Lunch: It’s What’s For Dinner {Dunch Report}

It’s too hot for 3 meals a day. Here are my recent dunch highlights.

Urban Rustic makes a mean Club Sandwich, the all-vegan Unclub. I’ve gone on about it before, yes. [Tofurky, Vegenaise, Dijon mustard, strips of tempeh bacon, local tomatoes and sprouts in between three slices of soft, toasted spelt bread.] Nothing fancy, I know, but great taste and texture from a unique and value-driven eatery/general store– a bit slim on the vegan options but stocked with quality food goods like pickled asparagus! And, being a sucker for a glass bottle of old-fashioned cola, in this case Boylan, I rounded out the kick of the Dijon and the smoky Tofurky with some sweet, sweet cane cola.

Slice is one of my favorite place to chow down on vegan pizza… and catch up with my gluten-allergic pal, Maximilian. We’ve hit the Upper East Side’s location several times, sharing in the joy of being able to eat real and delicious pizza. With Slice’s newer location in the West Village, it is a huge relief not to have to travel on the dreaded 4/5/6 to enjoy their good stuff. Slice is where I first tried Daiya. Sooo, why not get tattooed, however temporarily, to show my support for their take on the perfect food?

The Juice Press in the East Village offers grab n’ go sandwiches (in compostable packaging) in their tiny storefront. Juice Press: home of the $10.00 smoothie (“the succulent flesh and refreshing water from a young, whole coconut, mana blue green algae, vanilla, raw cacao, mineral rich sea salt, agave nectar, vanilla stevia and ultra filtered ice”), the $10.00 packaged “tuna” sandwich (or the $10.00 ground, soaked nut and chick pea, cucumber, tomato, onion, nori and “mustard” on sprouted bread) and… the kind of awkward, less-than-attentive service. I am not a needy patron, but the fact that employees coveted all of the small shop’s seating and that I was barely acknowledged upon entering makes this a sore $10.00 wasted on what I likely have already in my pantry. I scarfed down the sandwich and got my fresh-pressed juice a few doors down at the Juicy Lucy stand.

There is something about summer and Mexican food, as my previous posts highlight. So let me eat more! The Greek and I hit Greenpoint’s Papacitos after much deliberation, feasting on their west coast-style street grub. I had the vegan quesadilla, Daiya cheddar packed with seitan, folded in a satisfyingly greasy tortilla and topped with additional yummies like tofu sour cream. After, in accordance to summer and the Greek restaurant tradition of watermelon post-meal, we scored a perfect wedge of the pink stuff, my favorite: watermelon, to split over complaints about about the heat. Waaah.