Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello East Coast PPKers! I am coming to your city this weekend, arriving at 9AM Friday after a red eye, and due to obligations on Saturday I figure I have about 12 hours to cram as much delicious food in my face as possible. I live in the San Francisco bay area so I'm spoiled for vegan food already, so I really want to try things I can't find anywhere else. Here's my tentative plan, any thoughts, advice, or must-try places I'm missing?

breakfast - Cinnamon Snail
lunch - Candle Cafe
afternoon - Dun Well and/or Bagel Store to pick up food for breakfast/bagels to bring home
dinner - pizza from Vinnie's, beers at Brooklyn Brewery
dinner #2 (depending on tiredness/stomach capacity) - Beyond Sushi, Lula's

Other places that came up on my radar are Food Swings, Red Bamboo, Soy & Sake, and the Blossom empire, but I just don't know how I could fit anything else in and not be zig-zagging all over creation...

Lula's is really, really worth it. You might want to call and find out what the flavors are for the day just to be sure before you go all the way down there.

Sounds like a great plan. Have fun Erin!

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I really didn't like Vinnie's. Maybe it was just the two slices I got, but they didn't cut it for me. For Pizza I'd highly recommend Viva Herbal in Manhattan, but that makes Brooklyn Brewery less convenient. I'd go to Foodswings instead.

I haven't been to Beyond Sushi yet, but they sound delicious and nicely priced. I've been to Soy & Sake a couple times. Unfortunately I can't compare the two as I haven't been to Beyond but I can say Soy & Sake is amazing though pricey.

I also second that Lula's is really, really worth it. Get a Banana Split or something and try three different flavors, sauces, and a topping. You're on vacation, you deserve it!

I super-love Vinnie's (and you can bring your slices or pie to the Brewery with you, or order delivery from there,) but I love Paulie Gee's pizza even more (http://www.pauliegee.com/vegan_menu.php) Mmmm, the In Ricotta Da Vegan. If you go, I would get there when they open though, as they fill up quickly and don't take reservations.

And I think that Champs (http://www.champsdiner.com/) stocks Dun Well doughnuts (but don't quote me on that), and that is closer to the Bagel Store, so you can do both!

Thanks guys! I'm definitely planning on getting to Lula's (it was pretty much #1 on my list) and will definitely get some sort of crazy Sundae. Beyond Sushi is thrown in there because it seems really awesome and I'd love to go, but doubt I'll be able to fit much more in my stomach by that point.

I've heard a few rave reviews for Vinnie's (it seems you are in the minority so far, DFresh!), so I think I'm gonna stick with that mostly for proximity to BB, but also because they have mac pizza, and that is a ridiculous thing which I must try. Do they sell slices there? (Williamsburg location) I'd much rather get slices and try different things than a whole pie of one type.

MZ - I just read this morning that Champs apparently sells DunWell, so I do think I'll go there instead, thanks for the tip! Also, In Ricotta Da Vegan is the funniest pizza name I've ever heard.

Please report back!

Report! Cinnamon Snail was delicious. I got a massive breakfast platter with tofu scramble, cajun seitan, waffles with brown butter, maple syrup and candied pecans, and mustardy greens, and iced mint chocolate coffee, and ate it in Bryant Park. It was all good, but the waffles were INSANE, the best I've ever had. I also got a donut of the day which I saved for later, chocolate cherry pretzel party. It was good, but not as awesome as I had hoped.

I wasn't feeling too hot at lunch time, so I stuck with simple at Candle Cafe and got the Good Food plate with quinoa, mac and cheese, grilled tempeh and sauteed greens, and some green juice. All very tasty. Next time I would get a sandwich or something more indulgent for sure.

Then I took a really long nap which pushed back my evening plans, so I had to skip Champs/DunWell :( I did go to The Bagel Store and pick up stuff to keep/take home. At Vinnie's I got two slices, a bbq chicken and an eggplant parm, which was a special, and took them to Brooklyn Brewery. They had at least eight kinds of vegan slices available, which was really awesome. The pizza was fantastic, I really loved the chicken one, the crust was really crispy even after walking 10 minutes. And, the brewery was really fun even by myself.

The next morning I had an everything bagel and jalapeno tofu cream cheese from The Bagel Store, and it was possibly one of the better breakfasts I've ever had. NY bagels seriously are better than any other.

My biggest regret is that I never got to Lula's! It was farther away from where I was and I just couldn't get there. I had a great time though, and kind of fell in love with Brooklyn. Also, New Yorkers are kind of crazy when it comes to crossing the streets! They apparently have an aversion to waiting on the sidewalks...

Sounds like an awesome trip! Lula's is great, but you ate a lot of awesome stuff, so whatevers! Based on the other places you went it sounds like it was not that close. Next time! And you brought bagels home, which is really all that matters.

Waiting on the sidewalk is for people who don't like to live on the edge!

Hi people!

Sorry Erin for using your thread, but that kind of fits for me as well (just that I have more like 36 hours; going to New York next weekend [27/28])
So: best place for breakfast? Omni-proof dinner location? What snacks shouldn't I miss?

Bagels for breakfast, don't miss Lula's for ice cream.
Do the omnis like vegan food? or are they skeptical and would prefer non vegan choices?

My personal favorite restaurants are 'Snice, Lan Cafe and Vegetarian Dim Sum.

The bagels and tofu cream cheese from The Bagel Store in Brooklyn were really, really outstanding, and if you're with omnis they can get regular cream cheese. Highly recommended!

Yay, glad you had a good time Erin! Reading this made me miss new york.

You didn't miss much at Lula's. I was so excited to go there too and had plans to order a brownie sundae with pumpkin ice cream, caramel sauce, hot fudge, and whipped cream. When we finally got there and I was looking at the menu I noticed tons of roaches crawling all over it. I couldn't stomach ordering the sundae that I had been dreaming about, it was so disappointing!

Whhhat? Tons of roaches? Did you say something to them? Lulas has never been dirty at all when I've been there (and that's been a lot!) How many roaches is tons?

Yeah, that's nuts! I've never experienced anything like that.

Like 20 walking around the menu sign that's above everything. I didn't say anything but I probably should have. It was so gross and weird because there was a line of people ordering sundaes and everything seemed normal until I saw them. I'm not from NY so I was like, is it just me, are people here just used to this? I looked at my friend who I was with and we were both horrified. I was looking forward to a sundae too, it sucked!

What is up with the vegan cream cheese in NY? It was so freaking good! Do most places use tofutti? I usually hate vegan cream cheese because it tastes like plastic to me but not in NY! It was awesome and I even got the plain because that's all they had where I went. I could faintly taste the tofuttiness, but not enough to revolt me like it does in the little tubs I can buy here in Cali. I'm jealous!

I AM DEFINITELY RECOILING IN HORROR RIGHT NOW AT THIS.

i have been thinking about the roaches nearly non-stop since reading it. i am a greasy-spoon aficionado, and have definitely eaten in some of the dirtiest restaurants in the world, but always notice roaches. I may have just been so post-vietnamese-gluttony dopey when i was at lula's that i didn't notice, but think i probably would have. Seriously, if it were me, I would contact them and mention this. You never know what the situation really is (right after they fumigate often roaches are in a tizzy; maybe the employees see the problem but the owner won't spring for fumigation and an email might help resolve the situation) but i think in any case, if Lula's is worth going to (imho, true) better to hear from the clientele instead of having someone contact the health department and shut them down. just out of curiosity i looked at yelp to see if anyone had any comments and nobody mentioned sanitation issues (the rest of the comments were total garbage, but what else to expect).

That is really disturbing about Lula's, I've never noticed anything like that anytime I've been. I think the most likely explanation is they sprung for really hi-tech Halloween decorations. Little robotic gummy edible roaches to put on top of the sundaes. Did you happen to notice if they were bright colors and delicious?

Weird, it must've been a fluke. The fumigation theory might be right on. Whatever it was completely put me off but I'm glad it's not always like that.

I have about the same amount of time in NYC in a few weeks. I'll keep all these suggestions in mind (definitely going for some bagels now), but is there anywhere I can go for some latkes?

i don't think i've ever seen vegan latkes at a restaurant, unfortunately.

Boo-urns. OK, another question: If I've already had bagels another day (I'm picking some up to take to my grandma's upstate), where's a good place to get breakfast? I've looked at the Cinnamon Snail, and I'm definitely considering it, but since I don't have a smart phone and won't be able to check the location before I leave Duchess County in the morning, I'd like a back-up that has a fixed location.