Cat & The Cream

This summer when I was in London, I stopped by a Whole Foods to check out the local vegan options. 

I found some great things, but my favorite was a Cat & the Cream cupcake. 

I chose the Chocolate Mint + Raspberry - chocolate sponge cake with dark chocolate and fresh mint ganache topped with pink raspberry icing. 

A superb afternoon snack.

Banksy

For the past few weeks, Banksy has been in New York. If you're not familiar, he's a graffiti artist who is quite thought provoking. Supposedly, no one knows who he is, but his work is identifiable. 

He has two works that at least hint that he is against factory farming. No idea whether or not he's vegetarian or vegan.

The first is Sirens of the Lambs - adorable stuffed animals being taken to their death. It's really powerful to see in person.

IMG 7866 from sarah-mai miller on Vimeo.

The second is a sculpture of Ronald McDonald with a live person polishing his shoe outside of random McDonald's around the city. 

I love seeing new works of art appear around the city. It's so much fun finding them!

The Butcher's Daughter

The Butcher's Daughter is an awesome eatery in Nolita. It is completely vegetarian and dairy free. It's also a juice bar, and everything I've tasted has been delightful. 

They do serve eggs, so if you're vegan, make sure to let them know. 

The Ploughman's Lunch is an assortment of cashew cheeses, pâté and veggie sausage, served with bread and fresh cucumbers. 

The BLT is made with heirloom tomatoes, adzuki bacon, bibb lettuce and basil mayo (with a side of watermelon cubes - how cute is that?). 

The Merguez Sandwich is filled with spicy veggie sausage, fig mostrada, seasoned vegan mayo and greens. This one is my favorite. It's spicy and sweet and really filling. 

Pommes Frites

I have a deep love for french fries. The potato will always be my favorite vegetable, and frying it obviously just makes it that much better.

A few years ago, Heath and I walked by a little french fry shop on 2nd Avenue with a line out the door. It was bad timing since we had just eaten, but I always remembered it, hoping to return hungry. 

And a few weeks ago, we just happened to walk by when I was in desperate need of a snack. (It took several years to return because we moved away for about four years - 2 years in Omaha and 2 in Chicago).

Pommes Frites offers Belgian fries with all kinds of toppings.

They have a variety of ketchups and mustards, along with barbecue, sweet chili, and peanut satay. I opted for the latter. 

Very good, but quite rich, I think next time I'll go for the barbecue or sweet chili.

Regardless, the fries themselves are quite awesome.

Vegan Sweet Tooth

Last weekend I was in Ohio to celebrate my youngest nephew's birthday. We ordered cupcakes from Vegan Sweet Tooth in Cleveland for the party.

S'mores cupcakes

Chocolate Salty Caramel cupcakes

Caramel Apple cupcakes - these are the only cupcakes I tried, and they were seriously good. (It took all of my willpower to not partake in all three flavors).

I did, however, partake in their Pumpkin Cheesecake bars and their buckeyes. Both were delicious. If you're unfamiliar with buckeyes, they're little chocolate covered peanut butter gems. They're kind of a big deal in Ohio.

Daiya Grilled Cheese

I had an amazing vegan grilled cheese today. Daiya Swiss slices, heirloom tomatoes, pear and arugula on freshly baked bread. 

I wasn't 100% sold on the Daiya slices, but they were perfect when paired with the flavor of the tomato and arugula and texture of the pear. 

You can find similar grilled cheeses on Mondays at ely's to go, my parents' vegan restaurant in Boardman, Ohio.  

Alchemy Creamery . Take II

I've posted before about Alchemy Creamery before...

But Pumpkin Spice + Apple Cinnamon warranted another post. I've been waiting for vegan apple cinnamon ice cream for some time now. Growing up, the Johnny Appleseed Festival in my hometown had the best apple ice cream. So every fall, I have a craving for it. Paired with Pumpkin ice cream, it's really lovely.

Asia Dog

Asia Dog is only a few blocks from my office, so it's one of my go to lunch spots. (They can make most of their hot dog offerings vegan). They have some really inventive flavor combinations in their toppings...Kimchi and seaweed flakes, Japanese curry and kimchi apples, and Mango relish with cucumber, red onion, cilantro and crushed peanuts.

I guess I'm a traditionalist because my favorite is The Mash Up - sweet and spicy ketchup, jalapeno mustard and crushed potato chips. Or it could be my love of all things crunchy.

They also have locations at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn and South Street Seaport.