For a vegan, travelling can be kind of stressful. A lot of places are picking up on the "no-animal products" trend and it's getting much easier, but the unknown can be daunting. Fear not in New York City. Down south? Yes. I'm kind of nervous for my trip to Charleston in June. But New York? Vegan dining aplenty!
I'd been to The Cupping Room before when I wasn't a vegan and it was good. I was a little worried since they don't have a ton of vegan options, but I like the atmosphere and I knew there would be something I could have. So I had the Mediterranean platter. Of course it came with babaganoush but when I asked if it had mayonnaise in it, I found out it did so I opted for extra hummus and veggies. It was still delicious.
We spent the next couple of hours wandering around SoHo, shopping and making our way around various neighborhoods. I love walking in NYC. I feel like you find the best places when you wander around. As long as you have a general idea of where you are so you don't get lost, you can find so much. And who really gets lost these days with the GPS we have on our phones now? We actually found
The Little Cupcake Bakeshop by just wandering around. And they had vegan cookies, however, they tasted like something I could have easily made in my own kitchen but I was told the non-vegan cookie was really good.
Now, I will walk anywhere in the city. If you give me a place, I can make it there on foot. It may take a while but I just love walking in the city. Because we were short on time, we took a cab over to Lula's which is in the East Village. Here I tried almost all of the ice creams, including Espresso, Peanut Butter Fudge, and Mint Chip. Ultimately I decided on the Mint Chip and it was by far my favorite. I've already elaborated on Lula's so I won't go into it anymore. Just know that it is one of the best places on earth.
After getting back to the car in So-Ho, we rushed over to the hotel to get ready for our dinner reservations. Traffic that time of day on Broadway was atrocious but we made it and had 45 minutes to get ready.
I'm not sure how I ended up deciding on this place. Oh wait, yes I do. I saw that they had champagne sangria. Vegan options? Not so much. Champagne sangria? I'm there. The food was good, I really only had a small salad and some yuccas. My friend really liked it and I liked the atmosphere. The sangria was great as well. The champagne sangria wasn't as good as the red sangria though, but I'm more of a red sangria kind of girl anyway.
After dinner we mosied on over to the Palace Theatre to see "Annie". Growing up, this was one of my favorite movies so when I saw tickets on sale, I had to get them. The show was fantastic, though somewhat different than the movie, which is to be expected but it was still amazing and a choice I was happy extremely happy with.
Lately I've been obsessed with rooftop bars. I went to a couple down in Charleston and now I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather sit, have a drink and relax. The weather was a bit chilly but with a jacket on, it was perfect. We sat right under the sign and took in the atmosphere. Some may recognize this hotel from the TV show "Gossip Girl" but I've never seen it. Apparently it made an appearance a few times on the show. I just got a good deal through Hotwire by chance.
After all of that drinking, I needed a little food in my tummy. Enter PJ Clarkes. It was right next to the hotel and being that it was now Sunday morning, I had to go where the food was. I had the mezze plate, sans the yogurt dip. I know, more hummus. What can I say? The options were limited at the time of night and I was better safe than sorry, It was really good hummus though and the pita bread was warm and wonderfully delightful. Oh and this carrot cumin dip? Amazing. I need to look into that recipe.
The next morning our brunch reservations weren't until 11:30 when the restaurant opened so we hung out, and I ran out for some Starbucks. By the time I got through the line, it was almost time to go to brunch!
I have a hard time find places that do a really good vegan brunch. In fact, I'm pretty sure most brunch foods are meant for omnivores. Cafe Blossom was all vegan brunch foods and it was decent, pretty good even. I'm still convinced someone (maybe that someone should be me!) should open a vegan brunch spot. I had a chickpea crepe filled with mushrooms and caramelized onions (it had hummus on the top, too. New Yorkers must love their hummus!). My friend had a plate with tofu scramble, sweet potato hash browns, toast, and an apple chutney that was pretty good.
Here is where Cafe Blossom won me over though: they serve Lula's for dessert. They had three choices and I went with Brownie Batter and Butter Pecan. Again, amazing on all accounts. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to Lula's in the afternoon so I wanted to get my fix in when I could.
After brunch we took a scenic trip through the city to Ground Zero. It's something I had been meaning to do since it's such an important part of American history. And although I don't know anyone who was there that day, I don't know anyone it hasn't impacted in some way or another. The line was long and security was tight but we eventually made it through. The memorial was solemn and beautiful. It's hard to believe that two huge buildings were once standing there. What I found most amazing was the fact that from one end to another, the buildings really weren't that wide. They were just tall and lanky. Looking back, it's hard to understand what the architect was thinking but it was a different time then, different mind-set.
It was also interesting to see all of the other construction going on there at the same time. I found myself peeking through the fences and checking out the job site more than most people there were. But that's just the industry I'm in so of course I would be intrigued.
In typical New York fashion (or big city, for that matter) there were no public restrooms available. So we decided to stop in at
my new favorite place (after Lula's of course!) and grab a drink and relax. We found this on a whim while looking for somewhere to go to the bathroom and eat. The sign out front said "rooftop lounge" so I was sold immediately. It's not exactly on a rooftop, but they do have patios you can sit out and relax on. We stayed inside though, as the doors to the patio seemed to be locked.
The W Living Room is awesome. When I was there it was quiet (though apparently it turns into somewhat of a night club on Thursdays) and had comfy couches to lounge on while relaxing and taking in the view of the river and the World Trade Center. It was absolutely perfect. Except for the food. They didn't have many vegan options, the food they did have was wonderful, I'm sure but I was hungry and dinner was coming up so out came the Yelp! app.
Benares was another great pick. It's Indian food and I'd been having a craving for a while. I saw it had 4 stars and I was sold. I had an eggplant dish that was out of this world and it really hit the spot. After a drink, I suggested going over to Lula's before we headed home. On the way, I saw a wine store and popped in. I love that they don't have state controlled stores in New York, which means a wider selection at each store.
So after my final trip to Lula's, it was time to head home. I had a wonderful trip and was sad to go but I'm already planning my next trip and a hopeful stay at the W (if I find a good deal, holy moly those rooms are pricey!).
