Cass Danger
Reviews written by Cass Danger
I ordered the vegan salami/sun dried tomato/roasted garlic pizza and my friend had a vegan jalapeno and sausage pizza. Both pizzas were really good but the vegan cheese garlic bread was a little dry and over oregano-y.
We looked up the ingredients and such online and found that the website has really old prices and they charge you more when you get to the restaurant. Not cool.
I wish I would have read the last person's post regarding non-vegan products before eating here! I will base my rating on my experience, assuming all the foods were vegan.
We ordered the chicken satay, which was tasty and came with a delicious peanut dipping sauce. We also had the onion rings, which were SO good, and were perfect with the tangy BBQ sauce they give you--definitely better than ordinary ketchup.
I had the "gravy noodles" which were wide rice noodles with tofu, broccoli, and a miso "gravy", which was more like a regular sauce. It was pretty good, but I wish I would have ordered the fried chicken and blueberry pancake (which were called "tropical," for some reason), which my friend ordered because they were outstanding.
I had a mock roast beef sandwich with au jus sauce (I believe it was called the "California Dip") and it was pretty good. There were plenty of fried onions and the au jus was good, but a tad salty. The side of cole slaw was really good, and definitely more creative than the plain beans or rice, which were the other options for sides.
I also tried my friends "Ranchero" chicken sandwich, which was very good, and the chicken drumsticks, which were AMAZING. They tasted like KFC and their 12 herbs and spices. Scary.
I also had the peanut butter and chocolate parfait, which was pretty good, but was really rich.
I wouldn't describe the food as gourmet, but it's definitely delicious--one of the best restaurants I've been to in a while. My friends and I shared the vegan nachos and the walnut pate as appetizers and both were great.
Of the entrees, I've had the tempeh reuben (good), Club sandwich (great), and vegan burger with the works (outstanding). I generally don't order burgers in restaurants because they can be so plain, but this was the most flavorful burger I've had in quite some time. The avocado is definitely a great touch.
The sandwiches come with either a side salad (the Caeser comes with capers and is really good), or potato salad, which is rich and tasty but is drowning in Veganaise.
I haven't had any desserts here, but I've heard that despite fantastic descriptions, the taste is mediocre.
Axum has some of the best Ethiopian food that I've ever had. The food is very flavorful and well seasoned. I like the taste of their food a little better than that of Wazima, but Axum is a lot more expensive, especially if you eat a lot. Not only is one combo platter cheaper at Wazima, but they also give you free refills.
Wazima is the best place in SF for good, cheap Ethiopian food in large quantities. I always get the all-you-can-eat vegan platter and my favorites are the yellow split peas and the spicy red lentils. Their injera is also really light and fluffy.
The service, however, is really poor. They drop off your food and never return, presumably because they don't want you to keep asking for refills. Last night, my friend took our plate back up to the front and refilled it in the kitchen herself then brought it back with the pitcher of water.
That said, I come here every time I'm in town and probably will continue coming here just because the food is so good, so cheap, and so plentiful.
This is my all time favorite vegan restaurant. I've never had a dish here that I didn't like and I've never received poor service. It's tough to pick a favorite, but if I had to narrow it down, I'd pick the jalapeno tofu and the pho soup.
The food is good but I think it's a bit overrated. I think everyone goes here just because it's well known, not necessarily because it's amazing food. I've never had bad food here, I just think it's a bit overpriced and that I could make nearly the entire menu at home.
The people are awesome-they oppose all forms of oppression and capitalism. They even include vegan options from their neighbor on their menu to contribute to the neighborhood and have sliding scale prices so anybody can eat there -
The food is great - breakfast rocks - waffles, pancakes, scrambles, breakfast burritos. Dinner is great, too - healthy bowls - you always leave stuffed.
This is a cute little shop but it's pretty small and doesn't have a large selection. They have some really nice hand made wallets and they sell the most amazing hand-made soap I've ever found (the lime green is my favorite!). I also got a really nice belt there but it was pretty expensive.
Absolutely amazing. No matter how much I fill up on at dinner (usually at Golden Era), I can never pass up dessert at Maggie Mudds. I can never decide, so luckily, I can get three flavors of vegan ice cream in a sundae with a bunch of chocolate, whip cream, nuts, sprinkles, and other toppings.
Very good food, but of course, it's very pricey. Considering that there are very few gourmet vegan restaurants in the country, Millenium is definitely worth trying if you're in San Francisco.
I love this place! It's a huge all-vegetarian co-op with tons of vegan options. They have bulk, packaged, and ready-to-go foods, and their bakery has lots of delicious vegan treats.
These donuts were fabulous! My friend and I shared a glazed and a blueberry glazed and both were fabulous. A lot of the toppings weren't as elaborate as some other vegan donuts I've seen in other cities (like Voodoo Donuts in Portland), but the actual flavor of the donut was better. It was sweeter and had a stronger flavor, and didn't need to rely on the flavor of the topping or glaze.
I really liked this place, although it felt sort of funny eating at an Indian restaurant in the middle of Hong Kong. I really liked that the restaurant had a full color picture menu so you could see what you're ordering, which is particularly helpful if you're unfamiliar with Indian cuisine.
This place was outstanding. I don't recall everything we had, but I know everything was absolutely delicious. I believe we had the mock spare ribs with broccoli and something with lotus root and both were good. The staff was very friendly and the food came fast.
The area is really fun to explore but the restaurant was a bit hard to find. Keep looking, it's definitely worth the search!
Definitely the best deal in town. Amazing food for a low price and it's in a great area to explore that isn't too cluttered with bright lights and Western establishments. Lots of delicious options, but try to get the vegan BBQ pork buns when they're freshly steamed.
I had a really hard time finding vegan food in Hong Kong so I was delighted to find this place. I first visited it 4 years ago and was really impressed with the food but I wasn't particularly impressed on my last visit, about 6 months ago. It seems like the restaurant is always busy and they sort of rush you to eat, but the food is good enough and it's always fun to visit the Monestary and the Big Buddha.
Alice and Friends Cafe has good food and good service. I've been here a few times and have always enjoyed myself. It's a good place to have dinner with friends, but it's also a good place to grab dessert to go--although I must say that I enjoy Chicago Diner desserts more. I've enjoyed everything I've had here, especially their stirfrys.
You can't go wrong here. The food is great and the atmosphere is amazing. It's a 20+ year old vegetarian diner that serves up everything from fajitas to gyros to tofu scramble and French toast at brunch. They make the best vegan milk shakes I've ever had (using Chicago Soy Dairy ice cream).
Way to go guys! Temptation ice cream is where it's at. Vegan - fair trade - organic - small business. It gets no better than this. The cookie dough seems to be the most popular but I'm a big fan of the peach cobbler.
I went here with a bunch of friends and ended up liking all of their dishes better than my own. I ordered the veggie ribs, which were highly recommended, but they ended up being really chewy and very un-meat like. One friend had the vegan nachos and another had the raw platter (had various spreads and pates), and both of those were really good. I ordered a slice of cake which was good, but certainly not worth the $7 I paid for it.
This was my first experience with raw food a few years ago and it was really good. I expected it to taste really bland and boring, but it was actually quite delightful. I ordered from the raw bar, where you pay per pound and I tried a little of everything. Aside from the beet cheese (which tasted absolutely horrible), everything was delicious. Although it was more than I normally spend on food, it was reasonably priced given the quality.
Hands down, the best soul food ever. This is also the nicest Soul Vegetarian restaurant I've been to, as it has a large dinning room and not just a take-out area. The vegan mac-n-cheese is really good, as are the fried tofu tidbits. You can't go wrong with the Sunday dinner, which is a huge plate of soul food, usually something like: fake meat, greens, potato, and corn bread.
This place has certainly grown on me. The first few times I went, I thought the food was good, but pretty average. The last time I went though, I had a spectacular meal and my meat-eating friend who dined with me also enjoyed the food. Plenty of vegan options to chose from and friendly service.
Apparently this Dukem is owned by the same people that run the Dukem in DC. I've been to both, and I was MUCH more impressed with this location. The food was better and the service was friendlier (although it took about 15 minutes for us to get our check after we finished).
My friend and I shared the vegetarian special, which had the usual 6 or so items they carry (yellow split peas, yellow lentils, spicy red lentils, potatoes, greens, tomato salad) but also had a few items not usually offered on the menu, including a potato salad, and some other unidentifiable potato dish. Everything was delicious and the price was very reasonable- $16 for the platter for two. Quite often, Ethiopian restaurants will double the price for two people but not give you twice the food. This restaurant gave us one, huge platter for the same price. Yum.
All I had here was a "Fruit Tea", which was a mixture of green tea and pear, ginger, and apple juice. It had a nice kick to it and was very refreshing. They had a VERY extensive juice menu, and a reasonable vegan food menu, including cleverly named items like "Filly Cheese Phake". I only saw a few desserts, but they were all vegan and the service was very friendly and helpful.
This place is ALWAYS out of vegan desserts. They get them from an outside baker who only delivers twice a week, but they never know what day it's going to be so they can't tell you when to come back.
They have a decent number of vegan options, but they're pretty typical, like hummus wraps and tofu sandwiches.
Amazing food and a beautiful restaurant, complete with brightly colored tables and walls. The "unchicken" pasta salad is absolutely amazing, as is the citrus BBQ ribs. The rice and cabbage are good when paired with other items, but are pretty plain if you order them alone. The curry spinach is a great veggie option and is really flavorful, and the plantains are very sweet and tasty.
I was especially pleased with this restaurant because they let my friend and me bring our bikes indoors and park them in the back by where we were sitting. You really can't beat indoor bike parking in a vegan restaurant!
I am astounded that this place won a best vegan dessert award. I had a chocolate pecan torte here, which was really good, but was grossly overpriced. It was pretty much a medium sized cookie with a dollop of soy ice cream for $7. We also ordered an apricot-pineapple sundae, which sounded exotic enough, only to find out that it was canned fruit over Soy Delicious ice cream with a few toasted almonds. Definitely not worth $7.
I really enjoyed the food here and liked the fact that nearly everything on the menu can be made vegan (and gluten-free, if that's an issue).
I had the vegan lentil "meatloaf" with mashed potatoes and garlic broccoli. The flavors were good, but not spectacular. I tried my friend's roasted corn/black bean burger, which was very good, and another friend's Indian corn cakes with curried potatoes and chutney, which was amazing-very interesting and flavorful.
For dessert, we shared a vegan chocolate lava cake--which was one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had, vegan carrot cake--which was very rich and tasty, and really surprised me because it was gluten-free, and a vegan chocolate/mint shake--which was pretty good, but was a bit thin.
Overall, great experience, and it's right next to a fabulous natural grocery store, Roots, where you can stock up on all sorts of vegan goodies.
I really liked this place and was very impressed with their selection of vegan products (cheese, ice cream, faux meats, etc.). My favorite thing was the huge trays of fresh pineapple, nectarines, and other fruits that were displayed. I also loved how the staff didn't complain when my friends and I proceeded to shamelessly stuff our faces with free samples.
A number of friends recommended this place, but I wasn't too impressed with it. I only had one dish--the no name dish--which was pretty much General Tso's chicken, so perhaps this dish wasn't very representative. The sauce was good, but the wheat gluten was very dried out.
This place was amazing. I told them I only had one night in town and wanted to try everything delicious they had so they made me a "gnarly sampler platter", which doesn't exist on the menu. They just charged me for a large appetizer and gave me a little of everything--chicken nuggets, chicken fingers, meatballs, etc. The chicken fingers are the best.
I also had a small pizza and had half chicken/pineapple and half "big mac" (veggie burger, pickles, mustard, ketchup). The former was my favorite. The service was amazing.
The food wasn´t spectacular, but given that it was the only vegan place, I was satisfied with my veggie-tofu stirfry with soba noodles, although it was pretty salty.
Even the Chinese places in this mall, which would normally be a safe bet, were about 90% chicken.
This is only the 2nd Nutrisa I've visited (the other was in Veracruz), so I'm not sure how much they differ. I found this store to have fewer vegan options than the other (no vegan cookies!), but was happy they had soy milk.
I was drawn to this store because they sold soy milk (Silk), which is hard to come by in Veracruz. I was absolutely thrilled to find that some of the healthyish cookies they sell happen to be vegan! There really isn't much else in the store that's vegan, but vegan cookies and milk was a real treat.
This place was outstanding. In addition to the amazing pepper mock pork (which is raved about in nearly every other review on here), I really enjoyed the wonton soup. Delicious flavor (enhanced by Sriracha sauce, (-:) and you get a big bowl for a few bucks. Good deal.
I also liked the cold garlicky cucumber appetizer we got from the fridge. I thought it would be really plain but it was nicely seasoned and refreshing.
I had the "Rustler" pizza and REALLY enjoyed it--one of my favorite pizzas so far. It had mock duck (what is this city's fascination w/ mock duck?), BBQ sauce, banana peppers, caramelized onions, pineapple, and vegan mozz cheese. Absolutely delicious.
They only had one vegan dessert (some peanut butter oat bar w/ chocolate), and from what the guy said, it seems like that's all they usually carry, which is disappointing.
I was really impressed with the selection of vegan items here, given how much meat they serve. I had the "best grilled sandwich on earth" (or something to that effect), and although it wasn't the BEST grilled sandwich on earth, it was darn close to it. It had vegan meatballs, mozz cheese, peppers, tomatoes, and was absolutely huge. Leftovers make a great breakfast.
I also tried my friend's BBQ mock duck po boy, which was really good. Everyone raved about their homemade nacho cheese, but I found it sort of bland. It was room temperature and had huge chunks of tomato in it. Weird. We ended up pouring it over the leftover bread from the po boy sandwich (which was gigantic).
I was super excited to try their vegan soft serve ice cream so I made a special trip there just for that. It was cold, creamy, and sweet, but I think the oat taste was too prominent. I would get it again because I like that it's homemade and it's well priced, but I don't think it's as good as Tofutti, Soy Delicious, or Temptation ice cream.
I didn't purchase anything else from the store, but I admired their selection of vegan products, especially their vegan cheese selection. I've noticed a lot of places only carry Follow Your Heart or Vegan Rella, but Wedge had both, plus some others.
This is a cute place with decent options. It's good for reading, hanging out, checking e-mail, etc. They have a decent video selection but since it's so small, it seems like they're always out of what you want. This is, however, a good place to post/check flyers, especially those looking for vegan housemates.
DELICIOUS!!!! Best bagels ever...both in store and fresh from the dumpster. :)
The space is tiny, but I love the old, wood tables (some which have matching benches) that remind me of a Norhtern getaway lodge in the woods.
The menu is pretty ecclectic and the servings are generous, with pretty low prices. I've only been for brunch, but I appreciated the many vegan options (beyond the now-mundane tofu scramble). I sampled my friend's tofu scramble bagel sandwich, which was good, but I preferred my vegan french toast with fresh fruit--although half of the fresh fruit was obviously frozen.
We also shared some vegan super nachos, which had a great tofu sour cream that appeared to be homemade. The chili on top was really good, but was a bit runny, and perhaps would have been consumed more easily with a spoon.
I hate Brooklyn's Natural as they are so ridiculously overpriced. They charge nearly double what many other health food stores charge ($5 for a pint of vegan ice cream?), so you're better off getting soy milk and veggies from the bodega or getting faux meats and vegan dairy from ANYWHERE else in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
This is, however, a good place to meet hipsters, if you're into that, or check out postings for apartments and events.
This place is amazing and is perfect to take your skeptical meat eating friends. The PuPu platter is great (variety of deep fried faux meats), as are all the vegan milk shakes. If you're in the mood for something that's not deep fried, you can also get the baked drumsticks and mashed potatoes or mac and "cheese." This is definitely the best late night hangout in Brooklyn.
Delish! My friend and I came at the end of the night so the food wasn't as fresh as it could be, but it was still delicious. You generally are only allowed 2 faux meats on the 5 item platter, but since it was our first time there, the lady gave us 4! The fried vegan fish was amazing, and the "sausage" was also very good. The mac 'n' cheese was so-so.
The grocery was pretty extensive and carried a lot of everyday products along with vegan Meats from May Wah grocery.
I can't say this was the best Thai food ever, but given the current offerings in the non-hipster section of Bushwick, I am VERY impressed. This is the first restaurant I've seen make an effort to cater to vegetarians and the staff was very knowledgeable about menu items.
I had the fried tofu with peanut sauce as an appetizer, which was nice and crispy, but the sauce was more corn syrup than peanut sauce. I tried both the tom yum lemongrass soup (so-so) and the tom kha coconut soup (delicous!). For entrees, my friend and I split the veggie fish with string beans, and the massaman curry with veggie duck. The former was pretty good, but fairly salty, and the latter was outstanding--definitely one of the best curries I've had!
I don't think the food is as good as that at Uptown Juice Bar or Veggie Castle, but the prices are cheaper and it's close to my house. :) Also, the service was VERY friendly. The jerk tofu was pretty good (nice and spicy), as was the curried goat.
I really like this place because they have a great vegan selection, the owner is friendly, and it's a great small business option instead of going to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. They have pretty much everything you need and most of their stuff is organic.
I love that they have a lot of gluten-free stuff, but it's sort of frustrating that they don't re-stock it really fast so you can't necessarily count on getting the GF mix you need.
It's always nice to find a place that sells vegan ice cream, but it's pretty much just Tofutti in a cone. They do have a few food options, but the place is pretty small. It's a nice place to stop in for a quick bite to take out.
This place is cute and cozy and the staff is nice, but their food is really average. I initially went here because I felt bad that they are located a few doors from Veggie Castle (AMAZING vegan Caribbean food w/ tons of options), and I figured they can't compete. I tried one of their hot dishes and a dessert but both were really plain. They also only have a few stools for sitting so it's not the best place to hang out or bring more than one or two friends. Go to Veggie Castle.
The food is pretty good but nothing special. I'm also annoyed that they seem to have just stolen recipes from Atlas Cafe (2nd Ave @ 4th St. in Manhattan). Also, since they carry Vegan Treats instead of making their own desserts (like every other vegan restaurant in NYC), there's really nothing that makes them stand out.
It's amazing to be able to get vegan pizza w/ cheese in Brooklyn, unfortunately, the piece I had was all dried out. I think it was just sitting in the case too long so a fresher piece would have been much better. I had the black bean pizza and it definitely had potential. I also tried the vegan mozz and sausage calzone, which was pretty good.
They have vegan mini rolls, 6 for $1 and they were really good. They weren't listed as vegan on the menu so we asked and they are definitely vegan.
They have plenty of vegan options but I wasn't overly impressed. My friends and I went on the first day they opened and they were pretty disorganized and frazzled, which I suppose can be expected on the opening day. However, it didn't seem like employees were overly concerned with cleanliness (staff with really dirty fingernails preparing and serving food, and staff not washing their hands before touching food after they've handled money or touched their hair/face). I haven't been back since opening day, so hopefully they've gotten better.
I really like s'nice but they don't have enough vegan options and they got rid of the best vegan item they had (chicken pot pie wrap). Their sides are really good and I especially like the artichoke pasta they sometimes offer. Most of the desserts are vegan but I think they're pretty average tasting. You're better off going to Lifethyme Natural Market on 6th Ave around 10th street.
I absolutely love this place. A friend and I went and nearly ordered the entire menu. My favorite entree was the lasagna (from Raw Soul), which had a more robust flavor than raw lasagnas I've had elsewhere. The garlicky greens side dish was amazing, but definitely avoid it if you're sensitive to how your breath might smell.
All the desserts we had were amazing but I particularly enjoyed the raw chocolate cheesecake, which tasted like a chocolate-coconut cream pie. The gluten-free Babycakes cookie with mint cream filling was also delicious.
The staff (perhaps owner) was extremely nice and gave us some seaweed salad on the house. Very friendly and personable.
This is the SPOT!!!!! They're all vegetarian and nearly all vegan, organic, fair trade and small-business. Of course you'll find your token crazy co-op member there, but everyone is really nice and it's certainly the most ethically driven business to support.
It's mostly bulk and fresh stuff but they do have packaged sandwiches, ice cream bars, and other snacks that are ready to eat.
JOIN!!!!
The food is pretty good but I don't think some of it is worth the price. They have interesting selections that are presented beautifully but the portions are a bit small. The sandwiches, however, are really big and only around $8.
I love that they have an extensive ingredient menu so that no matter what your allergy or aversion is (gluten, sesame, tomatoes, onions, etc.) you can easily avoid it without having to rely on poorly informed servers.
DO NOT GET THE CORNBREAD! A friend of mine was told that the cornbread was amazing so we ordered an entire loaf and it was horrible. It tasted like it hadn't been cooked thoroughly and as though it was just a bunch of whole kernels of corn mashed together. Disgusting. However, there were two types of cornbread, so it's possible that the variety we didn't order was actually good.
I hate this restaurant, not because they have bad food (I refuse to eat there), but because they call themselves a vegetarian restaurant, despite having a menu that is about 1/3 fish. People are constantly in there telling them that fish isn't vegetarian and that they should get it off the menu or change their name/sign, but they will just be very dismissive and say something like "Oh, it's okay, some people think fish is vegetarian. I don't want to argue."
Furthermore, their vegan options are limited to salad and steamed veggies. Are you kidding? Most steakhouses can do better than that. I just posted the place in case someone has heard of it and wanted to know what it's all about. Don't eat here!
The first time I went here, I thought the cupcakes were disgusting and didn't know what all the fuss was about. The second time around, I had some mini chocolate brownie bites, which were delicious. Later, I had a cookie sandwich with mint cream filling (from 24 Carrots Juice Bar on the Upper West Side), and it was also delicious.
I hear a lot of good things about this place, so I think my first visit was just on an off-day.
This is a lovely upscale restaurant with good food and good decor. The portions were pretty small for the price, but I guess that is to be expected at a fancy restaurant.
The cheese pizza with caramelized onions was incredible! I have been dreaming about it ever since.
It's a nice place to grab a quick lunch because their salad bar already has everything prepared so they can easily whip you up a salad, sandwich, or wrap in a few minutes. They have a good selection of pates and salad fixins but could use more desserts.
I like their 1lb. sample platter because it allows you to try some of everything. I particularly like the macadamia nut meat and this cauliflower/carrot/green bean mixture, but I'm not a fan of the squash salad or pumpkin/poppy pate.
I tried the blueberry/banana ice cream, and wasn't impressed, particularly because it was $5 for what tasted like a banana pureed with frozen blueberries.
Very interesting food combinations that are beautifully presented. It's really difficult to choose just one entree so be sure to go with someone who likes to share. They use wine in a lot of the dishes, so watch out if you're straightedge.
People seem to really rave about this place but I've been there a number of times and wasn't impressed. Everyone suggested the "chicken" nachos but they tasted pretty average to me, something I cold easily make at home. I've also had a raw salad that was pretty good (if you're into raw food), and a smoothie that was really small and not very flavorful.
I do, however, love the ambiance. The live music and the lighting is just right and if you're able to get a table outside, it's a lovely experience.
The lunch buffet is pretty good, but nothing spectacular. It tastes like all the other buffets in the area. This place tends to be pretty crowded so maybe others know something I don't know. The only thing I've had off the menu is the behl puri and that's really good. The menu has plenty of vegan food and the dairy items are clearly marked.
Delicious food and beautiful atmosphere.
I tried a number of dishes but the vegetable mosaic platter was definitely my favorite. It had orange scented fennel, spicy quinoa, whipped sweet potatoes, garlic green beans, and a few other veggies. All were cooked and seasoned perfectly, were very distinct, yet none clashed with each other.
Their veggie burger has a magnificent flavor, but the texture is unexpectedly soft. The nicoise-style white bean and pesto soup has an amazing flavor, but could use a bit more pesto. The seitan tenderloin is also good, but I don't think it's one of their best dishes. It's not particularly creative or exceptionally flavorful.
Yum. Definitely a good place to hang out with friends. They actually have crayons at the table so you can color on your place mat!
Their garlic greens and cornbread are incredible, as are their peach pancakes (I think it was a brunch special when I was there).
The first time I was there, the waitress seemed pretty clueless about veganism and which options were vegan, but I haven't had any problems since then.
I was very satisfied with my meal here. The food was very flavorful and the service was exceptional. I had the Rose Petal dish, which was $15 (a bit overpriced), but was a delicious soy meat dish with perfectly steamed vegetables and red/brown rice. I also had the rice noodles with veggies and faux meats, which was around $10 and very good, although it could have benefited from more vegetables. Both dishes were large portions and were more than enough for one person.
I really like this place. I'm a sucker for lunch buffets, so this is what I usually have here and I haven't been disappointed, although I'd like to see fewer buffet items with butter and cream.
I had some sort of potato puff balls thing with sauce and lots of spice but I can't remember what it was called. It's probably an appetizer or a small plate (I ordered this separately, it wasn't off the buffet), and it was delicious.
This is a lovely grocery and cafe with tons of vegan options. There is a nice seating area upstairs which is great because you can eat, read, check e-mail, and people-watch down in the store.
One of my friends once ordered a vegan egg salad sandwich and got real egg, but aside from that, I've never had or known of any problems.
Half the food I had here was very good, the other half was good, but not nearly as good as I was expecting. I was also expecting more authentic Korean, vs. Korean fusion. I tried a number of appetizers and entrees and the pancake sampler (corn/cilantro, scallion, kimchee) was my favorite. The yam chips with tomato/dill dip sounded amazing but pretty much tasted like potato chips.
I was very impressed with this place. This place serves meat, but they had so many more interesting vegan dishes than I've seen at most veg restaurants!
We started with the yuca fries (pretty good, but could have been cut thinner and cooked longer) and the red quinoa coated soy drumsticks (the quinoa coating was pretty tough, but it was a worthwhile shot).
For an entree, I had the vegan Caeser Salad (and I am NOT a salad person) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had avocado, vegan hemp caseser dressing, lotus crostini, caper blossoms, and cornmeal crusted tofu. Delish! I sampled my friend's rosemary tofu skewers with grilled papaya and it was amazing. The skewers were actual rosemary twigs and the flavor was completely infused in the tofu.
I really like Gobo. I have been there so much that I always feel like "Oh great, Gobo, again?" when somebody suggests it, but I am always happy we go.
Their pine nut lettuce wraps are amazing (it's a hot, spicy pine nut mixture-not raw), and their pineapple fried rice is also very good (and cheap, relative to other items). Their "avocado wasabi tartare" was recommended as the best item on the menu but it pretty much just tastes like really expensive guacamole. Their soy protein spinach rolls are great but the butternut squash risotto isn't too spectacular (it's also a pretty small serving).
They also have good juices and desserts, although I generally go across the street to Lifethyme Natural Food for dessert.
I can only review my experience at lunch, but I hear that dinner is a much different experience. The restaurant was completely empty at lunch and I don't think the lunch meal involves as much tradition as is the case with dinner. Lunch specials are WAY cheaper than dinner ($10 vs. $25), but I don't think it is anywhere near the quality.
I had a spicy tofu and veggie soup with rice, which was good, but I wouldn't say it was spectacular. It was mostly cabbage, tomato broth, and the tofu was soft, which isn't my favorite--especially in soup.
I also had the steamed dumplings with nut filling for an appetizer, and this was phenomenal.
This place is really cute, the food is good, and the service is very friendly. My friend and I shared an ackee patty and a soy patty and both were good, although I preferred the soy patty. The ackee seems like it may be an acquired taste.
One of the workers let me sample a raw curry plantain dish, which was absolutely delicious. I'm not raw food expert, but this thing didn't taste raw at all. It had a strong, robust flavor, and the seasoning blend was different from any raw food I've had before.
I love that this place has a separate veg/vegan section on their menu and identifies items that AREN'T vegan. They have a great range of options and even offer brown rice as an option (50 cents extra).
It's annoying that neither of the soups on the lunch special are vegan. I tried getting a spring roll instead but they wouldn't let me. I thought this was rude. I later found that they have miso soup, so I'm wondering why they didn't offer that (perhaps they don't allow it).
I had the broccoli with garlic sauce over brown rice and it was pretty good. The broccoli had a great flavor (although I wonder if they use MSG), but the rice was a bit dry.
Their food was HORRIBLE!!! Seriously, this is the worst vegan Chinese food I've ever had. The flavors were bland, the textures weren't appetizing, and most of the food came out luke-warm. The "fake meats" didn't taste like fake me should, and this place has no excuse, considering how close they are to May Wah (veg grocery store that sells tons of fake meats to the public and to restaurants).
Furthermore, the service was poor and the waitress actually reminded us to give her a tip before we even walked away from the table.
Integral Yoga Natural Foods has a wide variety of vegan products--although my first stop is always the 4th Street Food Co-op (all veg food co-op). They have an extensive bulk section and TONS of bulk spices, which is really hard to come by.
They specialize in organic products and sometimes have in-store tastings for new or featured products. You can come by really good deals (I once found carob rice milk for $1.19 per carton), but the store is usually pretty busy.
The food here is creative and very tasty, but the prices are pretty high ($20 for a piece of lasagna and $10 for a slice of pie). However, I've liked everything I've had from here. I especially liked this "ground beef" stuffed cabbage with spicy orange sauce, called "bergolia" or something. It has a strong, spicy flavor and doesn't just taste like a nut pate lettuce wrap. Their "a-nut" (faux tuna) spread is also really good, especially on their flax crackers.
I've had a number of their spreads (pesto, alfredo, cheddar), and I think my favorite is the cheddar because it's bold and spicy. I had it on their onion rings, which are a tad salty, but taste like raw, healthy French's fried onions.
They have an amazing Irish moss parfait (strawberry or chocolate), and many delicious desserts. I had the chocolate cream pie, which was very tasty and rich, but the somewhat strong coconut flavor was unexpected.
This is a great hangout and is good for large groups but the food is pretty average and not worth the price. I was really excited to try their "shrimp" bites but it was pretty much battered tofu bites with cocktail sauce. Their mashed potatoes are amazing but their brunch is totally not worth it (super plain tofu scramble).
Their desserts are also not very good--go to Atlas (2nd Ave btw 4th and 5th) for dessert.
Great food for a great price. You can get a tasty meal (soup, noodles, stirfry) for about $7/8 any time of day. It's pretty much lunch prices all day long. I especially like their pho soup and lemongrass curry. The service isn't anything to brag about and can be a bit slow but considering the taste and price, it's well worth it.
They have a decent number of vegan options, but I think this place is way overpriced. I had vegan chili, which was really plain and tasted like canned chili. My friend got a vegetarian quesadilla, which I didn't try, but he said it was decent, but plain.
I love Lifethyme Natural Foods! Their organic buffet (both hot and cold) is nearly all vegan and they sell tons of vegan goodies like deli slices, ice cream, pudding, and cheese. Their deli section is nearly all vegetarian and has tons of vegan options (both raw and cooked), and their bakery is vegan - organic - kosher, and is the BEST vegan bakery in town. The cake is always fresh and moist and I think the flavors are a lot more creative than the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting you get at most places.
I was initially put off by the number of smoothies that contain unnecesarily non-vegan ingredients like chocolate whey powder and honey, but was happy to see that the friendy staff would sub pretty much anything for the non-vegan ingredients. I've tried both a tropical style smoothie, that was mostly fruit and ice, and a richer ice cream style smoothie that was soy milk, fruit and peanut butter, and both were really good.
I didn't look at ever single dessert item, but noticed that most (if not all) were vegan, which was really nice, considering so many vegetarian places skimp on the vegan desserts.
The food is pretty mediocre, but considering you get a big plate and bowl for $4, it's a decent place to go if you're cheap and hungry.
A lot of the vegetables on the buffet seem to be just plain frozen or canned veggies (corn, green beans, etc.) with some margarine, salt, and pepper. The vegan eggplant and tofu dish was very good, and the salad bar portion had a fair amount of toppings and interesting salad dressings to chose from. The vegan Russian salad dressing was my favorite.
My friend and I shared a coconut macaroon sort of dessert, which was pretty good, especially since it was only $1. I like that they have lots of mini desserts so you can sample a number of them instead of committing to one huge piece of cake that may or may not taste too good.
I have been to the lunch buffet a few times, and although it's a couple dollars more than other places (Tiffin Wallah is only $6), I feel the food is higher quality and there are a couple more options. I also really like that they bring you a dish with these sort of Indian-style breadsticks, which are delicious.
While the food was really good, and the waiters were friendly, on my last visit here, I thought the man ringing my friend and me up was rude. He was acting as though they didn't have any change if we paid with a $20 (not a huge bill), so we thought he was just trying to keep an extra $5 for himself for a tip. I've never seen this happen here before so it may not happen on a regular basis.
Fast, cheap, yummy. You can get a falafel (plain or with hummus or baba ganouj) in about 1 minute for about $2.50-$3. Deal. They get really packed late night on the weekends, but the food still comes fast so you're in and out in 5 minutes, even when there's a long line. Don't count on getting a seat because they only have a few seats so you're usually better off to get it to go and eat in the park.
DELICIOUS!!!! I had the "mini" falafel, which was a regular sized pita with 2 falafel in it and I stuffed it beyond belief with pickled carrots, tomato salad, tabbouleh, and roasted cauliflower and broccoli. The roasted cauliflower and broccoli were absolutely amazing so I went back and re-filled my dish after I finished off the sandwich.
The falafels are a bit pricier than other falafel places, but it's well worth it, considering you get to chose from so many interesting toppings. Also, this is an all-veg establishment so you don't have to stare at a rotating dead lamb behind the counter.
Nearly everything here is vegan and they even have veg versions of meats like squid and eel. I have no desire to try them, but you never know when they may come in handy.
My favorite are the vegan chicken drumsticks--these are the ones that Red Bamboo, Foodswings, and so many other restaurants serve. You can just throw them in the microwave and pour on BBQ sauce, but I prefer to marinate them (lemon rosemary or spicy citrus) and either grill or bake them.
My meat-eating family tried them when they visited and couldn't believe how good they are. My sister is even going to start ordering them in bulk and having them shipped to Wisconsin!
I really enjoyed their food and the service was very nice. We started with the sampler appetizer, which was very good, especially the "spring rolls", which tasted like lentil/potato filled spring rolls that were breaded and fried.
I love this guy. Delicious and cheap vegan food. You can't go wrong with a dosa and a drumstick. The only problem is that you get SO much packaging for each meal (plate, fork, cup for soup, cups for sauces, etc.). However, he'll let you bring your own dishes and serve you on those. (-:
Unfortunately, he sometimes goes days or weeks at a time without being there (usually when he's busy catering or something), so have a back up plan. Madras Mahal on 2nd Ave between 4th and 5th street is probably the closest veg Indian place.
***NOTE***
If you just want a samosa, drumstick, or other quick, fried item, you can get it from the take-out window in front of the cart and don't have to wait in line (which is often quite long), which is for food that needs to be cooked, i.e. dosas, curries, etc.
I'm a pretty big fan of this place, as Chelsea isn't the easiest area to find interesting vegan options, especially at groceries and delis. I generally just grab a container of hummus or a vegan cookie for a snack, but they do have an extensive selection of ready-to-go vegan meals and box/can/jar/frozen items you can take home to prepare.
I also really like that they have such a large gluten-free section (both in the baking area, and then gluten-free, vegan cookies with the other vegan cookies). They also have a ton of Ezekiel and sprouted grain breads, and not just the typical variety.
The falafel isn't as good as Taim or Maoz, but it's still pretty good and they have a great selection of vegan items. I had the cauliflower falafel, which was basically a regular falafel with fried cauliflower. I really liked it, although the breading seemed a bit to heavy to remain within their "healthy food" description.
I love this place and am never disappointed by it. Interesting combinations and friendly service. My favorite appetizer is the curry Thai pancake and I have too many favorite entrees to chose. This is a great place to bring a meat-eater (assuming they like Thai), as the food is pretty "realistic."
On a side note, their bathroom and bathroom sink are pretty cool so you should also be sure to stop in there.
Punjabi is an excellent example of price vs. quality. The food is good, not great, but you can't beat the price. $3 for a bowl of rice, lentils and veggies! Note that none of the dishes are marked as being spicy (but they are!) so be sure to ask if you don't like spicy food.
I really hate that this place serves fish, as it's completely vegetarian otherwise. However, they do have a lot of vegan options and some of them are really good. Their mock chicken burrito is good, but their salsa is the worst of I've ever had in my life. You can taste the canned tomato sauce! I also ordered chips and guacamole, and the guac would have been good, but it was mostly green peppers, which were inappropriate and overpowering.
I tried the chocolate vegan soy shake and it tasted good, but doesn't hit the spot if you're in the mood for a thick milkshake (in which case, get a vegan one from Red Bamboo, a few blocks away).
This place was amazing. The menu is exceedingly interesting and the staff is very knowledgeable about the dishes, and individual ingredients, which is great if you have allergies. The dishes are decent sized portions, and even the smaller dishes are filling because they are nutritionally dense.
I went with a group of friends and we shared the following dishes:
-Nori rolls stuffed with cream cheese (very good, small meal. Comes with a side salad that is sort of plain but has a delicious dressing)
-Indian platter (amazing--could hardly believe it was raw, large portion. It came with 3 or 4 items, all very different and very tasty)
-Meat balls and gravy (delicious--the meatballs didn't taste raw, and were very hearty. The cauliflower mashed potatoes were light but very good.
-Dessert Platter (This came with 4 desserts on it and we weren't impressed with any of them. It was a $20 platter and was pretty disappointing.)
I absolutely loved the food here and found it to be much more unique than raw food found elsewhere. I had the raw enchiladas, which were flax tortillas, nut meat filling, tomato sauce, pine nut cheese, and olives. It was outstanding and surprisingly filling. I also had the eggplant & cauliflower stew, which was pretty good, but was satisfying because it was a warm dish on a cold day.
I've also had their raw lasagna and chocolate-coconut cheesecake at 24 Carrots Juice Bar (72nd and Broadway) and absolutely loved both.
All my vegan friends want to go here when they're in town and all the AR groups cater through Red Bamboo so I'm pretty sick of their food, but it is very good.
I've taken a lot of meat eater friends here and they've all enjoyed the food, especially the BBQ drumsticks and the chicken parmesan sandwich.
The food is reasonably priced, but the lunch specials (about $7) are a WAY better deal than the dinner platters ($12).
I absolutely love this place. Their tapas are incredibly unique and delicious, as is everything else on the menu. Their daily tapas specials are always the best, especially the hummus.
They have lunch bowls for only $6 that feature either rice or noodles, plus a mock meat and veggies. Their weekend brunch is really good but is very pricey. Their scones (especially blueberry) are out of this world.
I wasn't particularly impressed with this place. I was with friends who wanted to try a veg Indian lunch buffet and the staff made it seem like they had a lunch buffet, but after we entered the restaurant, we realized they didn't have a lunch buffet, they only had lunch specials.
The menu was terribly confusing, with a picture of the lunch special, but no price or description. The only lunch special actually listed on the menu (and highlighted) was twice as much ($14.95) as the lunch special we were quoted ($6.95). We ordered the $6.95 lunch special, and I requested no dairy. They said it comes on the side so I asked that they just not include it at all. They gave me a big bowl of dairy soup and dish of yogurt. Additionally, my soup (I believe it was mulligatawny) was only broth.
I found the waiters to be unhelpful and it seemed like they were just starving for business since they were MUCH slower than the restaurants offering buffets. I must say, however, the quality of the food here is definitely better than what you get in a buffet and the price is reasonable.
I usually go to Uptown Juice Bar because they have a wider selection, but they usually have the same thing over and over, so Strictly Roots is a nice alternative. This place also has a cozier and more authentic atmosphere than Uptown Juice Bar.
They don't have many options, but whatever they do have is good and the staff is friendly. I had lasagna and fried plantains and they were both really good. I tried the cassava dessert but didn't really care for it.
Vegetarian restaurants are EXTREMELY hard to come by in Times Square, but this place is all-veg and is very good. I had the bhel poori (puffed rice, crispy poori, potatoes, and onions), and the aloo papdi chat (flour crisps with potato, beans, onions, and loads of sauces). Both were great and the latter was particularly creative and tasty--I have yet to try non-chickpea beans in an Indian restaurant.
My friend had the vegetable biryani (basmati rice, mixed veggies, and spices) that was very good and it came with an extremely pungent piece of pickled mango. The flavor was good but was not spectacular. Like many restaurants, this (and perhaps other dishes) was prepared using canned or frozen veggies instead of fresh veggies. We also had some sort of lentil-potato ball that was listed under the samosas. There were 3 tiny balls for about $6, so although they were pretty good, I'd say they weren't worth it.
I sampled all three falafels, and all were very fresh and tasty. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the red pepper and the harissa, but the green (with cilantro and mint) was definitely my favorite. The hummus and salad in the falafel sandwich were both good and the pita was really soft and chewy.
Note that the babaganouj and saffron aioli are NOT vegan (both contain mayonaise).
The service is very friendly and they are always happy to have you there. Everything is vegan except for one item (I believe it's battered zucchini). All the vegan items are marked as "vegetarian" and the one non-vegan item isn't marked as vegetarian.
There is a GREAT array of food, but the fried food does get dry toward the end of the night.
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! There is always a ton of staff on hand to clean tables and answer questions and they are always prompt and polite. Every time I go in, they show me what's not vegan on the buffet (generally only one thing, if that). I have taken all my non-veg co-workers here and every single one of them absolutely loves it.
They have the most vegan-friendly buffet that I've come across in the Murray Hill area and I've been there a number of times when the buffet was completely vegan (except yogurt sauces on the side, of course). The food is really good, but honestly, it's no more spectacular than any other Indian lunch buffet, it's just cheaper and the staff is nicer.
The only things I've ever had that wasn't part of the buffet were behl puri (puffed rice, tomatoes, tamarind sauce, and cilantro) and channa chat (chilled chickpeas in tamarind sauce, sans yogurt). Both were delicious, and obviously, more interesting than lunch buffet items.
In a word, pretentious. The pizza is pretty good but is unbelievably overpriced. The menu is thoroughly off-putting, emphasizing that they only take cash, don't serve slices, and that they don't do substitutions (they only have like 5 ingredients!). I asked the waiter about garlic bread and he looked at me like I had just asked for a side of crack or something; as though garlic bread is unheard of in a pizza place.
After the waiter dropped off the pizza, he never came and checked on us again, even though there was only one other table in the restaurant. This place is NOT worth it. Go to Viva Pizzeria on 2nd and 12th.
The food here is pretty good but a bit overpriced, even taking into account the fact that it's organic. A sandwich and small salad (which is more of a coleslaw that is definitely more interesting than the usual Romaine and tomato concoction most restaurants serve up), is around $10 or $11, when I think it should be about $8 or $9.
My friend and I split the tempeh Reuben and the grilled tofu sandwich. Both were really good, but I think the Reuben had more flavor. However, the tofu sandwich came on slightly greasy toasted bread which was delicious. They both also came with a pickle, which made my day. :)
I love this place! They have amazing fake meats and they know how to make veggies taste good (although I rarely order veggies when I'm there because the fake meats are so good). The portions are really big, so unless you're VERY hungry, you'd be good with a small plate.
Their cheese pizza is good but they always seem to be out of it (as they are with their fabled vegan fish sandwich) but their desserts are horrible. They taste like sweet bread with no icing. I hear they started carrying Vegan Treats cakes so look out for that.
Watch out for their hot sauce. It will kick your ass. I advise you to put it on the side and dip your fo
Jun 22 07
I am not a big fan of Japanese food but I really enjoyed the meal I had here. The restaurant is tiny so you can't bring a large group, but the food was good. There was a long hair in the soup we had, but the staff handled it well and my friends (who are regulars there) said it's never happened before.