April 11, 2017
Today I was in Africa and all I got was this crummy picture. I was basking in the warm, arid breeze of Casablanca. Well, its airport’s tarmac when I realized what my day of travel had done. You wait on this line, sit in this seat, wait on this other Read more…
April 2, 2017
The Refuge in Melville recently created an all-vegan menu… so that I can be fully satisfied. Well, not really me but, let’s say, more people in general. Such exciting twists are born of the changing tides in the food world. Plant-based is being embraced is a huge way… and beyond salad or Read more…
March 13, 2017
Beautiful snow striations. Winter’s last word. Dumpling peaks. Blackstrap yolk. Who dun it? M.O.B.‘s California burger in Brooklyn. Carrot poker chips.
December 27, 2016
Vburger vs. Go Zen Vburger is an all-vegan vegan fast food eatery near Union Square in Manhattan. It shares space with the Hummus & Pita Co., a non-vegan franchise with several locations in New York City. Based on how many trademarks are on their website, I am going to presume Vburger an Read more…
October 3, 2016
Fogwood & Fig vs. No. 7 Veggie It’s not surprising that Diane Bezanski has a background in photography. If the images of her veggie burgers, under the name Fogwood & Fig, were all I had, they might still win a few battles. It is true that you eat with your eyes Read more…
September 24, 2016
Tofu is only going to be as good as you make it. It’s ready to suck in flavor and build its texture–but that takes you. After creating a powerful marinade and letting these Lincoln logs bathe in it all day, I build texture, roasting each side 25-ish minutes. Good tofu is worth Read more…
September 12, 2016
Here we are. The long overdue conclusion of my first New York City Vegan Victuals Burger Battle! After 16 burgers, a champion has emerged. And it’s Brooklyn’s Toad Style! With a commitment to housemade excellence, Toad Style sets a high standard for all those who hope to create a top-notch vegan burger. Read more…
July 4, 2016
Porno for pyros Pink, white & teal, close enough Fountainhead Marshmallow meringue parfaits Independent lunch–Field Roast burger, potato salad, corn on the cob Black-eyed Susan up, with ladybug superfly friend A Big Galoot snuck in to cool off. So handsome. Lilies are up. Tomatoes dropping already. Frank knows I’m heading Read more…
June 25, 2016
Match #4 of the V.V. Burger Showdown Semi-Finals: Brooklyn Born. Toad Style vs. Cafe Ghia We are nearing the end. With a new summer brings another new burger battle. There is no rest for the vegan eats these days. But before a new beginning, an end. Each burger in this battle has made Read more…
June 12, 2016
These are a few of my favorite things: Mango & sweet sticky rice (from Thaism, my work Thai spot) Lunch after errands at Bareburger, because… Brooklyn date at M.O.B. because traffic was so bad to drive anywhere else! I got their delicious seitan meatball hero with pesto and a ton Read more…
May 24, 2016
Match #3 of the V.V. Burger Showdown Semi-Finals: Class Warfare. Toad Style vs. Candle Cafe In this third semifinal battle of burger supremacy we witness the clash of New York City’s dichotomous nature. The upper crusty Upper East Side faces Bedford-Stuyvesant, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a mythic claim on class division. But alas, Read more…
May 14, 2016
Match #2 of the V.V. Burger Showdown Semi-Finals: A Fall From Grace. By Chloe vs. Chickpea & Olive Ok, I’m back in the burger battle again! We’re at the 2nd of the Semi-Finals of the V.V. New York City Burger Showdown! I know I said this before… But it’s been awhile: what’s great about this Read more…
May 1, 2016
You know a place like Doomies. They’ve got “down-home,” gluttonous eats, the kind you mostly swore off as a vegan. Their space is a bit dank and sticky, which is part of the overall dining experience. I ordered the Vegan Big Mac off the “secret menu.” Because, you kind of Read more…
March 9, 2016
The ocean next door. Without Pickle Shack, M.O.B. will have to do. Ground’s jewels. Complete protein. Roasted vegetable aftermath art. Happy cupcakes. Manmade on majesty. “Even if you’re on the right track…”
January 10, 2016
I am starting a month of salads! So most of my week’s groceries were from the produce section. In order to hold my interest while sustaining my nutritional needs, I was going to do a lot of mixing and matching. You know what they say about variety… So here are my Read more…
December 30, 2015
Match #1 of the V.V. Burger Showdown Semi-Finals: I Must Break You(r Brand Marketing). Pickle Shack vs. Bareburger We are now in the Semi-Finals of the V.V. New York City Burger Showdown! Sixteen burgers in, I have tasted some amazing burgers. But with new burger options already in waiting for another match-up, this field is ever-evolving. Read more…
December 17, 2015
Match #8 of the V.V. Burger Showdown: The Battle of Charmed Timing. Cafe Ghia vs. Cinnamon Snail Gentrification surrounding the L-train stops has been happening for decades. 20 years ago, as a straggly teenager who frequented the original Domesy’s Warehouse on Kent, I walked through Williamsburg’s then shady streets to pay for my Read more…
November 27, 2015
Toast & Co. is a bustling breakfast spot right off Huntington Village’s main drag, New York Avenue. Once you visit, it is easy to see why it brings in such crowds. It’s got that old fashioned diner ambiance, great service, and… a separate vegan menu that is spectacular on its Read more…
November 14, 2015
Match #7 of the V.V. Burger Showdown: The Battle of (vegan) Growing Pains. Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop vs. Bareburger Along with the large scale collective growth in vegan food products and eateries, omni embrace of “vegan” is also evolving in its own way. Vegan pantry staples are showing up in traditional supermarkets and Read more…
October 14, 2015
Match #6 of the V.V. Burger Showdown: The Upper East Side’s Battle of 16-14. Candle Cafe vs. V-Note 16-14 refers to the prices of these fancy pants vegan burgers. After the “draw” of the last showdown, I needed some housemade high quality offerings. After all, paying $16 for a vegan burger includes the tacit promise Read more…
September 6, 2015
Match #4 of the V.V. Burger Showdown brings us to Smorgasburg, Brooklyn’s food flea market: Chickpea & Olive vs. NÜBurger Since 2008, Smorgasburg has allowed a slew of new and exciting food vendors to make a name for themselves. And several are either all-vegan or offer vegan options, including Chickpea & Olive and NÜBurger, the competitors in Read more…
August 22, 2015
On the way to Alaska, finally! We spent most of the day traveling. Here are some of the pictures I took from the air… because there was no food around. Constellations on land. The land is organized in neat patchwork, dotted with the clouds shadows. I was excited to catch Read more…
August 19, 2015
Hitting the corners of the V.V. Burger Showdown brackets, it’s time for Match #3: M.O.B. vs. Pickle Shack This is going to be a doozy. I have loved the M.O.B. and Pickle Shack veggie burgers separately–but for some of the same reasons. Restoring my lost hope and representing a turn in veggie burger Read more…
August 11, 2015
The Burger Showdown continues with the first Brooklyn showdown: Toad Style vs. Champs Family Diner Just when my burger brackets were set, along comes Toad Style‘s all-vegan menu, batting its housemade cheese and sage butter and lime aioli. Those kinds of words indicate an eatery who not only make but love food. Throw Read more…
July 30, 2015
Ok, so I hadn’t realized I reported on so many of NYC’s veggie burgers until I counted them on my blog: 40 burgers! But times have changed since 2010 when I set out on a mission to find the best one (reporting briefly on 36 of them), then vaguely declared as Read more…
July 22, 2015
Not too far from the New York-Pennsylvania border is a small vacation town of Hawley, on the Lackawaxen River and close to better-known Delaware river. Though this is a summer haven for campers and other nature enthusiasts (and hunters), a friend of mine had year-round residence here as a growing gal as Read more…