During the first week of January, Chris and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend a week in New York City. We had so much fun and enjoyed so much great vegan food! New York City, without a doubt, has Los Angeles beat when it comes to incredible vegan food. We were just blown away with the quality of vegan eats in this city, and I can’t wait to tell you all about them in this series, “Vegan Travel: NYC.”
Imagine a line splitting the island of Manhattan in half, ignoring all of the cute neighborhoods, beautiful parks parks and incredible landmarks- today I'm sharing with you "Part 1" of what we did/ate on the western side of that line. And please pardon some of our not-so-great iphone pics...
We took the red-eye into JFK and by the time we hopped on the subway and found ourselves at our midcity hotel, it was only 9 am and too early to check-in. The hotel held our bags while we set out to rustle up some breakfast and do a bit of exploring. I had bookmarked a list of vegan eats on Yelp (a tool that became extremely helpful during this trip), and the closest place, serving up a vegan breakfast was Blossom du Jour.
BLOSSOM DU JOUR
617 9th Avenue, between 43rd & 44th, Midcity West
By the time we found this place I was pretty ravenous so I was thrilled to see that they had two different breakfast wraps, as well as some pancakes with tempeh bacon, on the menu. One wrap was called the Anytime Breakfast Scramble Wrap, which sounded alright,but we were both blown away by the other wrap: the Blossom Benedict Wrap.
The wrap included a pressed and baked slab of perfectly seasoned tofu, Lightlife vegan "ham," cooked with their own seasonings, and a hollandaise sauce (with more on the side) wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. Insane. Ridiculous. Stupid. All of these words don't even begin to describe the level of deliciousness in those wraps. We even found ourselves there for breakfast one more time during our trip.
This was just our introduction to the line of incredible Blossom restaurants. Our last day in NYC, following an incredibly filling breakfast somewhere else (which I'll be telling you about soon), we were walking through Chelsea when we just happened to pass Blossom Bakery.
BLOSSOM BAKERY
174 Ninth Avenue, between 21st & 22nd, Chelsea
How often do you just happen by an all vegan bakery? I never thought I would just be walking along and stare longingly into a beautiful bakery, only to notice a vegan sticker on the window. We were very happily surprised. Of course we had to run in and stare into the case at all of the decadent little vegan goodies.
However, if you were to look up the definition of "hell" in the dictionary, it would likely say something along the lines of being in a vegan bakery but too stuffed to even consider purchasing anything. We did talk to the shopkeepers for awhile and they offered us a little sample of one of their brownies, and my friends, it was amazing! I can't wait to go back to NYC and try an entire brownie from Blossom Bakery!
On our second day in the city, we took the subway down to the World Trade Center Memorial. The last time (the only time) I had been in New York Cit prior to this visit, I was 13 and with my cousin and our grandparents. I remember standing outside one of the Twin Towers with my family, marveling at its height, when a man in a trench coat walked over to us. He flung open his coat to reveal a large inventory of watches and offered my grandfather a Rolex. My grandfather turned him away and I remember thinking how lucky we were to have seen a guy with a trench coat full of watches, just like you saw in the movies! And in front of the tallest building in the world, no less! Almost twenty years later, I found myself walking right where I had stood when the man offered us fancy watches, yet the buildings were gone. It was a very surreal and emotional experience and the memorial that has been built in the Twin Tower's place is terribly beautiful and serene. I was very thankful to be able to see it.
After the memorial, we walked north towards the West Village. The sun was setting and we didn't get to see very much, but after consulting Yelp, we decided to stop at Café Blossom (the Blossom company's more upper-scale, sit-down restaurant) and meet up with one of Chris's old friends, A.Y., for dinner.
CAFÉ BLOSSOM
41 Carmine St., between Bedford & Bleeker, West Village
Since we didn't make a reservation, the host told us we would have to finish in an hour because there were reservations for that table. We were more than happy to accept, and were quickly seated. Our server soon greeted us and informed us that she had talked to the host and told us that we could take our time- we didn't need to leave in an hour. That scored huge bonus points with us and we relaxed and took our time to peruse the menu.
I kind of wanted to try everything on the menu- it all sounded so good! However, we eventually settled on the Chickpea Fritters as a starter. They were crisp on the outside, and smooth and creamy on the inside. They were more like mozzarella sticks, but about 100 times better. They were each topped with a dollop of spicy mayonnaise and housemade whiskey barbecue sauce. A definite winner in our books. Sadly, we were overexcited about said fritters and forgot to take pictures. Also not pictured- the kale and avocado salad that A.Y. ordered.
Chris's and A.Y. both ordered the Flatbread Pizza as their main course. Topped with marinara sauce, cashew ricotta, vegan mozzarella, onion jam and basil, these pizzas were out of this world! I almost wished I ordered one myself...
But I'm so glad I didn't! I ordered the Seitan Marsala as my main course and couldn't have been more pleased. This dish is served with roasted potato, sauteed spinach, shallots, beets, jalapeno, figs, and marsala sauce. Every bite was incredible, but THE FIGS! I will forever need figs with my seitan now. And my potatoes. And my beets. What an incredible combination!
After dinner we decided to look over the dessert menu and A.Y. said that all she could think about was chocolate- a woman after my own heart! We settled on the Chocolate Kahlua Tart. This tart had a date and hazelnut crust, a caramel drizzle on top and was served with vanilla ice cream. I probably never would have chose this dish on my own because I don't usually love Kahlua-flavored things, but MY HEAVENS! This dish changed all that. We all politely took little bites, trying to equally share this dish, but I knew Chris and I were both wishing we each got our own. The chocolate was so rich and velvety and the date and hazelnut crust was so flavorful and not overly sweet. The caramel drizzle really put it over the top, though. Man, that was a great dessert.
After dinner, we walked A.Y. to the subway but ended up standing outside talking for about an hour more. In 25 degree weather. By the time we bid A.Y. farewell, my fingers and toes were frozen. We walked around West Village for a while because the night was still young, but eventually, I needed to stop somewhere and get warm/regain the feeling in my fingers.
GOBO (now out of business)
401 Avenue of the Americas, between Waverly Place & 8th St., West Village
It should be noted that Chris and I slept in until noon on our second day in NYC. It was completely unintentional, but I guess since we didn't really sleep on the overnight flight and Chris wouldn't let us nap when we got our room, our bodies really needed the rest. We'd only had light snack at Pain de Quotiden for "breakfast" and our "dinner" at Cafe Blossom was really more like lunch. And we'd walked a lot that day. What I'm getting at is that the fact that we were hungry again after "dinner" is completely understandable and our "snack" at GOBO, though just a couple hours after said "dinner," was completely justified, so don't judge.
Gobo claims to have food that awakens the five senses. All of their menu items are plant-based and all sounded very appealing. We were going to settle on the homemade hummus with carrots and wonton chips until we saw the yam fries on the "sides" portion of the menu. There was no question.
With a tasty and crispy outer crust and a sweet, soft interior, these fries were terribly indulgent and delicious and we savored each bite. We promised that if we were in the area again, we would come back and eat a full meal here, but unfortunately, that never happened. Just one more place we need to add to our "Next time we're in NYC" list.
Please check back in next week for Part 2 of our west Manhattan adventures!
Be sure to check out all of the posts in the “Vegan Travel: NYC” series:
Caitlin
i've been *patiently* waiting for your recap of new york and YAY!!! here it is! my oh my does everything sound fabulous. i want those yam fries in my tummy right now. can't wait for next week!
keepinitkind
Haha! I hope this series does not disappoint. At first, it was going to be 2-3 posts. But it was so long, I had to split it into 5 posts. So you have four more weeks to look forward to!
And for reals, though- those yam fries were ridiculous. Ridiculous, I tell you! 🙂
Yosef - This American Bite
Perfect timing, I go to NY next week.
keepinitkind
Oh my gosh- I'm so jealous! NYC is my new most favorite city. I can't wait to go back. Have a blast and stay warm! 🙂
Beth
Love you on Facebook and love your blog. You write so well and when describing food along with the wonderful photos, one can 'see and taste' the food you write about. That dear woman is a gift!
keepinitkind
Thank you so much, Beth! That is so much my goal- I'm glad your'e enjoying it. 🙂
Courtney Jones
Jesse and I loved Blossom du Jour when we were in NYC in October! He still keep asking me to try and recreate the italian "meatball" sub he had when we were there 🙂 Love this travel post. I miss NYC so much. I wanna move there so badly!
keepinitkind
Thanks and oh my gosh, me too! Chris and I kept saying the whole time we were there- if there were different circumstances, we would totally move there. Although, I hear the summers are miserable so maybe we would do half the year here, half the year there, and of course we wouldn't need jobs ever and would have a beautiful, inexpensive apartment in Greenwich Village. Ah, it's nice to dream, isn't it? 🙂
Richa`
my tummy is bursting thinking about all the food i could eat when i go to NY! man that pizza.. ad i cant believe it that you dint pick up some brownies for the way! i would probably want to run for a few blocks, get hungry again and eat some:)))
keepinitkind
Richa, NY is like the perfect vacation for vegans who like food. You just walk all day, and stop and eat at amazing places the whole time you're there. It's pretty awesome. NYC, by far, has the best vegan food I've ever had.
And trust me- we were tempted with the brownie, but we'd already had a cinnamon roll (more on that later) and I was at an uncomfortable level of fullness (which almost never happens to me). And now I have an excuse to go back, so.... 😉
Cadry
Oh, it all looks so good! I'm surprised to hear you say that NYC has LA beat hands down on vegan fare. Knowing all of the options that exist in LA, I never quite believed it when VegNews would say the same thing. Now that a local is concurring, all the more reason I need to head to NYC ASAP!
David was just in NYC for work in December, and he had a marvelous time sampling some of the vegan restaurants there. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your NYC posts. I know it will make me wish I had a trip lined up already! (Side note: did you see any shows while you were there?)
keepinitkind
I always though NYC and LA would be about the same, but NYC is absolutely better. I mean, everywhere we went, I was wishing we had one back home. We agreed that, finances permitting, we would have make NYC a yearly trip. NYC was already Chris's favorite city, but this trip just caused me to fall in love with it as well.
We did not see any shows, actually. We thought about it, but we really just felt like walking around, exploring, hanging out and chatting over coffee for a couple hours or just sitting in the park. We saw a poster for a play that Paul Rudd was starring in, and we considered it (because we love Paul Rudd), but ultimately neither of us felt like sitting in a theater. 🙂 It was a nice, relaxing vacation, but I think next time we'll try to see a show.
janet
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who forgets to take pictures of food because I eat it too quickly. 🙂
janet
keepinitkind
Hahaha! Yeah, it's a regular occurance with us. I guess it's a sign that the food is THAT good! 😉
Jill
I'm also a huge fan of all the Blossom shops in NYC. Their bakery is super fun - when you go back, definitely try their Key Lime Pie. It blew my mind. Also, I hope you make it to Baby Cakes. It is hands-down my favorite vegan bakery in the city!
keepinitkind
We were blown away by all of the Blossom shops- so amazing. And you know I'll be heading back to their bakery!
We did make it to Babycakes. I've been to their LA location a couple of times- they're my most favorite bakery ever because I need to steer clear of sugar. Because I'm such a big fan, we had to visit the original location. Soooo good! 🙂
heather
I LOVE reading all about your foodie adventures - NYC eats sound incredible - we have friends that have been trying to get us to visit them in Brooklyn, I think I may need to go to see them and to make a pit stop at all the amazing vegan shops!!
keepinitkind
NYC is so incredible for vegans! And oh my gosh- Brooklyn is just the best. Seriously. I want to live there. You should go. I'll be doing a post on Brooklyn in a few weeks. 🙂
AY
So excited to read your first NYC post and delighted to read your comment that NYC has the best vegan food you've ever had (knowing that L.A. has some stellar options).
I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Blossom and look forward to trying the bakery in Chelsea. Also, my husband and I shared that leftover flatbread pizza I brought home and it tasted just as delicious after a ride home on the subway.
Lastly, two days after my wonderful meal with you and Chris, I went to a baby shower in Jersey City, which meant catching a train at the WTC station. Having been in NYC on 9/11, Jason and I tend to avoid the area now because of the emotional response it stirs up. But on our way back from Jersey, thinking of what you guys had said about the memorial, we decided to check it out. We had avoided visiting for so long in order not to stir up those intense emotions, but I'm so glad we did.
keepinitkind
Oh my gosh, AY, the food in NYC is so great. Chris and I still talk about it. We'll just say "I wish we could just spend the evening in the West Village and have some chickpea fritters at Blossom" or "Doesn't breakfast at Champ's in Brooklyn sound good right now?" We can't wait to go back. 🙂
I loved our meal at Blossom too and had such a great time meeting you. We were bummed that we didn't get a chance to meet up with you and Jason before we left, but I guess that just means we'll have to head back sooner, rather than later.
I'm so glad that you both were able to visit the memorial. I completely understand how it would be hard to visit that part of the city, especially when there's so many emotions tied up with that place. I imagine it was a cathartic experience for both of you to be able to finally visit it.
Much love to you- talk to you soon! xo
Melissa
Yum, everything sounds amazing. 🙂
keepinitkind
Thank you, Melissa- it sure was! 🙂
Eloise @ Am I Nearly There Yet?
Blossom Bakery- First on my list when I go back to NYC! Just to make my mouth water, what types of cakes were available apart from chocolate brownies? (Why do I do this to myself!)
keepinitkind
You know, I don't remember what cakes there were, but they all looked soooo good! 🙂
Ttrockwood
I can see this was posted a while back but i assume you will come back to nyc... 😉
That said, don't go back to gobo! Yes, the fries are awesome- but nothing else is. (I went with a group and we were all feeling grumpy)
The daily quiche at blossom's bakery is the best decision you will ever make. Also Westville (and westville east)is an awesome restaurant (casual) that although it is not vegan has lots of vegan options and every day has market veggie specials- like ten!- and an amazing tofu scramble brunch
Do you read chowhound.com? It is the best most reliable food site for restaurant recommendations, many of the regulars on the site are either food writers or cooks in the nyc section
Glad you had such a great trip here- on your next trip i would recommend a short term apt rental (like flipkey or others similar) to save you some serious cash.
keepinitkind
Thank you! We will most definitely be back. 🙂 Thank you so much for the tips. We are planning on renting an apartment the next time, depending on the circumstances. We had just come off a very stressful project and we needed to be pampered in the way of big soaking tubs and maids cleaning up after us. 😉
Lisa
Thank you so much for these guides! My husband and I are travelling to NYC (Manhattan and Brooklyn) during the first week of January (sound familiar?) and this is a perfect guide for us! THANK YOU!!!!
keepinitkind
That sounds wonderful! Have a blast! 🙂
Kristen
I realize this was posted quite awhile ago, but your series has been very helpful in finding a few places to try on my trip in a couple weekends, so thank you! That being said, you might want to remove the link for GOBO... looks like they are closed and the link leads to a website that is all about deer hunting. It's a disturbing click-through that I wasn't expecting!
keepinitkind
Thanks for the heads-up. I've edited the post to reflect the info. 🙂