I love that I still discover new plant-based options around NYC all the time. There are just so many restaurants out there serving delicious plant-based foods that I couldn’t possibly know them all. I also love that so many of my friends, and so many new people I meet, are so open to trying plant-based foods, and then they end up liking them so much. It really fills my heart with a lot of joy to see someone eat their first all plant-based meal and then rave about how delicious it was. So, here are some delicious plant-based dishes I’ve gotten to share with friends this week!
First things first, we’ve got to start out with this Lebanese avocado, zaatar and veggie manousheh wrap from Manousheh in Greenwich Village. My friend Lena introduced me to it and it is by far my favorite new food discovery in the city this week. This wrap is so flavorful and delicious, I’ve already been back to get it for a second time. It’s a little to-go restaurant so it’s a perfect place to stop in and get yourself this plant-based wrap on the go.
If you’ve been following me for a while you know I love the almond butter and jam bagels from Black Seed Bagel, located it the NYC neighborhoods of Battery Park and Nolita. The almond butter they use makes this the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I feel like it’s an adult version of PB&J. And because just a bagel would never be enough to fill me up, I like to eat it with a big salad. On this day I had the Mexicali vegan salad from Chopt, which comes with romaine lettuce, mesclun lettuce, avocado, hearts of palm, tomato, black beans, tortilla chips, jalapeño and Mexican goddess dressing. There are Chopt locations all over the country, so this salad is worth trying if there’s a location by you, or it’s delicious to try recreating yourself at home.
A lot of the time when I visit Le Pain Quotidien, which is quite often, I’m torn about what to get because there are so many dishes I want. So I was very pleased to see that one of their summer specials is called the baker’s lunch and it comes with salad, half an order of avocado toast (my fav), and a cup of really good gazpacho. Le Pain Quotidien has locations all around the world with more and more popping up around the U.S. and they always have great plant-based options.
And clearly I’ve had taco salads on my mind because I also had this one from Whole Foods. Taco salads are really an easy tasty option for making yourself a plant-based meal. This one has black beans, lettuce, rice, mushrooms, salsa roja, pineapple pico, radish, onion, guacamole and salsa verde.
Cherries are so delicious and in season right now, if you haven’t had any yet be sure to get some at your local grocery store or farmers market! I served them at a little dinner party I had and they were a hit.
I had my usual multigrain bagel with tofu herb cream cheese, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts and tomato from Black Seed Bagels again. Switching from regular dairy cream cheese to tofu cream cheese is a really simple way to make your diet more plant-based. Tofu cream cheese really tastes so similar to the dairy kind. My friend Michele tried it and she really liked it. 
And last but not least this vegan chocolate chip cookie is perhaps the best chocolate chip cookie in all of Manhattan. It is thick and loaded with tons of mini chocolate chips. I picked it up at the very cute Spreadhouse Coffee on the Lower East Side. If you like sweets, this cookie is not to be missed!
xo,
Tedi