Monday, May 18, 2009

NYC: a Get Sconed! Vegan Food Porn Post.

My arrival to NYC last month was reminiscent of so many trips home I'd taken in college, via Fung Wah bus from Boston.  The last time I'd taken that bus on vacation, I was more hungover than I'd ever been in my life.  It's been four years, and I still don't have any wish to drink or even smell gin again.  
This time, I napped, and had a pleasant, quick trip with no traffic.  
There was no fire on the bus (I know there are crazy incidences with this bus line, but I've had a bigger issue with Greyhound breaking down outside of NYC on the highway and taking 4 hours to send a replacement bus.  I started taking the Fung Wah when it was just a small shuttle!) and my sister was shocked at how early I was.  With that, let us enter the first part of my NYC rambles....

Chinatown, NYC.

About me
I make a point of travelling to New York at least once a year to see my family and get my fix of East Coast life.  I cherish the visits to my sister, brother and grandparents.  We grew up on the South Shore of Long Island, but both of my siblings are currently in the Queens area.  Both of my parents grew up in Brooklyn and moved out to the island as teenagers with their families. Suffice to say, I used to have a thick New York accent.  Years in Boston and a degree in Speech Communication later, I wiped most of it off but it comes out on special occasions.  My siblings, particularly my brother, still tawk like there's no tomorrow. My friend Maria and I are convinced that my sister will be cast on a reality show one day as the bitchy, beautiful New Yorker, probably on Survivor.

Toasted Poppyseed Bagel.  Tofu Cream Cheeeze.  Bagelsmith.
This brings me to my list!

Things I really miss about NY:
My siblings
My grandparents
Bagels
Falafel 
Vegan Chinese food!!
Winter snow
Rainstorms 
friends!
The PPKers
tall buildings

Cheap. Great. Falafel.

This one's from Mamoun's.  I went twice.  $2.50.  
The tomatoes sucked and I didn't even care.
Oasis Falafel.  This puppy (yum?) has pickles and cabbage, holla. This is my friend Lisa from Panda with Cookie's favorite, too!

Bedford Ave.


Another thing I miss - is the faux chicken dishes you can get at Vegetarian Paradise 2, Red Bamboo and the owners' newest venture, Soy & Sake.  I would always insist on meeting friends and family for lunch or dinner at the first two when I was in town from Boston.  

Chicken and Veggie Tempura

Not only did I visit this newish restaurant twice, I made sure that tempura was ordered twice. Lightly battered delish.

Brace your eyes for this one -
Buffalo Chicken with ranch dip

I'd never had fake buffalo chicken before, and I honestly can't remember ever eating the real thing.  I was grossed out by meat and messy foods at a very young age.  This was predictably sweet and spicy and again, delish.  My siblings dug it and my brother was somewhat disturbed that I was enjoying it.  He's omnivorous but one of those people who can't stand the term "faux meat".  When I describe things as soy protein, he's more easy going.

My brother's favorite - Lettuce wraps.  
I wasn't into the mass of green onions in these, but the pine nut addition is cool.

The first time we went, I decided on the grilled Bourbon Chicken sushi roll, and was misheard. Poor me, the massive Bourbon Chicken plate was delivered:

Even taking in the boring steamed veggies, it was great. 
 I quickly stir fried my leftovers with garlic the next night for dinner.

My sister's Bento box:

Mike's General Tso's dinner

Exterior

Although it was a staple when I was in college, I didn't find myself drinking any Dunkin Donuts while in NYC.  I only had a couple lattes - the best being this one from Kaffe 1668.


Hmm, I suppose I didn't porn the desserts yet!  
Or a visit to Buddha Bodai, or two to Vegetarian Dim Sum House, or PIZZA.....stay tuned, pretty please.

21 comments:

Chrissy said...

Ha! I also grew up on the South Shore of Long Island and make it back about once a year to see my thickly accented family. While I also escaped the Lawn Guyland curse (phonetically, anyway) I have managed to pick up a slight Texas twang.

Also, I am totally craving poppy seed bagels right now. :)

Sarah said...

I have something VERY important to tell you.

Ready?

Moshe's. http://diningville.com/restaurants/moshes-falafel-stand/

<3

East Village Vegan said...

I just discovered soy and sake too:) Their specialty sushi rolls are really good. Looking forward to your next post.

Zucchini Breath said...

Beautiful! I wouldn't eat any of it but I love looking at the photos! Keep em coming!

bazu said...

I miss you! And Oasis is my favorite, too!

Nicole said...

I LOVE MAMOUNS!!!!!!! There is one in New Haven, it is the best ever.

Elyse said...

Looks like a fabulous time in NYC. I'm so glad that you got to visit your fam, too. All of this food is making me hungry. I can't wait for the food porn desserts!

jd said...

You're killing me with that falafel! And your bagel with vegan cream cheese is obscene!

I'm drooling, here...

I also love that you said your NYC accent comes out only on "special occasions" - too funny!

And, BTW, I totally relate to your gin situation. I had a similar experience with Peppermint Schnapps (ick!) many years ago, and now I can't go near it with a 10 foot pole and a face-mask!

bjorkedoff said...

tomorrow i am eating watermelon.yr sister makes me really want it.
and those lattes look great.
and who's this brother you keep referring to?

Kati said...

You had me at cheap great falafel. God, that first one is incredibly perfect and bountiful looking.

I swear Greyhound is manned by the totally insane. I have crazy stories.

NYCrochet said...

If you could share what's good to order at Buddha Bodai, I'd love your expertise. I've had both the great and the bland there, and can never remember which was which!

Bianca said...

What a yummy post! Especially that buffalo chicken and the cute little bento box!

Mary said...

Your street photos make me miss New York! That falafel wrap looks incredible. I'd eat 3 a day if I had access to them.

Another reason to take the Chinatown bus instead of Greyhound: you don't have to hang out underground in the port authority terminal.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

I literally lost my speech when I saw that bagel! New York is amazing and I need to go back.

Anonymous said...

best chicken dish for me at red bamboo (Manhattan) - soul chicken. Over at red bamboo (Brooklyn) - po boi sandwich. I haven't a clue what kinda dressing they use to slather the sandwich but man, I'll marry the dressing. srsly.

For me the falafel at Cafe Mogador is the best but it's pricey. I love myself therefore I spoil myself with premium falafels.lol

Anonymous said...

my last trip, it was crazy o'clock and i needed a bagel--stopped at a "healthy" bodega to pick up tofutti then walked into bagelsmith to find they had beat me to the punch. that neighborhood was so not vegan-friendly when i lived there, but like 2 years later it was overflowing with vegan goodness. and it's totally the little things that get you, like vegan cream cheese at crazy o'clock.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I've been meaning to take that bus to Boston sometime! ha. I need to check out Soy & Sake next time I'm in town. I miss NYC!

Steve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jose said...

The falafel rocks! I have been eating the same thing for about two weeks now, NY-made!

Babette said...

I'm not sure if you still check this blog, but the link to Mamoun's Falafel should be :
http://mamouns.com/

I'll try to check out the place when I go to NY this month!

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