Amazing food on the east coast – Part 1 New York

While traveling around the east coast on my book tour I had the pleasure of dining at many amazing restaurants. I try to show my support to all vegan establishments whenever possible. Usually my day is planned around where I’m going to eat. If you are vegan you are probably just like me when you are in a new city!

Here are some vegan eats I enjoyed in New York on my first trip there. I will probably post more adventures from my second trip to New York at some point. Philly will be coming next!

In New York, I was blessed to have home-cooked Indian food prepared for me by Dino of Alternative Vegan. But I couldn’t pass up visiting some of the best vegan restaurants there! NYC is a foodgasm like no other. We hit up Blossom for brunch, Blossom Bakery for treats, Peacefood Cafe, Candle 79, Sun in Bloom in Brooklyn and when I came back at the end of the month I went to Maoz’s, Zen Palate, Sacred Chow and Candle Cafe West.

Sun in Bloom is a almost hidden gem nestled in a hip area of Brooklyn. The owner Aimee is a whiz in the kitchen, whipping up all gluten-free meals and desserts heavily influenced by macrobiotics and raw cuisine. She organized a dinner inspired by recipes in my cookbook, so of course I thought the food was amazing. Unfortunately I didn’t have time for another visit to try out some things from the regular menu. But I did get to try three of her mouth-watering gluten-free desserts. I highly recommend visiting Sun in Bloom if you are in Brooklyn!

I had a pretty bad experience at Peacefood Cafe. Got horrible attitude from one waiter who tried to tell me that I didn’t know what I was talking about when I received a raw fettuccine with chipotle cashew cream sauce whose sauce was watery and tasted like coconut. I’m a chef, I think I know what a cashew cream sauce tastes and feels like. This sauce didn’t seem to have any cashews in it at all. He refused to offer us something else, took the barely touch plate from us and put it in the bus bin. Wow. Looks like from the reviews on HappyCow I’m not the only one who has received bad service from Peacefood Cafe. The desserts were incredible and my friend’s panini was pretty good. Pictured above is the grasshopper cookie sandwich and the strawberry shortcake which were almost enough to entice me back to try more things. Almost.

Here we have somewhere that not only has amazing food but knows how to treat their customers. My visit to Candle 79 has to be one of my top dining experiences. That was partly because the food is inventive and exquisite but also because I had such amazing company with me! Sharon, Lee, JL and husband joined me for dinner after my cooking demo at Whole Foods TriBeca. Let’s just say we had a ball and ate so much I had to be wheeled to the subway. Lee took the best photos of our food so check out her blog for the food porn!

I will have more food porn coming soon and an interview with the owners of Candle 79/Candle Cafe.

Tell us what is your most favorite restaurant in New York and why?! Honestly, it’s hard for me to just choose one!