The Other Peacefood Cafe

I find myself in Manhattan much these days. But every once and awhile I’ll run my errands across the river and I’ll remember that it still has a lot of unspoiled delights, despite widespread gentrification and irritating midwesterners mulling about in ridiculous eyewear. Like Peacefood Cafe.  Peacefood made a name for itself as an all-vean Upper West Side’s high-end casual cafe and now there’s one by Union Square.  We split a mini-Jenga of Chickpea fries–fried yet delicate and clean… creaminess inside a crisp coat and a dose of Indian seasoning. Since I had killed some time in Whole Foods eating a chocolate chip scone while roaming the aisles and reading product ingredients like story blurbs, I couldn’t eat many.

The Fried Seitan Medallion panini is my Peacefood favorite. Reading the rest of the menu is kind of a futile act.  Fried seitan, cashew cheese, green pesto, arugula and tomato on warm house-made focaccia? Come on. Top that. 

You only really need one half of this sandwich. It’s pretty heavy. Then you get to eat the rest at a later time, when the toasted bread loses its texture and each bite melds all the fantastic layers together intimately.

Plus you have to leave room for dessert. It was hard to decide on a sweet treat in the end. Their bakery case is loaded.  In the end, I chose a tremendous piece of tiramisu.

It’s nice to have Peacefood more downtown. Union Square’s vegan offerings are now a bit more enticing.