New York, New York!
Posted by scratch on Jan 31, 2007 · Member since Jun 2006 · 9 posts
I'm going on a four-day trip to New York City in May, along with my newly vegan friend. It's a school trip, so our days will be pretty structured, and we won't have too much freedom of where to roam. I was wondering if anyone new of any vegan stores or places to eat down there? If we can't find anywhere, it'll be the fruit from the grocery store, which I really have no problems with, but being from a relatively small town in Canada, we don't have vegan stores, so it would always be neat to go. Thanks!
Ah! I forgot to mention (I'm kind of ashamed) that I don't know what part of New York City we'll be in. I know we're going to wherever the statue of liberty is, and (unfortunately) to wherever they play pro baseball, we're going to watch a play, and I think that's it. I have absolutely no idea where these things are in New York, and no idea where I can eat that is near them.
I don't know any thing about new york myself but I wanted to mention traveling between u.s. and Canada. DO NOT BRING ANY FRUIT W/ YOU!!. The last time I was in Can I tried to bring back a couple of apples (grown in washington state) for the plane ride. I was practical treated like a terrorist. You can bring packaged goods like granola bars but nothing fresh. Have fun on your field trip.
I'm only semi-familiar with NYC, but I did go to Brooklyn for a few days a month ago. We ate at one vegetarian restaurant called Red Bamboo, which was fabulous. Most of the stuff on the menu was vegan, but they did have some sort of mac and cheese business that was emphatically not! ;) There was also a lovely little natural foods store right down the block called Carrot, I believe, and there are at least two natural food co-ops in the city. I'm pretty sure there's a Gonvindas in the city, which is run by Hare Krishnas and thus vegetarian. With minimal effort, though, you're guaranteed not to starve in the city! Good luck and have fun!
There are actually a ton of vegetarian/vegan restaurants and pretty much every Chinese/Thai restaurant also has many vegetarian dishes (with tofu) on the menu. It is not hard to find something to eat in Manhattan.
It's probably one of the easiest places to get vegan and organic products in the country, if not the world. Have fun, how can you not, it's NYC!
scratch, when you get a better sense of where you are visiting and what neighborhoods you will be looking to eat in, I can give you some specific recommendations.
I just wanted to say that I am so envious!! I spent 4 days in NYC when I was a senior in high school & I have always wanted to go back.
Lucky you!!! Have fun!!
Heyya!
I live in NYC. As others have said, it's is SUPER EASY to get vegan food in Gotham. Personally, have haven't been being totally vegan when I go out, but I avoid the obvious animal flesh, etc. Most restuarants here have several vegeterian options on the menu, and many are also vegan. Be sure to ask very specific questions about ingredients, but it should be fairly easy to find good cruelty-free food. Most regular ethinic restaurants have many options, diners/Americanish restaurants have a few choices as well, but your safest bet is to go to one of the many vegan restaurants here. Some are rather snooty & pricey, but many aren't. Most larger groceries in Brooklyn & Manhattan have both regular & "gourmet-ish" vegan items, and their are tons of Health Food type stores.
in case you don't check back, here is a link I hope will be helpful:
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants.asp?home=Y&cuisineid=68
(www.menupages.com)--select NY and then select vegetarian. I highly recommend Candle Cafe (and its upscale sister, Candle 79), Caravan of Dreams, Quantum Leap (which also serves fish and there is another location at First Avenue and 11th street), and the south indian restaurants on/near Lexington Avenue. You and your friend would also probably like Kate's Joint on Avenue B and 4th street in Alphabet City (for a fix of fried vegan junk food).
I also noticed that Burritoville isn't mentioned in the vegetarian section, which is too bad because it has an outstanding selection of vegetarian--and vegan--offerings. You can go on their website www.burritoville.com and print out a map of their locations and just carry it around with you!
mmmm...burritoville...me like
Ah yes, Kate's Unbuffalo Chicken Wings. Divine. I also use menupages like a fiend.
I live right smack in the middle of the East Village, which has, I believe, the highest concentration of ovo-lacto, vegan, raw, etc restaurants in the city. When you go to menupages, they have a listing of areas of Manhattan, and I recommend looking into the East Village or Greenwich. Curly's Lunch on 14th St, between 1st and 2nd Aves. is my current fave. But really, eating veggie in this city is sooooo easy. I'm not vegan, but I have no problem getting meat-free food in damn near any place I go, even if it's not called a "vegetarian" restuarant. Most places still have a lot of veg options, and if you inquire about something on the menu, or ask that something be modified for your diet, you don't get a second glance. That's a generalization, sure, but I grew up in rural NC, Tennessee, and Louisiana, so I really appreciate the acceptance of my diet up here.
I moved away from NYC a couple years ago. I miss it so much, if nothing else but for the food.
I highly recommend you purchase the Vegan Guide to New York City. (check out amazon.com) My ex-wife bought a copy for me after we moved to the area and it was great. It lists places to go in practically every neighborhood, plus general shopping and health food stores of interest.
Generally speaking, I imagine you'll be spending a lot of time in Manhattan since thats the main tourist destination. There are an endless choice of restaraunts in Manhattan and pretty much every block of dining will have at least one restaurant that has something for veg*ns. I've even managed to find a few steak places that have multiple options for the vegan diner, and I'm not talking plain baked potato or a salad. Outside of Manhattan you're choices start to go down, but not much.
If you go to Chinatown, and I highly recommend it, check out the Vegetarian Dim Sum House (24 Pell Street, a couple blocks off the main drag not too far from the Buddhist temple). That's a mandatory stop every time I come back to visit. There are a couple other vegetarian places in that area that are also good. The East Village also has big grouping of veg*n restaruants, ranging from mom and pop type diner to fancy vegan wine bars. Caravan of Dreams is one of my faves in that area. I've waited for an hour and a half to get a table there, in the middle of winter, because its so yummy.
If you go hungry in NYC, it won't be from a lack of options!