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.