So much I'm not sure how I digested all of it (maybe I still am ;-). My weeklong visit to NYC was full of amazing food, inspiring sights, blogger meetups, hanging out with two of my favorite people (my mom and sis) and lots and lots of baking (stay tuned for my vegan baking bootcamp post!). Watch out, this is a mega picture post.
After arriving in the city, I was in the mood for a light dinner, so I headed south to Sacred Chow in the village for vegan tapas. I ordered a trio of tapas including bbq seitan with cabbage, raw kale salad, and root vegetable latkes with Indonesian date butter. This was my first latke experience, and I was not disappointed. Friendly staff as well :-)
On my second night in the city, I went out with a new found friend from class to Pure Food & Wine for some fancy raw food. We decided to share all of our dishes. For starters, there was veggie sushi (I think the rice was daikon?) and an arugula salad with watermelon, a refreshing start on a hot evening. Then we enjoyed "chevre cheese" stuffed squash blossoms with heirloom tomatoes and avocado as well as a spanikopita with root vegetables (the dots are grapes!). Both dishes were amazing and it was hard to believe they were raw! We couldn't leave without dessert, and since it was quite warm sitting on their back patio, I chose the Thin Mint Sundae. Mint and chocolate ice cream paired with a chocolate cookie, very heavenly. I highly recommend trying Pure the next time you're in NYC.
Red Bamboo is know for its wide selection of tasty faux meats, and it did not disappoint. After a day full of dessert tasting, I was in the mood for something a bit lighter, and definitely not fried. The grilled bourbon chicken was very tasty. The plain steamed veggies on the side were a bit boring and bland, but I was actually in the mood for that.
Even with all the desserts from class, I somehow was able to make it to Atlas Cafe twice during the week to pick up something from the massive Vegan Treats dessert case (I did at least make the 2 mile walk from Chelsea!). There was Death by Chocolate Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. Both were devoured, but the peanut butter (top right) with added fervor.
On Wednesday night I met up with VKO from Lifestyles of the Chic and Vegan at Candle Cafe. We started with the very popular seitan chimichurri, pleasant texture and delicious flavor. For dinner I had one of the evening's specials, walnut crusted tempeh over quinoa with sauteed green beans, good, but not nearly as delicious as the cajun seitan sandwich that VKO got (which she also recommended to me, doh! should have listened). We saved a little bit of room for dessert, the chocolate mousse pie, yum! But of course, the sweetest part of the meal was visiting with VKO! She was even kind enough to lend me her umbrella for the rainy walk/subway ride back to Chelsea.
My mom arrived in NYC on Thursday to spend the weekend (my sis took a red eye and came the next morning), so we headed south for dinner to Wild Ginger. Samosas to start, then I had the black pepper seitan while my mom went with the pad thai. Next time I would choose different menu options because none of these were particular favorites. But I've heard many good things about Wild Ginger, so I would definitely try again.
Friday night we enjoyed an early, relaxed dinner at Blossom in Chelsea. Lots of delicious food, including the phyllo roulade, sweet potato gnocchi, and stuffed portobello mushroom. My favorite was the roulade with the lentil stuffing served over swiss chard, very filling and hearty. For dessert we sampled the cheesecake, pretty plain and simple.
And another blogger meet up! Bazu from Where's the Revolution was in town with her husband celebrating his birthday, so VKO and I met up with the two of them at Blossom Cafe on the Upper West Side. Bazu brought us vegan butterscotch chips! All of my food photos were kind of so-so, but I had the grilled tofu salad, which was just what I needed after finishing cake day at bootcamp. Luckily the blogger photo turned out (on the left the three of us, and on the right from a few nights before). These two meetups were one of my favorite things about the trip...
Of course, I didn't just eat and blogtalk my way through NYC, I enjoyed spending time in Central Park getting lost in the maze of trails, spotting turtles, and seeing the first fireflies of my life (lower right picture, those bright spots!). We also spent time in the Metropolitan, Guggenheim, and MoMA (my favorite), saw a Broadway show (Legally Blonde), and shopped on 5th Ave (no purchases).
After a long day of roaming the city, we were ready for our fancy dinner at Candle 79. For starters we had some veggie sushi to refresh our palates, then we went seitan crazy!! My mom and I split the seitan piccata and one of their specials for the evening, a pumpkin seed crusted seitan over rice and a kind of cuban bean stew. Certainly some of the best seitan I've ever had. For dessert we split the brownie sundae with ancho chocolate sauce. I think I could have eaten three of these.
I viewed the city from atop the Empire State building, took a ferry out to admire Lady Liberty, saw some the the NYC waterfalls, and even saw a Houston Astros version of the Statue of Liberty (on parade for the baseball all star game that week).
On Sunday afternoon, we attempted to visit the Natural History Museum, but were turned away due to a "special event"... what a bummer! But we made up for it by revisiting Blossom Cafe for black-eyed pea cakes, quesadillas, and the best vegan burger I've ever had... the soy bacon cheeseburger. Greasy and good. And what goes better with a burger than a chocolate peanut butter shake? Well, nothing.
My last day in the city came too quickly. I had some errands to run on the Lower East Side, so we stopped at Teany cafe for a quick lunch. I was most impressed with the chicken salad sandwich and my raspberry lime ricky, a refreshing drink on a hot day.
And the errands? Cupcakes from Babycakes. On the left gluten free chocolate and on the right spelt lemon. I wasn't thrilled with the texture of either cupcakes, but I did really enjoy their brownie bites. And such a cute little bakery! And I loved quote on the back of the cupcake boxes, "Saving your behind, one cupcake at a time".
Had to hit up Economy Candy for vegan lentils (aka m&ms). Just inhaling the sugar in this place is enough to send you into a coma. And since my favorite pair of work shoes was ripping at the seams after years of wear, we visited Mooshoes where I walked out with some green Molly shoes and an herbivore shirt. Now that's my idea of shopping... who needs 5th Ave?
Whew, sorry if some of that seemed random, I've been trying to get this post up for almost two weeks now! But this isn't the last you've seen of my trip to NYC. Just wait for all the bootcamp desserts!! And thanks to everyone who gave me vegan foodie advice!
I'm on Cape Cod right now with all of my inlaws, sorry I haven't been visiting blogs regularly! I return home for good this weekend and will play catchup.
17 teams from around our beautiful state competed in the competition. Each team was charged with making 5 gallons of vegan chili. In case you've never had to make 5 gallons of chili yourself, here is what all the ingredients look like.... thank goodness all those cans are recyclable!
After the vegan police inspected all of our ingredients, we got started bright and early (around 8am) chopping vegetables, draining beans, measuring spices, and getting everything prepped to start our first batch of chili.
At high noon, the doors were opened to the public for chili tasting. Before we knew it, there people were lined up at our booth! From then on, it was an almost constant stream of filling up chili bowls, serving up cornbread, selling baked goods, and handing out vegan literature. With all the running around trying to make additional batches of chili, I barely had time to say hello to Diann from Eat'n Veg'n who stopped by for a sample. It was nice to see a familiar face!
So did I manage to actually eat any chili during the cook-off? The answer is, of course, yes. We did several tastings of our own chili to get the seasoning right, and John was nice enough to run out into the crowd for brief breaks from kitchen duty and bring me back almost all of the other chili entries.
Chili wasn't the only vegan food being served up at the Society of PEACE booth. We made several batches of cornbread (one with jalapeno and one without) that were complimentary with chili samples while supplies lasted (it went fast!). To soothe the taster's taste buds, we offered grapes as a palette cleanser. And to finish with something sweet, as a fundraiser we offered Stacey's pumpkin oatmeal cookies and my pumpkin pie brownies as well as chocolate and vanilla cupcakes (Happy National Vanilla Cupcakes Day by the way) swirled with Society of PEACE colors.
As the competition came to a close, we gathered around to hear the results of the judges voting as well as the crowd favorite. Imagine our surprise when we heard Society of PEACE called out... the judges awarded our chili 2nd prize!! It was a rewarding finish to a crazy day. I had such a great time making chili with our awesome team: Sergio, Stacey, John, Kristen, Tosh, and Cairo (he's hiding between Stacey and I). Be sure to check out Stacey's post about the day on her blog Te Amo Vegano! And Tara posted about her experience as a chili tester on her blog My So-Called Vegan Life!
Congratulations to everyone who competed!! And the next time someone asks you how a vegan could ever survive deep in the heart of Texas... send them to the Lone Star Chili Cook-Off!
