Sacred Chow (Greenwich Village, NYC)

I wasn't even planning to blog about my lunch at Sacred Chow, even though it was fantastic, as always.  I was just thrilled they were open til 4 on this "hurricane Irene" weekend.  This food here never disappoints - vegan, organic and kosher.  Just plain clean food prepared with love - my favorite!  Now I am sorry that I didn't even take photos of my three tapas (3 for $18) but for the record I had root vegetable latkes (delish, nice and crisp on the outside - it maybe my fave tapas item), spicy soba noodles and sesame collards (mmm, I needed a green infusion)....but when this dessert arrived, I knew I had to capture its decadence.  Chocolate truffle cake with strawberry ganache and pralines was simply divine!  The strawberry jam perfectly cut the dense chocolate and the pralines gave it that satisfying crunch.  It cost $8.50, which is a bit steep for dessert but it is huge so it's really two portions, if you need to justify it.  Trust me, it is pure chocolate heaven...

The NY Vegan Dosa Cart (Washington Sq. Park South)

The vegan dosa guy serves up fresh and delicious South Indian food, all vegan and very reasonably priced (and cash only).  Dosas are made out of rice and lentils.   If memory serves me, $6 was the priciest item on the menu and it's great value for generous portions of high quality food for lunch.  The service was warm and friendly, too, which I always appreciate in New York or anywhere for that matter.

Thiru Kumar, the talented and friendly chef was all smiles as he posed for me.

This is my perfect veggie uthappam on the grill.  YUM!

Absolutely scrumptious uthappam, crispy outside and fluffy inside, with lots of veggies.  Good sambhar (see above photo, cup top left) for dipping and the coconut chutney side (see above photo, chutney on the top right) is just plain amazing.  I could eat a cup of it alone, easily.

Samosa filled with potatoes and peas, served with the mint chutney, which was a delight!  The mint flavor really complemented the samosa nicely.