enjoy!

Makes approx. 4 servings.

More to come...stay tuned.

Suggestion Box

Don't be shy.  Tell me if you have suggestions for this blog or any sort of feedback, both positive and negative.   I would love to hear from you!  This is the place for it...

You Are What You Eat

I firmly believe you are what you eat, which is primarily why I follow such a healthy diet.   My biggest weakness, dark chocolate, is even healthy, so I am officially in good shape.  :)

Lucky for me, considering how much chocolate I consume.  

The link below lends credence to my theory on a serious level.  This hits very close to home, literally, for anyone who knows my personal situation.

Check it out:

http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/cancer/food-cures-healing

(Thanks to my no-name co-worker who forwarded me this link.)

Dirt Candy (430 e. 9th St., NYC - East Village)

What a cute little  place (and I mean tiny, actually)!  It's so small that I did walk right by it initially.  It's down a few steps, too from street level, so it's easy to miss.  The ambience is nice -- very contemporary with lots of blue glass tile on the walls matching the tables with bamboo and red accents.   Maybe there are ten tables here, tops. Reservations are a must.    

The menu has just a few vegetarian selections for each course and most everything could be made vegan upon request.  That was fine since there was something for everyone, and I do mean everyone, even my picky non-vegetarian sister.   I tasted the jalepeno hush puppies (made with cornmeal) with maple butter for dipping, which were good even though they are not typically my thing (my sister and her friend ordered them).  The maple butter was fantastic and I ate it on its own and with ciabatta bread.   I ordered the crispy (pan-fried) tofu with green ragout and kaffir lime buerre blanc for $17.  I don't even know what that is but it was good!   Another option was pinot grigio pappardelle roasted cauliflower with pine nuts, which my sister ordered and loved ($18).  

All the food was artfully presented.  The wine list was short but offered some good, quality wines by the bottle, glass and even half glasses for $5, a good deal.  The service was exceptional and very personalized.

For dessert, I had chile chocolate ice cream with a small chocolate cake and sweet potato sorbet (very different, but good, I was surprised).   I really enjoyed that ice cream, which was not vegan, by the way.  The waitress pointed that out to me because I mentioned in the beginning of the meal that I do prefer vegan.   Good service, yes.  

My sister got the popcorn pudding with hazelnut carmel corn that almost broke my teeth (which would have made my dentist happy).   She enjoyed the pudding but did not try the popcorn.   Probably a wise move.  Desserts were $10 a pop.

I would go back to this place for the excellent food, service and atmosphere.  Only negative really is the location is not too convenient for me (a bit too far from the office using mass transit).  Oh well, that's OK, even though we had to take the bus one leg of the trip.

212.228.7732

www.dirtcandynyc.com

Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co. (286 8th Ave at 25th St., NYC - Chelsea)

This may be a strange place to include in this blog but when I discovered the huge variety of tofu spreads for the bagels, I added it to my review list.   The place itself was nice and it was bustling at lunch time. It was crowded but not overly tight, with every table full and almost every counter stool, too.  They offered cinnamon walnut raisin tofu spread, plain tofu, veggie tofu and wasabi salmon tofu spread (I don't really get that last one - definitely not vegetarian friendly.  Good effort though. Maybe it's for someone who can't tolerate the dairy in regular cream cheese.)  There were also loads of alternative cream cheese flavors, like chipotle, for the non-vegans or non-vegetarians out there.  (Note: I did visit this restaurant with my meat-loving co-worker who asked not to be named for security purposes.  Very mysterious, I know.  He must do CIA detail on the side.   Or, maybe he works for Captain LaGuerta or the Strike Team.  You know who you are.)   Anyway, I opted for a toasted whole wheat bagel  with the veggie tofu spread.  The bagel sandwich was huge with tons (too much for me) tofu spread but otherwise good, not great.  The bagel place near my house has far superior bagels, just for the record.   I did really like the granola with blueberries and yogurt treat for dessert - that hit the spot and was very filling.   For a total price of $7.50, it was totally worthwhile.  Next time, I will hopefully get a table.

(212) 924 -2824

Kaya's Kitchen (817 Belmar Plaza, Belmar, NJ)

This vegan restaurant is located within a very non-descript, sort of dumpy strip mall in Belmar. That was a little surprising but okay.  Upon entering the restaurant, the reggae music hits me right away; it's loud, but not unpleasant or blasting, contributing to the relaxing, informal atmosphere.  This place sort of tried to create a visually appealing atmosphere but fell short with some pictures on the walls and little else.  It does resemble a diner, with wooden booths.  It is quite lively though with lots of energy and does get quite crowded at dinner time.

The menu was so extensive that it took me some time to go through it and actually choose something to eat.  Lots of Indian and Mexican fare, as well as salads and "fake" meats, like "ribs" and "chicken" nuggets, which I automatically exclude.  I don't understand the purpose of offering fake meat (vegan meat) to someone who doesn't eat meat.  It's just not appealing to me.   Maybe it's good for a "new" vegetarian or if you dine with someone who is not into veggie food.  It's not for me, in any event.   

The menu is vegan but there are some dairy options if you choose not to eat entirely vegan.   I understand they recently changed the menu, too.

I started off with a wild berry (red) ice tea that was unsweetened and nice and refreshing.   As a starter, I had the Southern shiitake corn cakes, which were SPICY with black beans, organic greens and seeds (possibly pumpkin, but I really can't remember).  I ended up choosing the avocado salad as my meal, which, looking back, was a rather boring choice, but did have lots of avocado chunks.   Dessert was the last enormous piece of chocolate cashew fudge cake, which was decadent and all-around excellent and a cup of green tea.  I was absolutely stuffed from all that food.

Price-wise, I found it a bit on the pricey side, with NYC prices, which would be okay if the place had more of that NYC atmosphere.

732-280-1141     www.kayaskitchennj.com

I'm back

Long time, no blog posts :(    Did you miss me?

Well, I've visited several vegetarian friendly eateries and I can't wait to share my feedback with you.   Unfortunately, I did not make it to Boston to the vegetarian food festival (see prior post) even though I really wanted to.  Maybe next year.  Anyway, enough of my whining, on to the reviews.

Lunch at Candle Cafe - 1307 3rd Ave (at 75th St.), NYC (www.candlecafe.com)

The cafe itself is long, narrow corridor - not cramped though - with pretty simple, spartan decor, definitely not fancy.  It is smaller than I imagined it would be. Ironically, it is next door to a restaurant called Bistro Le Steak, which I thought was amusing (no, I am not reviewing that one).    

Candle Cafe is vegan- lots of seitan, tempeh, and tofu dishes in the $15 - $20 range, pricey for lunch.  So many interesting, creative combinations from zucchini with tomato ragu to the more inspired. Menu options are overwhelming here and the specials were tempting -- I almost got the corn on the cob with aioli sauce, for the record.  Lots of dishes are Southwest-, Indian- and Mediterranean-inspired.  I opted for the Aztec salad after much deliberation.   Aside from greens, it was served with quinoa, pumpkin seeds, with BBQ grilled tofu (a substitute for tempeh), black beans, corn, and avocado (for extra cost of $3) with amazing toasted cumin dressing. To drink, I choose a lemon ginseng iced tea. 

For dessert, I asked the waitress to break my internal tie and got the mousse chocolate pie with chocolate chip crust- an enormous piece, I might add, which I almost finished (of course).  

When I first walked in, it was empty in here but after a half hour, it was packed, almost every table was full.  It's a lively and interesting crowd of all sorts of people.

The most curious thing happened at the end of my meal.  I went to the rest room and when I came back I found my table was given away, even though I still had bags on the chair.  So, I ended up paying the bill at the counter (the staff seemed really embarassed but not as much as I was).  Anyway, I got a free chocolate chip oatmeal cookie for my troubles, which was delish!   

As a side note, there is a sister restaurant around the corner (Candle 79), which is more upscale in look, but undoubtedly, the food is of the same excellent quality.

Candle Cafe:

1308 3rd Ave, NYC

www.candlecafe.com

212-472-0970

Blossom (187 9th Ave. between 21st & 22nd, NYC)

Ahh, this place is relaxing.  It's all vegan by the way.  I've dined here before today several times for both lunch and dinner and each time, I have been delighted with the exception that most desserts are not available during lunch.  Note to self: must try brunch one day...the menu looks really interesting (see link below).

Back to the dinner review at hand, the decor is contemporary and atmosphere is lovely and dim, with candlelight.  The music could use some improvement, as it is rather depressing, but somehow does not detract from my overall experience.    If I focused on it more, it would have though!  There is also a room upstairs that can be rented out for occasions.

I start off with an excellent glass of organic syrah from California for $9 -- all the wines on the menu are organic, as well as the beers,  a nice treat.    The selection of wines was nicely varied; I always like to see Malbec on the list, as I did.  

The waitress reads off the list of specials (one appetizer and one entree) and the appetizer sounded delightful; a phyllo purse of vegetables with a cashew cream pesto sauce for $10.  I wanted that for my entree but sadly, they could not accommodate that request.  After it was too late, I thought I could have ordered two in order to make a larger size.  Oh well.   I also found out later that my waitress neglected to mention a soup special that came with homemade tortilla chips.  I felt cheated, but only for a few seconds, then I got over it.

I ordered the vegetable mezze plate for $21, which was an assortment of neatly displayed veggies, including haricot verts (never had them before), delectable mashed sweet potatoes, quinoa, garlic sauteed sliced carrots and zucchini, spinach, string beans and I'm sure something else I am forgetting.  I was counting on this being on the website so I did not have to write it all down in my dining journal.  You'll see from my note at the end, this was not so.  I immediately felt healthier after eating this plate of vitamins!   The presentation of the food was impressive on an oversized round plate that reminded me of an artist's palette.

And the dessert selections, well, there were two that I was debating between.  One was chocolate ganache with vanilla soy ice cream with peanut butter drizzle for $8 and the other contender was a lavender maple tart with maple soy ice cream in a pastry shell with fresh berries for $9.  The waitress broke the tie for me and I got the chocolate.   The ganache was rich and dense.  The vanilla ice cream was a nice complement to cut some of the richness though the ice cream was a tad too icy.  A single spearmint leave was a refreshing touch on the plate.  The peanut butter drizzle was good but I could have used more of it, like a peanut butter gusher.  Okay, that would've been too much.   

There is also a nice selection of loose teas and dessert wines, though I did not have any.

Here is the website, where you can see the menu though it's not complete (my entree above is missing for some reason).  

http://www.blossomnyc.com/home.html

Rating System

I need a rating system for the restaurants I review in order to relay a quick summary of my overall experience.  Stars, forks, points,  thumbs up/down have all been done before.  I am looking for something fresh that fits with the theme here, like 5 "vegan cupcakes" for a terrific rating... but not that exactly.  Maybe just descriptions.  How about this, ranked from worst to best:  yuck!, eh, yummy, delish, scrumptious?  The top three are too similar, right?  I may need some help on this one.  Suggestions?

Lora's Tea Room (215 Centennial Ave, Cranford, NJ)

I've been meaning to write this one up for a few days now (my posts do not necessarily reflect the order in which the events occurred).   On Wednesday afternoon,  I wanted to check out this tea house, which coincidentally is very close to my favorite kayaking spot.  I was immediately pleased with the charm the cozy Russian tea house exudes.  Exactly the type of place I was hoping for.   I had the "tea for one" deal for $12, which includes a pot of tea (from a nice variety of loose teas) and tea sandwiches. I opted for the loose rose petal tea and two egg salad and two cucumber sandwiches, a substitution they made when I asked for vegetarian-friendly sandwiches.  Everything was so expertly presented -- sandwiches with the crust cut off and all the finest serving dishes, embossed porcelain teapots, delicate crystal cups and saucers, doilies -- all things frilly.  It was a perfect afternoon so I had my meal outside until it got too hot and noisy from the street.  My tea was pleasant and sandwiches were tasty, even though I normally do not eat white bread. They also serve "blinis" or stuffed crepes; one that caught my eye was stuffed with farmer's cheese for $7. The service from  my waitress was not terribly friendly  however,  the owner (I think she was the owner anyway) went out of her way to be accommodating. I can't find a website for this restaurant, just other reviews.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/loras-tea-room-cranford

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival!

Can I be any more excited for this event?  I am not sure yet if I can go, but if it's at all possible, I intend on attending and well, feasting and sampling to my heart's content...Sounds glorious.  Here is the link:

http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/index.html

Details from the above website:

Saturday, November 1, 2008
10 AM – 6 PM 
Reggie Lewis Athletic Center
1350 Tremont Street, Boston Massachusetts
Free admission • Free food sampling (YES!...emphasis mine)
Free parking • Subway stop across the street

One of the speakers is the author of my favorite vegan dessert cookbook, which is The Joy of Vegan Baking: Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets.  I plan to whip up a batch of banana chocolate chip cake tomorrow for my dad, a recipe which is based on one from this wonderful cookbook.  I say "based on" because I always experiment with the ingredients and end up substituting more healthful ingredients where I find it works taste-wise.  I will post my "doctored" recipe on this blog when I can.

Why have I not heard of this amazing event before now?  After all, it's been going on for twelve years already!

Namaste Cafe (New Brunswick, NJ)

I checked out this really cool vegan cafe in New Brunswick, NJ for dinner last night that was tucked away above a vegetarian co-op/grocer.   What a great find!  The atmosphere is warm and inviting, like sitting in a friend's living room or kitchen, decorated in mellow green and yellow tones on the walls with soothing music playing in the background.   Artwork on the wall depicted people in various yoga poses and there was a drum in the corner.  I can actually feel myself relaxing, as if I am doing the yoga I see on the walls.   The cafe seats 20 at most, I would guess.  This is my kind of place.  

I ate a guacamole wrap, which was excellent; tasty with lots of zing though not large (sized appropriately for lunch), so don't expect mega-portions.  All the ingredients were fresh and of great quality.  Black pepper potato chips came on the side of the wrap.   The dish was reasonably priced at $6.75.  I drank a cup of Divinitea loose tea, which was so fragrant!  Tea was also very reasonably priced at $1.89.  The cafe offers a large selection of fresh juices, organic fair-trade coffees, hot chocolate, hot spiced cider, organic smoothies, wraps, one type of veggie burger, and more.  

This is not like a restaurant where you have traditional waiter/waitress service, instead you order at the counter after checking out the options listed on a board in the front, then your food is prepared in the small kitchen up front and you are served at a table, counter seat or couch.  I must say the service was genuinely friendly, personal and educational, as well.  There was some training of new hires going on while I visited.   I am glad to have ventured out in the Hannah-induced rains to check out this most welcome vegan spot so close to home.  Next time, I need to check out the co-op downstairs.

The Choices

Where to for my first review?  I have a few ideas I am batting around but have yet to decide for sure.  There are so many tempting choices.