NYC, Days Two and Three

Tuesday started off snowy in the Big Apple, so we crowded onto a packed 5 train and headed to Brooklyn.  As we emerged from the depths of the city, the snow stopped and the loveliness that is Dun Well Donuts appeared before us.  A coconut glazed and vanilla dipped with sprinkles accompanied by a hot cup of coffee was all I needed to start the day.  Since it had stopped snowing, we decided to walk the two miles to TKTS where we scooped up half price tickets to "Beautiful", the Carole King musical.  We then made our way to MOB where I had a fantastic flatbread covered in chick peas, veggies, and Moroccan spices.  I tried a bit of Laura's "bacon" made from carrots, which mostly just tasted of liquid smoke to me.  However, her corn chowder was fantastic and the crispy fries were delicious!

After heading back to Manhattan and resting for a bit at the hotel, we made our way across town to an early dinner reservation at Cafe Blossom.  I had been there in November and really enjoyed it, but I wanted to try the famous soy bacon cheeseburger.  I started with a small cup of spicy vegetable tempeh soup which was good, but not very spicy.  The burger was amazing though!  Somehow they managed to get the "cheese" and "bacon" tasting pretty darn close to the real thing.  The sauteed mushrooms added even more to an already delicious burger.  The sweet potato fries and homemade ketchup were the perfect accompaniment.

We walked off our dinner in Times Square before heading to the theater.  "Beautiful" was excellent, and my favorite part of the trip.  We considered dessert afterwards, but there weren't any options in the theater district, and to be honest, I was still pretty full from my burger, so we called it a night.

On Wednesday, we checked out of the hotel early and had some coffee and tea before heading downtown.  (I may have had a chocolate peanut butter donut from the day before...)  Our first stop was Lush to check out their second generation perfume line.  We then headed to E.L.F. for inexpensive vegan makeup.  We refueled at Babycakes where I enjoyed a banana cinnamon cupcake before checking out Moo Shoes.  I finally found a good, vegan black belt!  We ended our time in the city with another stop at Peacefood Cafe, where we tried the Caesar salad, the veggie panini, and the chick pea fries.  The salad was good, the sandwich was excellent, and the fries were too salty.

We got back to New Haven just in time for dinner, so we went a little out of our way to have dinner at It's Only Natural in Middletown.  There we tried the smothered spicy cornbread, covered in cheese and hot peppers.  I had the coconut curry which was delicious, but I could only eat half - leftovers!  Laura tried the Portobello loaf which was yummy and covered in an excellent gravy.  Their new location is much bigger and easier to find, which I appreciated!

All in all, not a very healthy trip, but a very satisfying one in terms of vegan eats.  :)

Candle 79

Laura and I are taking a mini-vacation in New York, mainly to eat and shop. Tonight we ate at Candle 79, which I have been wanting to try for quite some time. It did not disappoint!  We started off with the house made ginger ale, which was great - lots of ginger and not too sweet. Our server sold us on the special appetizer, which was a trio of artichokes - fried, sauteed, and grilled. All three were excellent!  After much deliberation, we decided on the tempeh with Mole sauce and the chick pea cake with red curry. The Mole sauce was fantastic, just the right amount of spice. The dish included some excellent Brussels sprouts. The chick pea cake was served over kale and broccoli with just a bit of red curry. We split each dish so that we could both enjoy. For dessert, we tried the Mexican brownie sundae, which was  just okay. The brownie bottom was burnt, which was not appealing. Overall, it was a great dining experience!

On a side note, we visited Peacefood Cafe for hot drinks and snacks. Laura had a delicious ginger soy latte, and I tried the Brazilian nut Chai. It was not nearly as sweet as most Chai, which I enjoyed. We tried a magic cookie, which contained nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, and carrots. It was good, but definitely not as good as the raspberry bar that we split. We are definitely going back for lunch on Wednesday to try their savory food!