The weather in NYC is gorgeous. Not too hot. So my father decided on a day trip. He loves hopping NJ transit and wandering around the city, particularly the museums. He’s criss-crossed the city in search of historical sites the way I seek out vegan food.

His visits, without fail, include a veg meal. And this time, my sister joined us. We picked up forks in Sacred Chow on Sullivan Street, NYU territory.

If you’re new to the place, the tapas are your best bet; smaller plates, but by no means small plates. My pops and sis split 3/$18.

When I was a kid, I loved rolling into the drive-in with my siblings, hopping into the hatch back trunk, and having a good time. Watching a movie in the open air is a treat. Rooftop Films is taking it to a new level, literally. This New York based non-profit is dedicated to bringing independent films to light, showing them in parks and on rooftops throughout the city.

For animals lovers, the series is showing Bovines on Thursday, May 31st at The Old American Can Factory.

In the fields, one sees them, wide in grass or grazing peacefully. Large placid animals which one believes to know because they are livestock. Lions, gorillas, bear have all our attention, but did one ever really look at cows?

Tickets are $12. Doors open at 8pm; film begins at 9pm.

Read an interview with Bovines filmmaker Emmanuel Gras.

Check out the 2012 schedule for more great experiences.

Visited 05/06/2012

Astoria is not exactly a vegan mecca. So I was happy to find Three E Taste of Thai. It’s a clean place with an attentive wait staff. After stopping at place after place in the area with pretty much no luck, spotting the vegetarian appetizer section on their menu made me hopeful.

I wasn’t sure of the situation with co-mingling foods and I have been splurging on calories, so I decided to go light with a Nature Summer Roll and Papaya Salad. The restaurant must be aware of how bland the salad is considering how much dressing was dumped on top, which worked out because I needed something to give taste to the summer roll; the hint of mint was not enough.

Typically, my sister can fare better in restaurants that serve meat; I’ll be bummed at the lackluster attention to the veggies.

She had accidentally been given my summer roll and tried a piece, which gave her something to laugh at me about as I choked it down. Other than that, and the rice that seemed to be missing its instruction manual, we ate in peace.

She got her leftovers to go and we continued on our way. A block later, the bag of leftovers swung upwards and down, right into a trash can.

“You didn’t like it?”

“Well, I don’t want to judge on the first try…but we never have to go there again,” which pretty much sums it up.

While she liked the Crab Rangoon, she went on to describe her Larb Chicken as “a can of chicken dropped on a salad” and the rice as the worst she’d ever had. (The rice was served in a wicker cup, that I thought was on the table for decoration. When she opened it, her prize was a ball of rice in plastic wrap. The rice ended up being a sticky lump she might sooner have picked up and eaten like a bread roll then jab at it with her fork, and maybe she should have.)

Verdict: When you’re wondering and hungry, sometimes an oasis can be a mirage.

Taste of Thai
34-16 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106

My non-veg but foodie coworker and I headed over to Broadway and 55th today to get lunch from the Cinnamon Snail. We both, me with a little trepidation, got the Habanero Apricot Glazed General Tso Seitan, which is the weekly special.

Sitting back at the office, he moaned (true story) at how good it was. It was in no way as spicy as I’d thought it would be, or even spicy at all. It was really creamy and sweet. He had no complaints; none he voiced to me at least. He liked that the bread has a good chew. Asked how seitan is made.

It really is a treat to take a break and enjoy some good food with good company.

Now that the Cinnamon Snail has rolled into NYC (so sorry Hoboken), they’re showing the Big Apple how outrageously good vegan food and pastries can be.

Let me establish, this isn’t the place you eat at constantly…and thankfully they’re not close by me everyday. It’s more like religiously; you pick a day and go kneel at their alter. Spreading the love is the way they prefer it as they noted in a recent interview with Red Radio. Areas like Midtown West are underserved. They like to get around the city and serve those areas where veg food is typically scarce.

Enough of the backstory, let’s get down to brass tacks. I’ve been eating my way through their dessert case. I’m not touching the Vendy award winning Creme Brulee Donut. It wasn’t really memorable for me. I may try it again just to be sure, but the top three carved a little piece in my heart…and are reminding me I need to get to the gym before they leave their mark on my thighs as well.

• 1st place – Peanut Butter Cheesecake: Its a really good balance of chocolate with PB. The textures really great; the donut is fluffy and the center is creamy.
• 2nd place – Hulk Hogan Transvestite Fudgey Wudgie: A chocoholics creamy dream.
• 3rd place – Raspberry Cheesecake: I don’t search for things with raspberry in them, so I’m not sure why I went for this. Same as with the PB, the donut was fluffy and the center creamy, but it had a deliciously tart sweetness.
• 4th place – Cherry Chocolate Brownie: Brownie good. Cherry good. Chocolate glaze good.The parts were greater than the whole. Still fluffy but my socks stayed on.
• 5th place – Smores: Great in theory. It was tasty but a little dry.

“It was great to be Catholic and go to confession. You could start over every week,” said C in 1993′s A Bronx Tale. No matter your religious denomination, Champs Family Diner and Bakery is giving you the chance to start your week off right. Their monthly Drive-In Dine-In will be this Sunday, April 29th at 8:30pm, this month featuring Robert DeNiro’s directorial debut.

In true Italian fashion, the all vegan $30 prix fixe dinner will include:

• Appetizer: String beans, mixed olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and chickpeas with fresh herbs
• Main course: Tagliatelle pasta with sweet Italian sausage and porcini mushroom ragu
• Dessert: Chilled “raw” Tiramisu with coconut, rum, cacao, and espresso

Seating is limited, so be sure to make a reservation at 718-599-2743.

(Please note, Champs is a cash only establishment. They do have an in-house ATM, though.)

Champs Vegan Bakery and Diner
176 Ainslie St
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211

I’d heard about The Seed from Brendan Brazier‘s Facebook page. That’s right, Mr Brazier will be in tow for this “vegan experience.” Looking at the list of scheduled speakers, Eddie Garza (Mercy For Animals) to Dr. McDougall, I knew this was somewhere I wanted to be. After listening yesterday to episode 22 of Erin Red’s Red Radio, the deal was sealed.

Early Bird tickets are currently available through Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 11:59pm. For me, the 2-day was the most logical; I don’t want to miss a minute. There are 1-day passes available as well. It is $25 for the EB 2-day and $15 for the EB 1-day, plus service charge. I believe I read that spaces are limited for this event, so no dilly-dallying.

General Admission Includes:
- All Day Access to Speakers, Demos and Event Participants
- Unlimited Access to Movie Screenings
- Entry to Blogger Seminar
- Re-entry
- Ten Raffle Tickets
- Event Booklet and Tote Bag

I have not been as excited about an event since the 2011 NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. The difference? Even though there was a wait, that was free. The appeal of this event actually spurred me to fork over my money. What’s great about The Seed is there is actually an incentive to order tickets early. You ensure you get in and save money. The day of, if available, admission at the door will be $25.00 per day.

Advisory board:

• Amie Hamlin (NY Coalition For Healthy School Food)
• Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan (Our Hen House)
• Chloé Jo Davis (GirlieGirlArmy)

Speakers include:

• Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
• Rich Roll
• Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
• Kathy Freston
• and more…

Details:

• When: Sat. June 16th, 10am–7pm and Sun. June 17th, 10am-5pm
• Venue: 82MERCER, 82 Mercer St., 2nd Floor (Spring & Broome Sts.), New York City, 10012

Hope to see you there!

After last month’s successful (ok, slightly problematic) online handout of free general admission tickets to The Great Googa Mooga, the organizers went for broke with round two today. At noon, more GA tickets, touted as “An amusement park of food & drink,” went up for grabs.

The two-day festival being held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is powered by the brain children behind Bonnaroo. If you were not amongst the lucky ones to have snatched up free tickets to this festival, Extra Mooga tickets are still available at a measly $249 a pop. (From free to $250? LOL.)

Currently on the music line up are acts like The Roots and Hall & Oates. For eats, vendors include Luke’s Lobster and The Meat Hook, which probably won’t peak the taste buds of veg*n attendees. The organizers, though, “promise to make vegetarians and vegans happy, too, as well as those with any other dietary restrictions.” However, with less than a month to curtain, the veg pickings look slim…which might be an understatement.

Visited 03/20/2012

I’ve said it before, but I can’t believe the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival has come and passed. After attending the first in April of last year (2011), I anticipated the second. Now eleven months and counting until 2013′s.

Last week, the organizers got together with volunteers, myself included, at Caravan of Dreams to catch up.

I’ll admit the menu prices are not cheap, my Quesadilla with soy chorizo and cashew cheese, was something like $19 alone. So it’s not somewhere you might frequent. It’s a treat for a special occasion.

As a starter, there’s no bread. Instead, a slice of blood orange and avocado. You make look at it oddly for a second, but it’s actually pretty good, separate and together.

I was tentative to get the sample platter appetizer, but I wanted something people could share. All the foods included are very good but the platter is better in theory than exaction. I opted for the raw bread, and maybe that’s why, but what I got was not enough to go with the platter…unless you heaped a big spoonful on each piece of bread. Instead I asked for extra veggies.

My entree was delicious and I am definitely going back. There was seitan on the appetizer platter, so I’m thinking next time I’ll try the Seitan Taquitos.

Towards the end, watching the waiter create the Hot Brownie Sundae was crazy. It’s a glass with strawberries; then brownie bits; topped with ice cream and whipped cream, which I think someone say were coconut; and drizzles of chocolate plus a few other things I lost track of. Such a yummy combination. Great to share…but you can keep it all for yourself if you please.

Caravan of Dreams

405 Eat 6th Street

New York, NY 10009

212.254.1613

Brooklyn Restaurant Week is running until March 29th. If you’re vegetarian or vegan looking to get out for a bite to eat in the upcoming days and benefit from “discounted lunches and dinners (for $20.12 and $25, respectively), plus two-for-one and brunch options,” the pickings are slim.

Of the 195 Brooklyn restaurants participating in Restaurant Week, 18 of these restaurants are Clean Plates approved. Clean Plates promotes themselves as a way “to make it easier and more enjoyable for you to eat healthy, sustainable food.” Of the 18 Clean Plates approved restaurants participating, 9 carry their Vegetarian seal.

Here’s my review of the options:

• Al Di La Trattoria (The Winter Squash Ravioli sounds good…but they serve calf liver and rabbit…it’s your call.)

• Applewood (All the veggie combinations sound delicious…then they muck it up with meats and cheeses. Pass.)

• Aurora (Heavy on the cheeses. Prix Fixe menu not available to view online. May be worth visiting for restaurant week if they offer some substitutions.)

• Chestnut (Website not updated since before Thanksgiving. Call.)

• Lunetta (Likely not worth visiting for restaurant week; prix fixe menu not available online but general menu doesn’t seem well rounded enough to accommodate three veg courses.)

• Miranda (One of the desserts expressly says vegan. May be worth visiting for restaurant week if they offer some substitutions.)

• Moim (May be worth visiting for restaurant week if they accommodate some substitutions.)

• Palo Santo (May be doable; ask about desserts.)

• Rose Water (Not worth visiting for restaurant week; prix fixe doesn’t offer a veg option in all three courses and there are no substitutions.)

Click to view the full restaurant listings.

If you’re really looking to join in on Brooklyn Restaurant Week, call ahead to confirm these restaurants carry sufficient menu options for your lifestyle needs. Otherwise, just patronize the places that treat you right…and don’t make you play this guessing. Maybe even encourage them to participate in the future.