Plant-Based Eating: Brooklyn Style (Smorgasburg Edition)

A gorgeous of view of the Manhattan skyline taken from Smorgasburg by my friend Alyssa.

This past weekend I got to check out Smorgasburg, a popular food market held every weekend in Brooklyn. I was so pleased to see they had an abundance of plant-based food options. For any of you in the NYC area here are some must try foods at Smorgasburg. And for the rest of you around the world here are some fantastic, healthy meal inspirations. And FYI, all the plant-based foods at Smorgasburg are sooo delicious that you’ll see both vegans and non-vegans enjoying them. So here we go:

First I stopped at Palenque Homemade Colombian Food for a vegan arepa (above). Arepas are a traditional Colombian and Venezuelan flatbread. Mine was tasty and filling and came with seitan, arugula, chipotle sauce, vegan cheese and cilantro salsa.

Next my friend Alyssa and I stopped at Takumi Taco for some Japanese inspired tacos. Alyssa ordered the veggie taco and it came with charred corn, shishito peppers, cilantro, edamame, avocado & wasabi citrus.We also checked out Schnitz which makes a bunch of different variations of schnitzel. As I have found with most great food spots in NYC, Schnitz not-surprisingly has a vegan option on their menu as well. The vegan schnitzel is called the Yonz. It comes with butternut squash and corn schnitzel topped with jicama-fennel slaw & honey sriracha mayo all inside of a delicious pretzel bun. Both Alyssa and I really loved this one!Finally, I checked out Alchemy Creamery which is a 100% dairy-free ice cream shop. I had the green tea and coconut push pop and it was the perfect cool treat on such a warm NYC day.

At this point I was stuffed (and melting because it felt like it was 100º outside) so I didn’t try anymore dishes but there are tons of other vegan and vegan-friendly booths at Smorgasburg. I have heard great things about all these places and hope to try them out soon:

• Chickpea & Olive – All organic, vegan and local foods. As they say it, their food is “peace on a plate.” I love that concept! They specialize in vegan burgers and sandwiches.
• Asia Dog – Vegan hot dogs that are supposed to be fantastic.
• Monks Meats – A very popular vegan “butcher” shop.
• Regal Vegan – Gourmet vegan dips and spreads.

If you’re in NYC and looking to try some plant-based dishes that are done-right, Smorgasburg is a great place to start. For more information on Smorgasburg, plus their hours and locations, click here.

I hope everyone is starting to see that there are so many vegan/plant-based/plant-strong options out there and they are fantastic, not to mention so much healthier than most other food, if you give them a chance! 🙂