Where did we last leave off?
Ah yes, strolling the High Line. I had two raw blondie macaroons from O.L.D. while we wandered over the city, and then we decided the time had come to brave the masses. Times Square or bust? (Personally I’d rather bust, but that feels awful to say after the Saturday night incident).
I really avoid midtown, especially on the weekends, but when friends are visiting from out of town, ya gotta embrace your inner tourist…and that includes the hideously crowded 42nd street area. I swear, all the lights and crowds give me serious anxiety!
I was rewarded for my tour guiding skillz with a soymilk-y iced coffee. Ironically, I fell asleep on the couch right after my caffeine loading. All that walking really took a toll on me.
15 minutes does not a power nap make. In fact, I am so NOT the napping type, and as a result, I was pretty groggy for most of our walk to dinner.
Blossom! Ethel is not only open to veganism, but she is quite a fan. Ever since she started reading my blog she has become super veg-curious and so I was really excited to share my veggie world with her. Since she loves trying whatever I offer, I knew Blossom was the perfect introductory restaurant. In my opinion, it’s the perfect place to bring a non-vegan. Their menu is full of delicious “gateway” meals.
We started with the Crostini Tapas – hummus, spinach-walnut pesto, and bruschetta (two of each).
I went for the hummus (obvi) and bruschetta, while leaving the pesto to the others.
On the left is Ethel’s Seitan Marsala with sautéed kale, roasted fennel, yukon gold mash, seasonal mushrooms, and pan sauce. I’ve tried this dish and loved it, so I knew she was going to be happy with her selection…and she was!
On the right is Kyle’s Peas and Carrots (new dish!!) with slow roasted baby carrots, english pea risotto cake, carrot saffron sauce, sautéed pea leaves, and sugar snap peas. It looked super tasty, and he said it was perfect.
For my dish I got another newbie on the menu, the Veggie Grain Burger which was made of a lentil-quinoa burger, hummus, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.
Beans, quinoa, and hummus? How could I NOT order this? It was absolutely heavenly.
Monday
Kyle went to work, but Ethel and I slept in…
And woke up to frothy joy in a big fat mug.
After a slow start, we made it to MoMA for some artsy time. After soaking up a few hours worth of culture, we felt it would ONLY be appropriate to lunch on the Upper East Side. (Yes, I used “lunch” as a verb on purpose, to accent the hoity toity nature of the event – as in “Where do you summer?” – like a true Upper East Sider would). Just call us Gossip Girls wanna-bes.
Anyways, our restaurant choice was considerably less snooty. Can you say Candle Cafe? We made a quick stop on our way uptown.
Don’t worry Kyle, no purchases were made.
At Candle, we started with the Crystal Roll.
Cucumber, cabbage, avocado, rice noodles, cilantro and barbecue grilled seitan wrapped in rice paper with a spicy peanut sauce.
These were airy and light and absolutely refreshing. And the peanut sauce was SO friggin’ perfect. If the Candle peeps would only bottle it…they’d be millionaires and I’d be 700 pounds.
Ethel got the TUSCAN SEITAN PARMESAN SANDWICH – a breaded seitan cutlet with melted tapioca cheese and roasted garlic tomato sauce on a potato onion roll. It was also served with a mesclun salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette and fried potatoes.
I got the CAJUN SEITAN SANDWICH – pan-seared seitan, steamed greens, caramelized onions and avocado served on toasted focaccia with an ancho chili aioli and coleslaw.
We were both dead silent for a good 20 minutes after our meals came…stuffing our faces in total foodie bliss.
Ethel said this was probably the most fabulous vegan meal she has ever had. As for my meal, well, I’m going to have to agree.
The crispy outside of the seitan tasted fried (but without the super greasy quality), while the avocado and carmelized onions were an ah-mazing accent. But far and away, the star of the show was the ancho chili aoli. Holy yummy perfection. I reapplied aoli to the sammie after each and every bite. I literally wanted to dip everything in this sauce. If it were socially acceptable I would bath in the dang stuff!
How could we leave without dessert?
Since we were both stuffed to the brim, we got cookies to go (Oatmeal Raisin for me, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip for Ethel).
After waiting patiently for the downpour to turn back into walk-able weather, we made our way back to the UWS. Ethel rested her feet while I went on a 20 minute jog around the neighb. She’s not used to the New York lifestyle of walking all over the place…I’m hoping to keep that part of the East Coast lifestyle after I move West.
Winner winner Whole Foods dinner 🙂
On the left, a MONSTER salad with all the usual suspects and then topped with a pineapple/cashew quinoa dish that I’m fairly certain is new to the WF salad bar (trust me, I’m pretty much an expert). You all should recognize the dish on the right. It’s none other than my beloved seitan chimichurri. Candle eats much? I just can’t get enough seitan lately.
Dessert was Divine Grape Kombucha and an apple.
I’m off to get to bed now because…tomorrow is my LAST day of work.
I’m not really sure what to expect. To be honest, I’m pretty excited. Maybe more excited than I should be? I don’t know. I’m looking forward to this time off, but I do think that in a month or so I’ll start to get really antsy (then again, maybe not). I won’t be applying for a new nursing job until after the wedding, so we will see how I handle this time off. It’s going to be very bizarre to have no set schedule – but I’m actually thinking I will like it. It’s like the beginning of the end. Fingers crossed.
seitan is my new jam. i really love it!
i’m drinking a soymilky iced coffee as we “speak,” really ain’t nothing like it.
I need to give candle cafe another try. When I went I thought it was good but nothing mindblowing. I think the pumpkin sammie at peacefood is gasmic but I’m gpingbto go to candle caf again and get the Cajun seitan!
Ohmygosh. You must be so psyched! This little vegan good-bye tour of NYC you are taking part in should be a special on the Food Network… Hippie Hoppin’ in NYC… Sorry, i love coming up with names for shows, books and such… If you ever decide to write one/film one, you know who to call for ideas! 😉 Enjoy your last veggie in the Big Apple and leave some for me as i am going to visit my sis in a few weeks!
YOUR LAST DAY!!! So exciting! Unbelievably so! Embrace your time off like none other because it’s a choice and not forced and because you might not be able to do it again for years and years to come (the horror!). Man, you are going to have fun. I am a tad jealous if you couldn’t tell! Ha.
Also: love the nyc eats with your friend. I want to try seitan!
Sounds (and looks and probably *tastes* judging from your fab food pics, lol) like you had another great day with your friend–you both look gorgeous in that first photo, by the way!
ENJOY your last day and more importantly, SAVOR your time off! What a fabulous opportunity and time–full of excitement and new things, and your time off is somewhat planned and while it will be a stressful time with the move, it won’t be stressful because you are out of work/looking for work/stressing over your job situation. That truly is a gift–trust me! (Can ya tell I am a bit jealous!?!?!) I hope you live each day to the fullest and enjoy your last few days/weeks in NYC 🙂
Do you think they will do anything for you at work tomorrow? A party? A card? Anything?! Good luck!
Courtney
I need to visit NYC…everything you ate looks amazing! I will be so nice to have time off around the wedding…I def appreciated it!
I’m excited for you! Big things are in store…I can feel it. I like the sound of that “Peas and Carrots” dish 😉
I love my friends who are willing to eat veg foods, it’s so fun! Everything looks great!
Your sandiwch really looks amazing!
three things i adore:
tapas
that crystal roll. nom nom nom
reading your lovely blog <3
hope youre taking the best care
OMG – you actually SHOULD let the door hit your ass on the way out. I bet NO ONE has ever actually had that happen!
I’m so excited for you!
Whoot!
this restaurant looks amazing! i know i could never go vegan, but i would love to have a much more meat-free lifestyle. it would help if there were delicious dishes like THIS available! looks wonderful, especially that roll!!
Holy moly it looks like you two are having a blast 🙂 And those sammies are looking mighty fine. I could totally go for one right now.
The Crystal Roll at Candle looks amazing–I’m a sucker for a good peanut sauce.
Holy yum! Just checked out Blossom’s menu, I am so going there next time I’m in the city!
I think this break will be great for you, and I hope you have a good last day at work!
Sooo glad you’re getting amazing weather while you’re here! I almost went to the High Line yesterday with a friend visiting from out of town but we ended up going to the Empire State Building instead. Blossom is AMAZING – I need to go back ASAP! Have a great last day!!
Oh yum, yum, yum! And yay, for a transition time in life, you should be excited!
Looks like you guys had a total blast! 🙂 I have yet to try seitian, but I’d love to try making it! Where do you find it?
That Crystal Roll looks AMAZING! Looks like you ladies had tons of fun! If I went into a Tiffany’s, I’d have to leave my wallet/credit cards in the car!! Too tempting!
Looks like you had a great time! I love NYC!
I’ve been wanting to try Blossom and Candle 79 after hearing about them on other blogs, the food looks phenom!! 😀
I got a card from a friend (one who met me at the bar after work and wasn’t actually working that day)…and I’m going to a goodbye dinner on Monday with 6 of my closest coworkers. Good enough for me 🙂 I mean, at least they didnt get me goodbye Dunkin Donuts or anything, right? Because that would only prove exactly HOW LITTLE they knew me, haha. I kid, I kid, they were all really sweet and I really did feel the support.
darling! love that photo outside tiffany’s…we sooo should’ve gone inside…haha…need los fotos