Peacefood Cafe

Peacefood Cafe is a new-to-me vegan restaurant on the Upper West Side in New York. It's a nice walk from my neighborhood and last month my family and I ventured there for dinner.

We shared the Chickpea Fries with PC's signature dressing, crispy, savory and delicious.

I had the Other Caesar Salad with crisp romaine lettuce, tomatoes, smoked tempeh, red onions and crostini with a vegan caesar dressing. A truly amazing salad - the smoked tempeh has such a nice flavor when paired with the creamy dressing and fresh greens.

My dad had the Roasted Japanese Pumpkin Sandwich, mashed and seasoned with sea salt, ground black pepper and olive oil, topped with caramelized onions, ground walnuts, vegan goat cheese and seasonal greens. This sandwich was so complex and so flavorful.

And my cousin tried their Vegan Red Bean Chili with homemade Cornbread. Mmmm...cornbread.

This is their amazing case of vegan desserts. We were so full but took a few things home to try!

First, a Peanut Butter Cheesecake.

And Chocolate Ganache Cake. We also took home a slice of Lemon Vanilla Cake but it was eaten too quickly to be photographed!

Everything we tasted was extremely good. I went back a couple weeks later for a snack and had their delicious Vegan Potato Salad and a Mango Lassi...so nice on a summer afternoon!

Stogo

Stogo is an organic dairy-free ice cream shop in the East Village. And they offer some amazing vegan ice cream flavors like Pomegranate Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet Cupcake + Ginger Vanilla Bourbon. The really great thing about them is they have several different bases - Coconut Milk, Soy, Hemp and Sorbet.

On my last trip to New York, I tried their Blueberries + Cream with a coconut milk base. Absolutely delicious. And I cannot wait to go back in fall/winter for their seasonal Spiced Pumpkin Pie flavor!

World Vegan . World Peace: A Conscious Choice

A couple of weeks ago, I co-hosted an event called World Vegan . World Peace: A Conscious Choice. It was a conference all about spreading veganism. I thought I'd share some of the pictures.



There was a great turnout!

The food was all vegan, of course. Vegan Sushi, Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, Sweet & Spicy Soy Chicken, all kinds of salads, cookies, cupcakes and raw desserts galore. 

 One of the highlights of the evening was listening to Dick Gregory, a vegan comedian.

Here I'm with my mom and my youngest nephew, Isaac.

Standing next to me in this picture is Yvonne Smith, The Traveling Vegetarian. Such a great pleasure to meet her in person!

Ely's To Go in Summer

Last month, I spent two days with my parents at their vegan restaurant, Ely's To Go. Even if you can't make it to Boardman, Ohio, hopefully their dishes will inspire your recipes!

The first day they were serving a Fresh Corn Chowder with bread from the Bread Chef. This corn is fresh off the cob - I witnessed it myself!

One of their sides that day was a Summer Salad made up of peppers, green beans, cannellini beans, squash and bing cherries with a lemongrass vinaigrette.

And for dessert...or breakfast, Red Raspberry + Peach Muffins. This muffin is quite possible the best muffin I've ever tasted, vegan or otherwise. My dad is the mastermind behind all of the muffins, scones and cookies.

And to prove my mother never stops cooking, that evening at home, she made a Soy Chicken Salad with Bing Cherry vinaigrette, corn with green onions, sea salt and olive oil and fresh bread.

The following day, they served their Grilled Cheese with pear and arugula. Here they are fresh off the grill.

Even before I became vegan, I was never a big mayo fan. I don't know that I'd ever tried potato salad before a couple of years ago. With Vegenaise, I'm a huge fan of potato salad now. The version at Ely's is made with all different kinds of potatoes - white, yellow, sweet and purple.

The cookie that day was a Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut...yum.

And they were preparing the tempeh bacon for their BLTs.

The menu changes daily and everything is seasonal, fresh, local and organic whenever possible.

Vegan Treats

Vegan Treats, in my opinion, has the best vegan sweets around. They are the most like traditional non-vegan treats that I've ever come across. 

I was lucky enough to be driving through Bethlehem, PA last month and stopped in for a quick visit.

The first thing you see when you walk in the door is their enormous display case filled with amazing vegan cakes, pies and insanely delicious cinnamon rolls.

Seriously, this is any vegan's dream. Dozens of different cake/pie/cheesecake flavors...and I can have any of them?!?!?!?!?! This rarely happens.

In our excitement, we ordered a Cinnamon Roll...

Coconut Cake, Lemon Lime Cheesecake + 2 different Chocolate Cakes.

Everything was amazing, as expected. The presentation, the taste, the texture - everything is spot on. 

You can find Vegan Treats at many locations on the East Coast. These are the best desserts to eat with non-vegan friends because the 'oh my god this can't be vegan' reaction is universal.

Eataly

Eataly!!!! I've walked by so many times, but finally went in just last month. Their produce section rocks. Everything is fresh and the varieties are endless.

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms...and fiddlehead ferns and sea beans.

Fresh sundried tomatoes, peppers, all kinds of beans, tomatillos, leeks, broccoli...

Radishes, herbs, endive, frisee, baby romaine, red oak lettuce, cabbage...

Tomatoes of every color.

And...Le Verdure. There are all kinds of mini-restaurants within Eataly. One for pizza, one for pasta, etc, etc. This one is just for vegetables.

They have a great menu, but they also offer numerous specials everyday.

I was there twice and tried the special of the day each time. 

First, Roasted Corn Bruschetta with a corn puree, roasted corn fresh off the cob, black garlic (yum!) and chives on toasted bread. The kitchen is completely open so you can actually confirm with your chef that your dish is vegan and watch him/her prepare it. This dish was so incredible. My cousin and I went back a second time just for this!

Second, I had the Insalata Tricolore with fresh red cherries and balsamic vinaigrette. The cherries were so sweet and perfect when paired with the balsamic.

I love the concept - fresh ingredients, inventive food, open atmosphere. I highly recommend it.

Several of the photos above are courtesy of my lovely cousin, Laure.

Zen Palate

Zen Palate has several location in NYC and I've been a fan for many years. They recently opened a restaurant on 105th and Broadway and my family and I had dinner there a few weeks ago.

We shared the Sampler Platter, which says for two but was plenty for four of us. It consists of Autumn Rolls, Tri-Color Zen Maki, Moo Shu Rolls, Marinated Soy Pate and Sweet Yam Fries.

For our entrees, we each ordered something different to taste a bit of everything.

The South by Southeast features Bean and Soy Croquettes with a lemongrass sauce, Moo Shu Rolls and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Shredded Melody is filled with shredded soy protein, celery, zucchini and pine nuts in a garlic sauce.

The Shepherd Pie Croquettes are Potato Pies stuffed with soy protein, veggies and teriyaki sauce and perfectly browned, served with a salad and Basil Rolls. I love the concept of the croquette and you don't find many vegan versions.

The Sweet and Sour Sensation includes battered soy protein in a sweet and sour sauce, steamed broccoli and rice. This one is my favorite, anything with sweet and sour sauce works for me!

Zen Palate is great at providing vegan Asian comfort food. It's a great place to take non-vegans for lunch or dinner. Some of their desserts are not vegan, so make sure to verify!

'Snice

I recently visited 'Snice in the West Village for the first time last month. I was with my family so we got to try several dishes. Isn't that the best part about traveling with friends + family?!?!??

The Quinoa Salad is served with corn, black beans, tomatoes & corn tortilla strips with an avocado dressing. A really refreshing salad, and I love that it has something crunchy.

The Thai Wrap comes with green onions, cucumbers, carrots, edamame & roasted peanuts with a carrot ginger dressing.

The Triple Decker Tofu Club Sandwich is filled with lettuce, tomato, red onion, veggie bacon bits and tofu cheese. I thought the bacon bits were a bit strange at first, but it does give a nice crunchy texture. It would also be great with slices of vegan bacon - this is the kind I use at home.

And finally, the Vegan Panini with smoked tofu, basil pesto & sun-dried tomatoes.

'Snice is great for a quick breakfast or lunch and they have a great location. They are vegetarian, so make sure you let them know if you're vegan. 

And they're next door to Organic Avenue if you're craving a Ginger Lemonade, like I was!

Veggie Fest Chicago

This weekend is the Veggie Fest in Chicago, well Naperville to be exact. I spent the afternoon there today and wanted to share a few pictures. If you're in the area tomorrow, Soul Vegetarian's Mac and Cheese is worth the visit!

There are all kinds of vendors, not just local to Chicago. Food is plentiful - appetizers, snacks, entrees, desserts, smoothies, juices, and on and on...

Vegan apparel, vitamins, supplements, baby food, magazines, speakers on all topics vegetarian, live music + a kid's tent.

I started with Vegetable Kebobs, Mac + Cheese and ended with fresh coconut water. Unfortunately, I only have a picture of the coconut. I spent most of the time walking around to the various tents and vendors, even while eating. You can see my previous post on Soul Vegetarian here.

The event is free and so much to see, do, hear and of course EAT!