Tag Archive for NYC

Vegan???

January 30, 2013 Restaurant Experiences

After a quick trip to Long Island to visit my wonderful family, my friend and I decided to take advantage of being in the city on a beautiful evening.  Since she is a vegetarian, and we are working on getting summer ready… if you know what I mean.

At the suggestion of my veggie friend, we drove around for what seemed like forever to get a free parking space, to finally arrive at Cafe Blossom.

Cafe Blossom is a vegan restaurant in the West Village of NYC.  This being my 2nd vegan meal experience as a foodie, we went all out.  We started at the bar with a vegan wine (red blend (bordeaux/rhone style), the vegan vine, sonoma, california, 2009).  Here’s the thing, we didn’t have a reservation, and initially were told they were booked, but with a bit of charm we asked if we could wait and maybe someone would leave early or not show up,  After about 20 minutes at the bar, Wooohooo, we got a table.  By the way, sitting at the bar is pretty cool since you can see directly into the small kitchen.

Once seated I had the following:

beet carpaccio, herbed cashew ricotta, marinated figs, extra virgin olive oil,
balsamic drizzle

quinoa and squash burger, lettuce, tomato, red onion, spicy aioli

peach and strawberry crumble, vanilla ice cream

chocolate kahlua tart, date and hazelnut crust, vanilla ice cream

Yes, we had 2 desserts, but we couldn’t decide what we wanted… sue me.

The chef (Shawain Jay, @chefwhyte) and the staff at Cafe Blossom are amazing.  I look forward to trying some more of the meatless treats at Cafe Blossom

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Life Changes and Ideas

April 25, 2010 Uncategorized

I am struggling to refocus my healthy lifestyle, I took a small break from my Beach Body Insanity workout, to resume April 26, 2010. And with changes in my life that I want to make, I felt the need to purge some things from my physical life. So this weekend I have committed to cleaning my house from top to bottom. It is going well so far.

In my cleaning frenzy I stumbled upon a few restaurant guides, and I thought wouldn’t it be cool to visit every restaurant in one of those guides and share my experience with you, the readers. So obviously it will take a very long time to get through the list, but I am in no rush.

In the future I am also thinking of trying a vegan diet for a period of time, and a more local food diet for a period of time, just to see if I feel different, and also how I can change my carbon footprint, so I would like to take you on that journey with me as well. In the coming weeks I will be deciding which endeavor I will take on first and begin to share those experiences. I’m excited, let the research begin.

Taste big Dream Bigger
Foodieengineer

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Dinner in Lower Manhattan

July 18, 2009 Restaurant Experiences

I had a great romantic dinner recently, and it could not have been more delicious. There is nothing like great company, wonderful service and a satisfying and reasonably priced food. When ever New York Restaurant week comes around, I love to take advantage of the great $35.00 dinner menu. The $35.00 covers a delicious appetizer, entree, and dessert. Restaurant Week this year is from July 12-31, and I strongly suggest anyone near New York take advantage of this great deal. Some may not have an opportunity to dine at many of these restaurants any other time during the year, with our economic conditions.

I decided to dine in Lower Manhattan this time, and after reviewing a few of the Restaurant Week menus, I decided to try out, The Harrison. After getting a parking spot on the street only a block away, we arrived for our 7:45pm reservations, and were immediately seated. Though the seating places you a bit close to the next tables, the atmosphere is great, and the staff was eager to answer any questions about the menu or wine menu.

We decided on the Crispy Skate Fingers on napa cabbage slaw and lemon creme fraiche, and Summer Baby Lettuce with and apple-fennel vinaigrette as our appetizers. The appetizers were the perfect amount and the Skate was cooked to perfection with the crisp coating on the skate and the crunch of the slaw, with a bit of the creme fraiche, I could have made that the meal. And the salad had just the right amount of vinaigrette dressing.

As our entrees we decided to have Bacon Crusted Bluefish on top of a grilled beefsteak tomato and poblano cream, as well as the Grilled Hanger Steak with warm red potato salad and sweet red onions, the steak was perfect and practically melted in our mouths, and the bluefish with the cream was wonderful, although it was bacon crusted it still seamed very light, and had so much flavor.

Finally my favorite course……dessert. For dessert on the Restaurant Week menu was summer Berry Shortcake with a housemade biscuit and fresh whipped cream. With my current plan of running a half marathon, this was a perfect sized dessert. The biscuit had a shortbread and cornmeal flavor, and there was nothing about the dessert that we could change. After completing the meal the server delivers small squares of a very rich chocolaty brownie to send you on your way. The end to a perfect meal.

The location of The Harrison is perfect for the folks coming from the Holland Tunnel, if they don’t live in the city. You will find The Harrison at 355 Greenwich St (between Franklin St & Harrison St) New York, NY 10013. Just one block from the famous Tribeca Grill and 1 block from the West Side Highway.

After dinner we were able to walk along the Hudson and take in the city. I will return to The Harrison, and I think they might have convinced me to return after Restaurant Week. www.theharrison.com

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