Dipping Into the Sauce
By Michelle
Morning Sauce:
On St. Patrick’s Day, Jagjot and I ventured down to Downtown Manhattan to try out three restaurants that offered vegan options! They all had an abundance of vegan dishes that catered to different tastes and preferences that we simply had to go and try them out.
We first mosied on down to by Chloe. in SoHo for some breakfast to kick off our vegan tour. It was about one o’clock in the afternoon but our first stop was breakfast. by Chloe. was a short walk away from the F train station Broadway-Lafayette St station. The small, quaint restaurant could be easy to miss from its outward appearance; in fact, we almost passed right by it. Outside of the restaurant, it looks like an ordinary shop. Once we went in, however, it was packed with mainly young people around our age. We took this as a good sign though, and quickly lined up to order some scrumptious food.
Jagjot and I looked up the menu beforehand so we immediately knew what we wanted. Jagjot got the The Sunrise and I got the AB&B Toast. The Sunrise is a breakfast burrito with scrambled tofu, spicy seitan chorizo, black bean salsa, avocado, and tofu crèma all wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. The AB&B Toast is a slice of 7-grain toast topped with raw almond butter, banana, and drizzled with pure maple.
Though it comes as no surprise since we are in the city, we found the food pretty expensive. My toast was about $9 and Jagjot’s burrito was about $10. However, we were still eager to dig right in.
When we received our food, my first thought was how unappetizing Jagot’s breakfast burrito looked. There are no other words to describe it: just a wrap. I expected more from a popular vegan restaurant. The AB&B Toast for me, wasn’t much better aesthetically. Although it is a rather more simplistic dish, I thought by Chloe. would spice it up a bit more. Nevertheless, I hoped looks were deceiving and the food would taste a lot better than it looks.
Jagjot thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast burrito. Instead of actual chorizo, by Chloe. used seitan, a wheat gluten to still give it a “meaty” flavor, without the actual meat. Also, scrambled tofu was used in place of a scrambled egg. He commented on how he normally doesn’t like soft tofu but it works in the burrito. His one con is the avocado in it, which he is not a fan of. But other than that minor complaint, Jagjot wholeheartedly liked The Sunrise.
My almond butter and banana toast tasted similar to the peanut butter and banana toast I make at home for breakfast on weekend mornings. However, I noticed that it was more sticky, most likely because the almond butter was raw. To make the dish vegan, honey (which I would normally use) is replaced with pure maple. I suspect that this maple also added to the extreme stickiness of the food.
Overall, Jagjot and I enjoyed the food at by Chloe. Though pricey and cramped in the restaurant, it is to be expected from a well-known restaurant in Manhattan.
Heavy Sauce:
The second place we went to was Red Bamboo in Greenwich Village.
Jagjot got the Bamburger: a marinated and grilled vegan soy burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, caramelized red onions, and vegan mayo toppings, sandwiched between sesame seed buns. I got the Barbecue Buffalo Wings, which were marinated with a spiced citrus BBQ sauce and came with celery sticks and a vegan sesame ranch dressing as a bonus. These two dishes are Red Bamboo’s specialties, which was no surprise to us after we had our first bites. Jagjot practically fell in love with the Bamburger and admired how the burger exceeded his expectations. When it came to my buffalo wings, I was very impressed with how similar it was to actual buffalo wings. Though the texture reminded me that it really was not meat that I was eating, everything else was pretty spot on. Jagjot, and our other companion, Clara, tried the buffalo wings too. Their reactions to it was astounding: they were so in awe of how delicious the buffalo wings were and gushed over it for a couple minutes. It had been some time since the both of them consumed meat (Jagjot is vegan and Clara is vegetarian) so it is possible that is why this dish was particularly appetizing to them. Interestingly, the buffalo wing I ate touched the burger sauce that Jagjot had left behind in the container, and I found it much more delicious than the original. I guess that I craved the familiar taste of a hamburger so it tasted much better to me.
Overall, Red Bamboo was a great restaurant for everyone! We all agreed that we would go back for vegan food if we were in the area. In hindsight, it was the best place we visited that day.
Creamy Sweet Sauce:
For something sweet, we went to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream in Lower East Side.
It was a longer walk to this ice cream shop, tucked away on a short street by Houston Street. When Jagjot and I walked in, we were immediately immersed by the cute appearance of the shop. Jagjot’s friend, a worker at Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, offered us many different samples of the ice creams offered there.
Jagjot tried all the vegan flavors in the store, which are Concord Grape Peanut Butter & Jelly, Dark Matter, Salted Caramel, Mint Chip, Planet Earth, Cookie Crumble Strawberry Jam, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Cookies & Cream Caramel Swirl.
The vegan samples I tried are Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Cookie Crumble Strawberry Jam, and Planet Earth (a fruity flavor). What surprised me was the really coconutty flavor I got from it. Instead of using eggs, cream, and milk, the vegan ice creams use coconut cream, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. I was not really a fan of the vegan flavors because they did not remind me of regular ice cream and I only got the taste of coconut.
The non-vegan flavors I tried are Conversation Hearts (a cotton-candy-like flavor), Honeycomb, Earl Grey Tea, Chocolate, and Vanilla.
I ended up getting a scoop of the Honeycomb and Jagjot got a scoop of Cookie Crumble Strawberry Jam for our dessert. We both thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream and will definitely want to come back for more. We both love how it is an ice cream shop that provides options for vegans and non-vegans, while still having tasty selections.
After our trip, we agreed that it was a great experience to explore the city and try out some vegan food. For me, as a non-vegan, it was a new adventure because I have never really tried vegan food for me. For Jagjot, as a vegan, it was a great opportunity for him to experience new vegan food in the city. Overall, Jagjot and I both really loved making this project - from the filming to eating to editing the blog, it was a great experience that we would love to do again.
Sources: by Chloe., Red Bamboo, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream











