November 14, 2020
It was a gorgeous day to spend island hopping in New York City! First, Ellis Island… My trip to the island would allow me to cross something off my NYC Bucket List–a trip to the oldย Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. In operation between 1902 and 1951 when it treated 1.2 million Read more…
November 10, 2020
I’ve been blogging about Matthew Kenney restaurants for 12 years. A testament to the quality of his eatery’s food and the ever-growing popularity of vegan food, he now has more than 40 restaurants in 8 countries. My next report is on his newest NYC-based eatery, Sestina Pasta Bar. This is Read more…
๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ช๐ท ๐๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐ป๐ธ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ผ, ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ช๐ท Welcome to my series that highlights the very best vegan foods in New York City’s boroughs. While vegan options are popping up all over, this series focuses on the non-dairy cream of the crop, options that raise the bar for vegan food and Read more…
November 7, 2020
As an educator, I found the election of Donald Trump appalling; he is the antithesis of the values I have devoted my professional life to, the antithesis of the values I hold dear in my personal life. He flaunts proudly the absolute worst of the absolute worst of human traits. Read more…
October 28, 2020
For a limited time, Spot Dessert Bar was serving a pretty gorgeous instagramable dessert. Though this may describe many of the exclusive Asian-fused treats they serve on St. Marks Place in the East Village, their Coconut Spookybread was particularly striking: bright white, bright purple and deep black… colors of Halloween. Read more…
October 8, 2020
It was so nice out when I left work that I headed to Prospect Park… to eat vegan food under a tree. It’s been so hectic lately, so it was nice to whisk myself away and smother myself with treats. Maybe I’ll do this every Thursday? First, my favorite Thai Read more…
August 9, 2020
Roosevelt Island (Manhattan) Formally Blackwell’s Island, nicknamed Welfare Island, was the historic home for New York City Lunatic Asylum–whose deplorable conditions would prompt the construction of massive asylums in the farm lands of Long Island, one of which I am visiting today! But from afar on a boat you can Read more…
August 8, 2020
With its service recently reinstated, I booked a ferry reservation some weeks back hoping to explore Governors Island‘s historical district with ease on my bike. So across the Buttermilk Channel I go, excited to conquer its 172 acres. In it: abandoned buildings (though the best are off limits), a couple Read more…
June 30, 2020
Parts of an old New York City sky scraper are sitting in a field in Holliday Park in Indianapolis. Seems a random enough allure. So I stopped by to see the pained expressions of the men who use to hold up the St. Paul Building in Manhattan, demolished in 1958. Read more…
June 16, 2020
Since the NYC Ferry landing is along my daily walk, I always get the idea of hopping on. So on this gorgeous day I followed through! Taking the ferry all the way up to the Bronx… seeing views of all five of New York City’s boroughs. Take a look at Read more…
March 14, 2020
With this year’s Pi ฯ Day not falling on a school day, this middle school math teacher was not motivated to make a pie, my least favorite sweet treat to eat. It also took an alarm and early morning door bust to manage to grab one of the last things Read more…
March 7, 2020
I am one visit away from the Union Square Greenmarket being one of my official Favorite Things. It’s like a living gallery with tactile and tasty displays… plus real-life, non-pretentious folk from mostly upper New York… They’re not playing some role. They’re farmers and makers, by merit and not by Read more…
What a time it is for vegan food when October is a quick-service counter spot! I saw their Gnocchi & Smashed tomato dish on Instagram and had been dreaming of it since. With a cause to take the trip into Manhattan, I knew I’d need to make October in Little Read more…
After a long cold afternoon of running errands in Manhattan, I was excited to reward my productivity with a unique traditional Chinese dessert, Bing Fen. A testament to the authenticity of Jell & Chill in the East Village, my order at the counter included an informative lesson on the treat, Read more…
February 8, 2020
With new vegan eats at the chain Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, I had to get myself there a.s.a.p. You see, they make these Instagramable “CakeShakes,” decadent shake concoctions topped with big slices of cake … and after repeated requests, they made a vegan version! And with a few Read more…
January 28, 2020
A day of teacher professional development is like a little vacation. You get to sleep later, it usually takes place in some part of New York City you’re not often in, and… jeans/sneakers. Downtown Manhattan is one of my favorite hoods to be in for PD. For the views, I Read more…
January 15, 2020
Even though I am vegan I have long followed mainstream foodie media sources as I understood what they seemed to not: vegan food is not weird, that everybody on the entire Earth eats vegan food on a daily basis, and its time in the spotlight was a-coming. How could it Read more…
January 9, 2020
It is here! The end of my Vegan Fried Chicken Battle! Having started this showdown in June of 2019, I am so pleased to have finally arrived at this final battle with the true best of the bests facing off. From the start, these two contenders have been consistently impressive. Read more…
December 23, 2019
With my friend in town from Los Angeles, I forced her to go see the Rockefeller Center tree with me. Because it has been many years since I have seen the tree! And Christmas time in New York City, like many have stated, is a magical time. I buy into Read more…
December 10, 2019
Here it is! The battle that decides which tofu-based vegan fried chicken would move into the Finals. The Finals!! I’ve said a lot about both Superiority Burger and Chickpea & Olive in previous posts, so I’m going to jump right in and let them go at it. Superiority Burger, East Read more…
December 1, 2019
I’m happy to see vegan options far and wide, especially when they are made from scratch with loving care in small batches. Sugar Hill Creamery is a family-owned ice cream shop whose unique flavors are a breath of fresh air. I got a scoop of the Gone Till November, inspired Read more…
November 29, 2019
I scoured Manhattan for this second report of Angels in the five boroughs. Starting all the way at the bottom and ending all the way at the top. The result a huge selection of big city angels, inside and out, funerary and not, in several mediums. Starting here at the Read more…
November 27, 2019
With this Battle 8, the semi-finals are officially set! Are you as excited as I am? I feel really great about the state of these brackets, but I don’t look forward having to ultimately eliminate 3 of the 4 semi-finalist fried chicken sandwiches. But let me slow my roll. Battle Read more…
November 18, 2019
My vegan fried chicken battle is raging on in the East Village! This battle determines who would be up against tofu masters Chickpea & Olive… and I like the direction of the semi-finals thus far. Perhaps the championship round will be a seitan vs. tofu battle! ….But I am getting Read more…
November 17, 2019
With my fried chicken battle in mind, I chose an opportunistic visit to Honeybee’s, now in the space once occupied by Cienfuegos above Mother of Pearl. Honeybee’s, a bourbon and rye bar slash barbecue, is one of Ravi DaRossi’s empire of all-vegan eateries, as are the other two listed above. Read more…
November 3, 2019
Moving swiftly towards a vegan fried chicken crown, I give you Battle 6! The formidable Chickpea and Olive faces off versus new jack Petisco Vegano, a new lower east side all-vegan spot who, like Honeybee’s, were placed in Round 2 without a previous win, yes (like Hartbreakers), but also without Read more…
