I Heart NY
Good morning everyone. Or rather Happy Eid, Health & Happiness كل عام وأنتم بخير و صحه و سعاده
It’s Eid time here again, Eid al-Adha to be precise. That means vacation time in the Islamic world, so even for us expats we get the same public holidays as well, which began today until next Tuesday. Whilst most of our expat friends are off on amazing holidays to Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Dublin or even home to Australia, for the first time, we decided to stay home – the compound is a ghost town. Hubs is studying and I want to get our messy house in order without social distractions, plus we have a big Christmas holiday coming up to Europe.
Which brings me to title of this post. Seeing as I am not going anywhere, perhaps I can list for you where I’d like to be, and the place that is first on my bucket list. Plus one of our friends from camp here left for NYC last night. Despite my various trips in the USA to:
Hawaii
Los Angeles
Washington DC
And Houston, Boston, Arizona and Oklahoma City, I’ve never once made it to my dream destination of New York City.
I was in the midst of planning my first vacay there last year when I found out I was pregnant. Somehow heading to Chicago for Lollapalooza and then onto NYC didn’t seem right with a bun in the oven, so I postponed it.
Most of my friends have visited NYC multiple times and I have lived through their accounts and a bestie is also a native – I still laugh when I first met her and I asked her if she was American and she said no, she was a New Yorker.
New York City is the one place I know exactly what I would do when I arrive and I’m afraid to say, the majority of it revolves around food. Shall I indulge you with my virtual foodie tour?
- Pure Food & Wine - would be my FIRST stop of the Raw Vegan restaurant variety and no doubt one of many. The baby of the raw goddess Sarma Melngailis (co author with her then partner Matthew Kenney of Raw Food Real World), I’ve heard bookings are a must, so I would most likely book prior to leaving home just so I could wrap my tastebuds around their famous lasagna, mallomars, sake cocktails and extensive wine list.
- Quintessence – gourmet raw vegan cuisine
- Blossom - vegan cuisine restaurant
- Rockin’ Raw – raw living cuisine with a Peruvian/New Orleanean/Creolean flavour. Real soul food
- Bonobos – vegetarian and raw cafe
- Caravan of Dreams – organic vegan cuisine with raw options
- Babycakes - gluten free & vegan bakery selling the most amazing looking cupcakes and cinnamon buns
- Sacred Chow - organic vegan cuisine
- Candle 79 – NYC’s premier vegan destination
- Hangawi - vegetarian Korean restaurant
- Stogo - organic dairy free icecream
- Sullivan Street Bakery – vegan pizzas and breads
- Liquiteria juice bar – organic Norwalk pressed to go juices
- Angelica Kitchen - organic plant based cuisine
So tell me, where is your favourite place in the world to go for food – either visited or dreaming about? I must admit, when I lived in Mexico, the food was amazing, but I wasn’t surrounded by the food we’ve come to know as Mexican, ie no nachos or burritos. I also love Thai, Italian and Indian.
Also, indulge me, have you been to New York or any of the above restaurants? I’d love your take on the city!
NYC is the best place on earth for a vegan!!! The two weeks I spent there were the best of my life and not just because of the delicious food everywhere.
Ooh do tell Juliane
Please add “Dirt Candy” to your list, way up towards the top. This is my favorite vegetarian restaurant in NYC. While it is not vegan, all of their main dishes can be made so on request. This is a truly original and outstanding vegetable cuisine. The chef has worked at several of the spots on your list. She stives to find the essence of individual vegetables, then exhalt it beyond it’s physical boundaries. Very sophisticated. I have taken resolutely non-vegetarians there many times, and they have been astounded and delighted without exception. Here’s a link to their web page. http://www.dirtcandynyc.com/
Hope you get to visit soon. Thanks for your very enjoyable blog.
Thanks Marieta, this is just the kind of stuff I need to know
Well now I definitely must put New York on my vision board for 2012
New York is certainly exceptional as far as vegan/raw food goes. I just took a short trip to NYC a few weeks ago and did a short series of posts about it. Among the places I ate were Angelica Kitchen, Liquiteria, Lula’s Sweet Apothecary, Blossom, and Bliss Cafe. Each was divine and special in its own way and I can’t wait to go back to taste more of the city’s vegan offerings! Hope you get to travel there soon!!
Oh Katie I will have to check out your blog posts so I can live through you till I get there. Fingers crossed for 2012.
I’ve never been to NYC either! I hope to change that in 2012.
Maybe you should put a trip to Kansas City on your calendar for next year. You know, for a certain someone’s wedding…
Are you serious???? Do you have a date or estimate??
My friend and I keep talking about driving to NY to go to Pure Food and Wine! I have other friends that have gone that weren’t impressed, but they probably didn’t appreciate it! I love Sarma and Matthews books!
Oh, please don’t start! The sense of overwhelming elation I feel whenever I step off the plane into New York is beyond words. Oh god, I miss travel! Rob, I miss travel!!
Italy is my fav
mmmmm so fresh and simple and authentic and AMAZING! NYC was just incredible though. I wanted to get to Angelica Kitchen but alas, too little time, too much to be eaten!
Heidi xo
Hi! Thanks for dropping by my blog! This is really in reply to your previous post. I have made KOMBUCHA (we used to call it Manchurian Mushroom back in the early 90′s). It is a kind of messy process, but well worth it for a delicious and healthy fermented drink. It’s kind of emotional you know… you have to keep feeding the mushroom or it dies, and then you have to keep breaking off the mushroom as it grows and frantically try to give it to your friends. Having to THROW OUT the overgrown mushroom babies always made me feel awful, and then I accidentally killed my mushroom when I went on holiday. It’s kind of like having a pet.
Cool list, thanks!
I was thinking I could live without Pure Food and Wine based on what I’ve heard about the prices… but then I never should’ve gone to their website! OMG! It looks amazing! I wonder how far in advance you need to book?
Can’t wait to check out ice cream and cupcakes either ;o)
Thanks!
Only 7 sleeps to go!