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…
July 17, 2015
Another jam-packed day ahead of me and needing the boost, I had the tart from Louisville’s Flora Vegan Treats for breakfast. Clearly by observing Exhibit A below you can see it was light and crisply satisfying–like you want these kinds of tarts to be. The filling was blackberry, the ideal partner for the lemon zested Read more…
May 31, 2015
…when I didn’t know how to cook, I’d find Long Island’s vegan options much more appetizing. But, once in awhile, “90’s vegan” serves as a nostalgic reminder of my history. Take The Witches Brew in West Hempstead… Last time I was there, I looked like above. Baby fat. Straightedge. Snapcase t-shirt. Read more…
April 6, 2015
SOMA StrEat Food Park sets up next to the I-80, South of Market. Thanks to the rain (and the holiday?) we enjoyed this space with minimal crowding. The apple of my eye? Hella Vegan Eats, “festive” all-vegan cuisine. I had to get the bizarre Birthday Burger, a dense beet-based patty on a confetti sprinkled pancake Read more…
February 2, 2015
New York City has its own all-vegan creperie now, Little Choc Apothecary. The bustling, pretty little shop is a welcome addition to NYC’s all-vegan community–which is a bit lacking. So welcome, Little Choc! She had the sweet and I had the savory. Here they are–real crepes! These are the real Read more…
January 17, 2015
Who would have ever thought that White Castle, purveyor of sacks of itty bitty beef sliders, would offer its customers a Veggie Slider, an old school veggie burger from Dr. Praeger, king of the visible veggies veggie burger? Now, I have never really loved a Dr. Praeger’s patty, but I appreciated its Read more…
December 16, 2014
Sometimes you leave your neighborhood and do things in “The City.” Other times you drive in, illegally park next to the things you want to do quickly, without hullabaloo, and get the heck outta Dodge. That is how I feel about Manhattan these days. You know when 14th street opens Read more…