I Heart New York

I love New York.

I have made that clear here and here. From the first time I got off the train in Manhattan I knew there was something special about NY for me. I felt like Madonna when she arrived in New York and said, “take me to the middle of everything.”

Note: Most moments in my life can be directly correlated to a Madonna moment or song.

I jump at any chance I have to be in New York, which I really believe is the center of everything. Culture, art, food, scandal, love, live, and everything in between can be found in New York. GUSH

I was in New York last week for a brief work trip and had the chance to try out a couple vegan eateries. Here is the good, bad, and ugly… 

1. One Lucky Duck

I have posted about One Lucky Duck before when they had a promotion on Daily Gourmet, but I finally had the chance to visit. First off, it was my first time in Chelsea Market and it was so fun! One Lucky Duck is tucked away in a large room of vendors and is predominately raw with lots of delicious juices, smoothies, and raw yum-yums. I asked for a smoothie suggestion and was led to the simple banana, cashew milk, and cinnamon. Seems so boring, but was so delicious. It was the perfect treat for a humid NY day. Yum!

2. Caravan of Dreams

The name of this place makes me chuckle, so I had to visit… Let me start with the positive. The atmosphere in this place is amazing. It is SO cute and just has that perfect level of underground NY that made me feel like Andy Warhol at a 1974 café. I had the maple and tamari smoked tempeh, which was just lovely; a fusion of flavors that blended perfectly.

My travel partner got the red lentil and roasted cauliflower cakes. Sounds good, right? She took one bite and damn near spit it out. The cakes were spiced with curry, which she is NOT a fan of. Problem is the menu had NO mention of curry at all. We all know many people have a love / hate relationship with curry and it is a really strong flavor. Yet, they completely disregarded this and left no mention of it on the menu. My travel partner is a new vegetarian and I know how disappointed she was. Clearly, I was too. She ate around it, but I hate when people have to do that. So, if anyone from Caravan of Dreams reads this, I hope you will adjust your menu in the future. A simple change would lead to a world of difference.

Ice cream perfection after the jump…

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(Almost) Raw Pie Crust

After coming off one of the best weekends ever, it just doesn’t even seem right to write about something so simple.

Let’s just say I have some serious posts coming up that I am so excited to share with all of you. I can barely handle it I am so excited.  *SQUEE*

Okay, okay… On to the pie crust…

So, you all know I have been really into researching the raw food movement. I am just fascinated by all of it. After my first raw appetizer in New York and a visit to a totally raw restaurant in Austin, I am just digging on it more and more.  I have no plans on being the Chubby Rawist, but I think integrating creative raw recipes into our cuisine is really great. Vegans are creative. Raw foodists take food creativity and kick it up to a whole new level.

This piecrust is from the Engine 2 Diet book and is the basis for a couple of different recipes in the book. I made the Chocolate Icebox pie from the book which 

1.      Thought was just okay
2.      Forgot to take pictures of…

Therefore we get to be creative and think of all the things you could possibly use this crust for. I have compiled a list of my suggestions, as well as the recipe, after the jump…

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Austin Day Two

I think I made a mistake; I probably should have stayed in Austin.

If the weather alone isn’t enough to make you want to live in Austin, the beautiful people and amazing
food just puts you right over the edge. I have been looking at pictures of my trip and it makes me very
nostalgic. It also makes me hungry, but that’s another story.

I am going to take some liberties and break apart “Austin Day 2” into what is more like days 2-4.
There are so many great places to talk about, but I don’t want to be like Aunt Edna showing you slides
from her trip to Niagara Falls.

So, shall we?

Counter Culture

Austin is known for their food carts. There are quite a few of them around town and there are at least
three that are exclusively vegan. I really love the idea of a food cart; a basic menu, a couple of specials,
outdoor seating, and the ability to pick up and carry your restaurant to a new location. Awesome!

I only got the chance to eat at one food cart in Austin, but it was pretty amazing. It’s in the parking lot of a convenience store, which in itself is so punk rock I can’t even stand it. The owner, chef, and all around cool chick (Sue) was there and we chatted about all things vegan and Austin. I love meeting new vegans, especially adorable food cart vegans.

My friend Erica and I split three things at Counter Culture:

Red Lentil & Celery Root Loaf Sandwich (made from sweet potato, bread crumbs & spices served with
organic lettuce, tomato, ketchup & mustard)

Philly Seitan (w/ cashew cheese, onions, and pepper)

Raw Doughnut Hole / Brownie

All of it was excellent! Hard to believe such perfection can come out of a little truck in front of a
convenience store. I feel like I should open up a food truck. Do you think I can do that in cold and snowy Pittsburgh?

More vegan Austin, after the jump…

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Daily Gourmet Goodies

Who doesn’t love a macaroon?

Hands? Anyone?

That’s what I thought!

Daily Gourmet is offering a super special offer on raw, organic, and vegan macaroons & cinnamon squares from One Lucky Duck.

 

One Lucky Duck is a raw empori-yum in New York specializing in organic, raw and mostly vegan products. The offer is for 12 Blonde Macaroons, one bag of 12 Chocolate Macaroons and one bag of 6 Cinnamon Squares for $35 w/ free shipping!

Where do I sign up? Well, visit Daily Gourmet before Wednesday night to get the deal.

Also, to my loving Chubby Vegan readers, I am giving away coupon codes for an extra $5 off. If you want one, just do one of the following things: 

• Like “Daily Gourmet” on the book of faces or sign up for the Daily Gourmet email
• Follow me on Twitter
• Or just ask nicely…

Once you do any of the following, leave a comment with your email and let me know or send me an email and I will get a code over to you asap!

I only have a certain amount of codes and the offer ends Wednesday so do it fast; you will be loving on some macaroons and cinnamon squares before you know it!

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