Br♥♥klyn Vegetarian, Part 2: Prospect Heights/Prospect Lefferts Garden

On a blustery December morning, the first of its kind, 3 intrepid souls wandered into the depths of Brooklyn by hoof for Part 2 of a thorough borough scour of veggie delights. Congregating at the gorgeous Brooklyn museum of Art, we headed down Washington avenue to Natural Blend, a Ital hotspot renowed for its cheap veggie patties. The selection and friendly service was a perfect start: hot entrees, vegan ice cream, fresh juice and vegan baked goods… all at rockbottom prices.

Needing some hearty grub to absorb some of the rampant caffeine flowing through my jittery digits, I opted for their curry “chicken” and steamed vegetables on a plentiful bed of quinoa. The curry was particularly delicious, far better than other Jamaican curries I’ve tried. Tall Guy opted for the sweet citrus ribs and two spelt dumplings, a kind of fried dough perfect for sopping up the flavorful sauce (not pictured) while CandyPenny tried one of their famous veggie patties.

There were so many baked goods to try! So we ordered a variety: sweet coconut bread, pumpkin bread, carrot cake bread, a massive chocolate chip cookie and a slice of sweet potato pudding cake. The stand-outs were the sweet breads, moist and spiced. The coconut bread was a tropical delight infused with candied cherries and the delicate pumpkin bread super-moist with pumpkin and topped with pumpkin seeds. Mmmm.

Natural Blend had some great looking bread baked into the shape of a large alligator, which apparently is a hit at holiday dinner parties.

Much to our disappointment, our next stop, Scoops, was closed when we arrived. I have had this place on radar for quite some time and will have to return soon, if only to take another picture of their awesome store sign. Scoops is another Ital/Caribbean spot with hot veg food, natural products and vegan ice cream. 

Being just a short walk away, we strayed from Caribbean cuisine to check out Zen Vegetarian House‘s strict veg menu. Think of a Chinese take-out place… the wonton soup, the General Tso’s chicken… the random inclusion of Western French fries and drumsticks. Now picture everything being strictly vegetarian and you realize how overwhelming selecting a dish would be! Add lengthy section of fresh squeezed juices, soy ice cream desserts, $6.00 lunch specials and hearty “tuna”, “beef”, “chicken” and “turkey” sandwich and you scratched the surface of their menu.

We opted for the scallion pancakes, vegetable roast duck, made of pressed layers of tofu, and the banana chicken rolls for experimentation. Hot & sour and wonton soups were also a must, as were a couple of juice concoctions. Though it’s a bit hard to justify all this disposable plastic stuff, the food satisfied that greasy urge for salty yumminess.

This is the pressed bean curd sheets, a.k.a. the vegetable roast duck. It certainly needed a dip of something, but not the Heinz ketchup and soy sauce it was served with.

The scallion pancake not so much pancake-y as it was a kind of fried thin bread. The banana chicken rolls came out later and we had forgotten what the heck they were. Feeling already stuffed, I could barely look at them, unfortunately. But they were deep fried banana and faux chicken encased in some kind of skin. Tall Guy took them home and properly buried them in his belly, no doubt.

The wonton soup was fantastic! I should have ordered the quart size. The broth was tasty and the wontons filled with a salty pink soy protein that brought me back to my omnivore days / working the counter at a Chinese take-out place, my first job. I would walk the length of Flatbush avenue again for a bite of these wontons. Well done!

The borough scour is not even close to its end. Though our next excursion will be uptown to Harlem, to sample some more Caribbean veg flavor. Till next time…