Plant-Based Eating NYC Style

This past weekend I visited some of my friends and family in NYC. I went to college on the east coast so most of my college friends live in the Big Apple. I was thrilled not only to see everyone but also to try out some of the great plant-based foods that NYC has to offer.

My first night in the city I met my friend Lauren for dinner at Souen. I LOVE Souen. They are a pescatarian restaurant which means they offer plant-based dishes and fish dishes. They have three locations around the city. I’ve eaten at all three.

Both Lauren and I ordered the macro plate. If you read my post on Plant-Based Eating LA Style then you know I love macro plates. Blows my mind how something so simple can taste so good. The macro plate at Souen comes with steamed kale, broccoli, squash, carrot, brown rice, beans, wakame seaweed and your choice of dressing. I got the tofu tahini dill dressing. So, SO good!

The next night a bunch of girlfriends and I had dinner in Soho at Galli, an Italian style comfort food restaurant. I was able to find multiple plant-based options on their menu. To start out we had a kale salad and a mushroom appetizer. Both plant-friendly. For my entrée I had the pasta integrale, which comes with whole-wheat spaghetti, escarole, cannellini beans, cherry tomatoes and garlic. It was to die for!

The next day Lauren and I checked out Blossom for lunch. This restaurant is 100% plant-based. We started with the black-eyed pea cake, which is made of yukon gold potatoes, black-eyed peas and topped with a chipotle aioli. It was a hit. For my entrée I had a plant-based BLT. It came with southern fried tofu, tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato and chipotle aioli on multigrain bread. I don’t normally eat meat substitutes so this was a first for me and I couldn’t believe how much the tempeh bacon tasted like real bacon! Lauren had the portobello panini that came with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, vegan mozzarella cheese and spicy mayo all on a rosemary focaccia bread. Lauren is 100% Italian and she loved the vegan cheese so that’s really saying something!

After that we strolled through downtown Manhattan. I love the cute neighborhood streets in the West Village like this one above!

We later found ourselves at Babycakes, a 100% vegan, gluten-free bakery in downtown Manhattan. I ordered an assortment of cupcakes and donuts. (Because I had to try them for the blog…right? 😉 ) They were delish!

Saturday night my friends and I had a casual dinner at Beyond Sushi. A 100% plant-based sushi restaurant. We ordered miso soup, edamame and a rice paper wrap to start. For our sushi we ordered the spicy mang roll that comes with black rice, avocado, mango, cucumber, spicy veggies and toasted cayenne sauce and the la fiesta roll that comes with black rice, avocado, pickled jalapeño, chayote, cilantro and a mango chili sauce.

And of course I had to check out my favorite…Le Pain Quotidien. I was so happy to see there was a little Le Pain Quotidien stand right near Chelsea Market. It was such a beautiful day out that all the seats were taken outside so we headed into the actual restaurant where we all sipped on tea and I ordered the organic black bean hummus tartine that comes with roasted red peppers, avocado and harissa tahini.

My friend Brooke being cute outside the Le Pain Quotidien stand.

How good does that tartine look? I love all the plant-based foods that NYC has to offer. Can’t wait ’til the next time I’m back to try some more! What other cities have great plant-based options?? Any suggestions?