I’m still in New York (and loving it!) with plans to get back to sunny Arizona some time next week. Today, though, we had some sun. Yippee! Here’s a brief recap of vegan foodie heaven, NY style.
A couple nights ago we went back to Cafe Blossom (you all know this is my favorite place by now), and this time I went Raw. I had an enormous salad piled high with spring greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, jicama, and avocado (I love that everything there is organic!). It was delish! Then, I also had an order of their Raw Autumn Sweet Potato Rolls. Oh! And, of course, I had a large Field of Greens green juice (spinach, cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger). I was feeling alive and on cloud 9 with so much organic raw food goodness. The food was fabulous, the atmosphere was wonderful and the staff, as usual, were awesome. (We’re going back there for dinner tonight!)
Another night we ventured out to Pure Food & Wine. I adore Pure. But, this particular dining experience was not our best visit to this great restaurant. I had the taco salad, which was pretty good. I especially like the portion size. I also had a very green juice that caused me to make faces when drinking it (you know, like when you do a shot of vodka or something), but I’m a hard core girl and I appreciate mega green juices so that was good. Bring on the greens! My husband had the lasagna and here is where there was some disappointment. The cheese was hard around the edges and dark yellowish like it had been sitting out or perhaps sitting in the refrigerator uncovered. The overall dish just didn’t look very fresh. Maybe someone who isn’t accustomed to raw nut cheeses might not have noticed this, but I wouldn’t have served it like that. All three of us at the table were quite surprised given Pure’s reputation. When it came time for dessert, I was oh-so tempted to get my favorite thing there: Mallomar! But, I ended up ordering the Peach Cobbler. It was pretty good. The flavors were extremely intense, making the super small portion actually not a bad thing. Overall, my husband and I liked it, the presentation was beautiful, it had unique flavors, and I loved the fresh peaches. But, I wish I had ordered the Mallomars; those are wickedly amazing.
Fast forward to today. My husband and I went for vegan (mostly raw) sandwiches at a little deli near our hotel. These sandwiches are loaded to the gills with fresh veggies, sprouts, avocado, etc. Well, I left my purse there! Doh! We were walking back to the hotel, when we decided to stop into Cafe Blossom for some green juice and raw cookies for dessert. We were there a good 15 minutes before I realized I didn’t have my purse!!! I said to my husband, “OMG! Wait here!” I ran out the door like a bat outta hell, and, in the process, I basically ran over a guy as he was going into Cafe Blossom. I ran like crazy back to the sandwich shop and found my purse – WHEW! – and then headed back to Cafe Blossom. As I was walking in, the guy I ran over was leaving. Apparently though, after I ran him over, he walked into the restaurant and exclaimed in front of my husband, “Did you see that lady running?” Turns out it was Matt Dillon. Ha! But, that’s not the only star enjoying the delectable food of Cafe Blossom. Currently, Ann Hathoway is doing Shakespeare in the Park and she’s been eating there like twice a day. Told you it was awesome!
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Friday was a fun day. Even though it started with clouds, we actually had the sun peak out for about 3 seconds. I am hopeful that tomorrow will be even better.
We started the day with tea in our hotel room. Then, we scooted our butts to the subway so we could go to Union Square where they have a green market (farmer’s type market) every Friday. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any fresh produce that was calling my name though (I needed fruit that could sit without refrigeration in our hotel room. So, we ended up going to Whole Foods and getting (organic) bananas, apples, and cherries.
When I’m traveling, I like to have plenty of fresh, organic Raw vegan snacks on hand in the hotel room. (Later, I put the cherries in a bag, in our hotel room’s ice bucket, with some ice and water to keep them chilled. Of course, I didn’t keep them there very long because we ate them around dinner time. And, I used the same set up to keep my Norwalk juice cold until I drank that baby down!)
But, before going to Whole Foods, we met Michelle for a juice at One Lucky Duck (I’ve fast become a regular there – wish they had one of those punch cards “Buy 10 Drinks, Get One Free!” That’d be sa-weet. Or better yet, “Buy 10 Mallomars, Get One Free!” – A girl can dream, right?). My husband and I arrived at One Lucky Duck early, so we each had a smoothie (Blue Sunset) and it was really good. Then, when Michelle arrived, I had some fresh plant blood (Green Spice: greens, lemon, ginger) while Michelle had the Hot Pink (beet, pear, pineapple, ginger) and she had a Mallomar. She took her time enjoying her Mallomar and actually made it last for about 15 minutes… taking small bites using a fork. So unlike me; I tear into one of those things with my hands and it’s gone, seriously, in 2-3 bites (usually about 1 minute). Before we left, I grabbed a Norwalk One Lucky Duck green juice to go (seen in the pic with apples, bananas, and cherries above). The Norwalk juice is great because it has a little bit of a shelf life, due to the extraction process, and as long as I can keep the juice chilled, I can store it for a day or two before drinking it (although, I always drink it the day I buy it).
It has been so fun meeting all of these different people in the city. My husband and I were saying how everyone we’ve met here has been so nice… even just people on the street. New York has been very welcoming to us. Thank you, New York!
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Today is Friday and it’s another gloomy day in NY. I seriously thought today would be the day that I bust open the drapes upon waking and there’d be sunshine pouring through the windows, but no, it’s completely foggy and overcast again. Are we in Seattle? The constant drizzle is… well, so constant.
Here is my High Raw food intake for Thursday.
I started the day with a cup of herbal tea and a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with a splash of organic soy milk (no, I don’t mind organic soy milk in small quantities from time to time). We had a business breakfast meeting and I’m just not crazy about fruit in a “diner” setting. I’d rather have something “cooked” and low-fat vegan in a setting like that. Then, for most of the afternoon I drank water.
Evening time rolled around and we went to One Lucky Duck. I started my meal with a fresh organic plant blood (greens, lemon, ginger). One of the biggest things I miss when traveling is fresh organic plant blood (green juice), but when you’re in NY there are quite a few options (yay!).
Then, I had the Taco Salad. It was pretty good, although quite heavy with having not only guacamole, nut sour cream, and nut meat, but also a lot of dressing on it. Even though I would prefer less dressing, I’d still probably get the salad again someday if I were really hungry.
Finally… it was dessert time. Oh, the desserts at One Lucky Duck. I’m instantly transported into heaven every time. I started my dessert feast with one of my favorites, the Mallomar. But upon taking my second bite, I dropped it on the floor! Crap! I was so bummed. No “five second” rule here, friends, the floor was not very clean considering it’d been raining all day and people were trekking through the place with wet, dirty shoes from the subway, NY streets, etc. I sadly picked up my smished Mallomar and went up to the counter, alligator tear in my eye (not really, but it could have been for how bummed I was) and I gave it to the One Lucky Duck gal. I walked back to the table, mourning my Mallomar. But… One Lucky Duck Team came to my rescue! Five minutes later the gal behind the counter came over with a new one for me. I was one happy girl!
We quickly realized though that the Mallomars still wouldn’t be enough for us, so my husband and I shared a pint of their Raw ice cream. A pint, yes. A little overboard? Sure. But, we’re in NY and we’re at One Lucky Duck! It’s not like I could take it back to the hotel with me… gotta eat it all! And, so we did. It was wonderful.
Before leaving One Lucky Duck, I bought a bottle of their Norwalk juice. This is juice extracted with a Norwalk juicer which gently juices the produce, meaning that the result is reduced oxidation and increased shelf life. The juice will usually stay pretty fresh when stored properly (airtight container) for a few days. I grabbed a Norwalk green juice to go so I could alkalize a little in the hotel before going to bed.
Ahhh… such a lovely day of food. Yum! I LOVE GOOD, HEALTHY, ORGANIC, QUALITY FOOD! My birthday is coming up shortly and my husband asked me what I wanted to do. All I want is to eat at my favorite restaurants here in the city, and enjoy super delicious healthy food – all day. That’s a great day to me.
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I'm Kristen, and welcome to my blog. I'm a wife, mom, author, and I love to eat so food is usually the topic of my blog posts. I'm a former (almost decade long) vegan turned back omnivore who enjoys reading, rebounding, coffee, and dark chocolate. 
