New York: Fuck Yeah

I've been thinking about this for a while... why is everything better in NY?

People ask me why I love NY so much, and I usually respond, "the subway," but that can't be it. I mean, MegFOODBlog, right? And yes, the food is bountiful, noteworthy, and mood-specific. Massive. The thing is, though I think my heart is in the subway, the food is where my soul is, because in NY, you can get a meal to suit every occasion, every event, every mood. It's a little bit like - what do they call that? Pathetic Fallacy or something? That literary device where nature mimics human emotion. Yes, the food in NY does that.

If you're feeling contemplative, then you have to go to Teany. Teany is Moby's vegan tea house and restaurant in the East Village. It's a great place to get a healthy snack, drink a pot of tea either to relax or to get totally amped up, and just be left alone and ogle tattoos. It's intimate, but you don't need to feel like socializing there. So, life's got you a little down? Head to Teany and have a pot of jasmine tea and the amazing artichoke heart beet salad (add goat cheese)! You'll see, it's enlightening! The vegan creamy herb dressing is best!


If you're feeling social, on the other hand, then Moutarde in Park Slope in Brooklyn is where it's at. Equally intimate, this one somehow breeds conversation and interaction. Start with a bottle of red to accompany the crudites and mustard first course. Then, while you have the option of a meat or even veggie risotto entree, I recommending selecting from the sides menu, where you can maximize your flavor opportunities and encourage lots of cross-plate-tasting! It's the epitome of intimate socializing. I had the caramelized endive (oh my), the julienned veggies with roasted potato mash, the carrot/butternut squash puree, and then the most amazing shitake and asparagus risotto I'd ever had. I know it's just mushrooms and asparagus, but there was magic in there (and it wasn't chicken stock. I asked. For real!) If you're on the fence about something, then you're going to need a lot of room to make choices and not feel punished for those choices. The Farm on Adderly in Ditmas Park in Brooklyn will afford you that kind of freedom. Between three, we had 8 dishes, a bottle of wine, various other wines, a coffee course, one heck of a ton of leftovers, and not much of a dent in the pocketbook. The best part, though, was not only that we could bring home the remnants of our exploratory journey, but we could bring them home in compostable sugarcane containers! And if we didn't have ready access to a compost bin, then the Farm on Adderly would graciously take them back and compost them for us!

So what to eat is: the best fries in NY (voted!) with a curry mayo; fried artichoke hearts with house made sundrieds on a walnut puree; grilled asparagus with a poached egg on a spicy mustard sauce; chilled cream of summer pea soup with truffle oil; fried foccacia; baby butter lettuce with fried onions, peas, lemon thyme, and a housemade buttermilk dressing; finally, a pea fettuccine.

But say it's not a day of choices; you aren't looking to think or contemplate; you just want good. Take the train down to Tribeca and stop by Il Mattone. This place is perfect for subsisting. Tribeca is full of energy and posh, but you needn't exert yourself. This little corner bistro allows you to just be. To do so you need three things: a glass of zin, the butter-parmesan-champagne-vinaigrette artichoke hearts, and the couscous salad with grilled veggies--a little warm, a little charred, and very balsamicy. Whoa!

For those occasions where you are embracing life--just digging in and taking hold of it--you need to make your way to Chelsea and dine at the Cook Shop. The food here is phenomenal and abundant, so you don't need to ponder what looks best or what you're in the mood for. And if you ask for a glass of wine, they automatically bring you four glasses, four bottles, and start pouring. I heart impromtu wine tastings!!

The Cook Shop is great for moments when you're in it because they match odd ingredients in ways that shout, "fuck yeah!" So just pick a few dishes and go for it! I recommend the ginger vodka lemonade to accompany the bread and horseradish-creme fraishe spread course, then the purslane (a citrusy green), blueberry, and toasted hazelnut salad, the corn and purple Asian basil soup, the fried hominy grits (the size of nickels!), the morel mushroom ravioli in a pea sauce, oh and while you're at it, you may as well enjoy every dessert on the menu. No need to exert brain power choosing; just go for it! This is life, and life is beautiful!

But say it's a dark day; not depressed, just low lit. You're feeling earthy, romantic perhaps, or maybe just European. Then head underground to Pipa in the Gramercy neighborhood, have some sangria or some Chilean malbec, enjoy the music of the Latino underworld, and experience tapas. Wine infused mushrooms, spicy and covered with herbs; grilled asparagus in an avocado sauce; spicy sauteed spinach; and a flatbread pizza with corn, veggies, and bean puree. Dessert was good too, but mostly this place was good for the dark and steamy ____________ (fill-in-the-blank). (wink)

Got a good night's sleep? Went for a run or to the gym first thing? You need to rebuild your protein supply! Dizzys in Brooklyn will get you the best breaky for any given Sunday. You should probably find someone to split two meals with you, because you'll want the benefit of both the eggs Florentine and the power breakfast with yogurt, granola, and fruit. And then there are the complimentary muffins and scones to round out any meal.

And I would be remiss, of course, if I didn't talk about NY celebrations. These can be had in many ways, but for the kind where you have good news to share, and you want the entire city to know, then you head yourself to Rockefeller Center and you sit amongst the masses. You may even run into Elmo. Order yourself a good red zin and a cheese plate, and you'll find that your good spirits will be well served!

I could go on. Seriously.... I could. But should I?

Nah. I'll save the rest for the next blog: New York: They're Not Fucking Around!

vegan supper club: inaugural dinner

Vegan Supper Club began many moons ago when the cows were crying and the lambs were screaming and we were hungry. Something like that. Well, rather, the real story is that vegan cupcake friends wanted like minded individuals to dine with them, but also to do some of the cooking so they didn't have so much work to do. I think that's how it went. You'll have to ask them.

So the theme was "fall" and the hosts were serving butternut squash ravioli. I of course chimed in with "BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!" and the others claimed soup and salad. Being the vegan cupcake friends, the hosts also provided dessert.

The first course came with spicy pumpkin peanut soup cooked by some friends (who also have a blog!!!). It was delicious!!!!!! The soup was not thick like you might think, but rather a nice, light, pumpkiny, peanuty, spicy, delicious soupy treat. They call it Thai; I called it Yum.

It was paired with host's famous bread:


Breadmaking seems so "old world." But it's so worth it; this ain't no Wonder bread. (I mean that in the best possible way!). (My brother also makes his own bread and pizza crust too.)

Next course was this amazing fall salad. It included greens, of course, but also apples, figs, candied walnuts, pepitas, radishes or turnips or something little and white (from their garden!) and I don't even know what else. Each bite revealed some new secret, rendering this salad something from the category 'delicious'; it's not hard to find a 'fall greens' salad, especially when it's fall. But this one was unusually delightful.

And then came the most fantastic raviolis you've ever experienced: they were not too soft and not too rubbery, but rather the perfect noodle consistency. I'm fairly well-versed at ravioli-making in particular and noodle-making in general, but these raviolis were so well crafted that I contemplated selling them. I mean, we're only blocks from the Hill!!


But here's the thing: the topping. You can't put a cream sauce on a vegan ravioli, and a red sauce will mask the delicious squashiness... so what's a girl to do?

It wasn't so so long ago that I tried my own hand at butternut squash raviolis. They were not for a vegan crowd, however, so when the recipe called for a "brown butter glaze, I delivered (actually, it was the butter crowd of my parents and co. so it was perfect). But the raviolis, as delicious and successful as I could have hoped, in the end, tasted like butter to me.














Vegan Supperclub Friends' raviolis, being vegan, were not coated in a thick butter sauce. On the contrary, they were topped only with a small dollop of caramelized onions. Wha? Who'd a thought? It was perfection. The sweetness and creaminess and tanginess of a caramelized onion complemented the sweet-yet-savory squash-filled little pasta pockets. I still dig the idea of a sage-brown-butter glaze, mostly on account of the sage, and the word glaze, which sounds so delicate, but next time maybe I'll try it with more sage, some Earth Balance, and a little caramelized onion action.

Anyway, I digress. this entree was accompanied by my first attempt at BS and the meal was completed with S'mores Vegan Cupcakes. I'm telling you this today, because VSC2 is forthcoming!!! Yum! Indian Delight!!!!