A Vegan Tour of New York

Like all good Thanksgiving trips, my travels to New York revolved around food, food, and more food. And like all my trips back to New York, I left extremely jealous of how ubiquitous the vegan options are. Beyond the dozens of exclusively vegan restaurants, I couldn't help but marvel that you can walk into any random bagel shop in Brooklyn and find Tofutti cream cheese -- in a variety of flavors! Here are some highlights along the way...

Sammies Galore!

I can't remember the last time I had so many vegan sandwiches. They're EVERYWHERE in New York. Pictured above are a tofu "egg salad" sandwich from Organic Heights in Park Slope and a Breaded Seitan Panini from Peacefood Cafe on the Upper East Side. Other highlights were a Tempeh Reuben made with Daiya from 'sNice (also in Park Slope) and a "Kevin Bacon" sandwich from Boneshakers (in Williamsburg), with a side of delicious homemade sauerkraut.

Sweet Cuppin' Cakes!

There aren't enough wonderful adjectives in the dictionary to describe how much I loved Babycakes. I stopped in twice: once to sample this brownie cupcake made with the most delicious frosting I've ever tasted and then again on my last day in NY to bring home a variety of sweet treats, the most decadent of which was a cookie sandwich stuffed with frosting.

AMAZING. And they make an effort to include lots of gluten-free options, and avoid refined sugar and flour where they can, opting for agave and natural sweeteners. Whatever they're doing, it's working! Their adorable, but tiny shop on the Lower East Side was packed each time I stopped by. And it's an all-lady business. Seriously, stop being so awesome, you guys!

Fancy Pants!

I was able to budget my money to be able to have two fancy pants dinners out in Manhattan. The first photo is of two small plates from Counter in the East Village. They've got a great selection of organic wines and cocktails and the dishes are great for sharing. I hear their brunch is pretty amazing too. Lastly, I finally got to eat at Candle 79 after several failed attempts on prior trips. Dessert was the highlight. I mean, vegan cannoli?? Definitely an "only in New York" dish that was heavenly. While my entree and appetizer were delicious, I have to admit I felt a little gratified in thinking that Millennium in San Francisco is better. So while NY may win the vegan restaurant war, SF takes this battle.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't thank my good friend Sarv for being a wonderful hostess to me in Brooklyn. Not only did I get to crash on her couch for the week, but her family invited me into their home for Thanksgiving and went above and beyond to make several vegan dishes for me that were great!

You can see photos from all my New York shenanigans including all kinds of embarrassing karaoke pics here.

Giving Thanks...

Since I'll be spending Thanksgiving away from my husband and family this year, I was glad to have a pre-Thanksgiving celebration yesterday with a bunch of rocking vegans. I made tangerine cranberry sauce from the recipe in this Vegan YumYum post (seriously, it is the easiest, most delicious thing to make. Why does anyone buy that gelatinous crap in the can?) and a whole wheat stuffing with homemade sausages. I've been on a diet that's eschewing refined sugar, refined flour and oils, and I had to break it to try the biscuits, mashed potatoes, and all sorts of desserts. Back to steamed greens for me today!

Anyway, one of the things I am thankful for this year is having found a community of awesome vegans, both here in San Francisco and online, with everyone I've met through blogging and Twitter. So often (especially around the Thanksgiving dinner table) vegans can feel weird and alienated, so it's great to remember that there are so many of us out there.

Here are some other things I am thankful for this year:

• Being lucky enough to have not been hit by this economy. My husband's job has been solid enough that I was able to quit my soul-crushing job this summer, without worrying about how we'd paid the bills. I sincerely hope things turn around for my Dad, brother, and anybody else who's been out of work.
• The ability to travel. The stars aligned for us this year to move abroad and I am thankful we have the freedom to pack up and move.
• The friends I've made in San Francisco who, despite my east-coast upbringing, have really made California the place I consider "home."

And of course, a million other little things every day, but these are the big ones that stick out from this year. I'll be away from the blog next week while I'm in NY, so I hope you all have joyful Thanksgiving celebrations this year!