Restaurants

Location, location, location – Indian Road Cafe

2/13/2019

Type of Restaurant: Farm to table restaurant and coffee bar

Situated at the tippity top of Manhattan, you practically need an oxygen supply to get there it’s so far north (quote from our downtown friends). In reality it is situated alongside the beautiful Inwood Park, where there is still some of the very last primeval forest in Manhattan. It is a perfect place to bring friends and family to wander around in the Park before or after a lazy brunch (only at weekends), breakfast or lunch (in the week). The restaurant is also open for dinner in the evenings, when the resident chef brings a range of Hudson valley farm products to the table.

We came in for lunch on a lovely sunny day. The restaurant is open and relaxing, with half decent wi fi and table service. The lunch menu has options for vegans, with guacamole ($14), French fries ($13) and hummus ($11) in the appetizers, a spring salad ($12) and a BBQ tofu sandwich ($15) in the lighter bites and a tofu scramble ($14).

In general, the food promises much and delivers mediocrity. Portions of some dishes are very modest and prices are high for what you get. We went for the tofu scramble, which came with whole wheat toast and a slice of melon. It was OK. For example, we got a single slice of pre-sliced, dry toast on the side of our plate. Strictly speaking it does what it says on the tin, but no more. A bit disappointing.

The barista coffee bar does have a good range of teas, coffees (well made and flavorful), cakes and pastries. There is a vegan option in the form of a ‘vegan peanut butter cookie’ ($2.5).

All in all, this place is a real community hub up in an area with little competition. However it is over-priced, which is a shame as the food ethos is sound and it would be nice if it was a bit more accessible to all. Vegans are relatively well catered for overall, although the evening menu looks more restricted.

Address etc:   600 W218th St, corner of Indian Rd, New York City
            (212) 942-7451
            Open 7am-10.30pm Mon-Fri, 7am-11pm Sat & 8am-10pm Sun

Matto Espresso - Everything (Absolutely Everything) $2

1/24/2019

Type of Restaurant:
Coffee shop chain with pastries/snacks

Review:
Everything $2 is what it says on the window. We thought about trying to order everything in the restaurant and seeing if we were charged $2 but decided that they’d probably heard that gag a hundred times before ☺. However… everything individually in the shop really is $2, well…. plus 18c sales tax. The staff are friendly, the place is clean and the food really great. There are clearly marked vegan options, from vegan pastries (gluten free lemon baked doughnuts) to vegan chia pudding and quinoa salad. There are both almond and soy milk options available for coffee.

Matt Expresso is not a strictly vegan restaurant, or even a whole food, healthy eating place, but it is open, airy, friendly and there are options for everyone. This is well reflected in the diverse range of clientele. A very pleasant place to while away an hour with a book, finish that college paper on the laptop or just chat to friends.

Info:
3495 Broadway, between W143rd and W142nd
New York City
(212) 244-4281
matto.com
Open 6am – 7pm weekdays, 7am – pm weekends

Rating:
Range of vegan products   1   2   3   4   5
Clarity of information           1   2   3   4   5
Quality of food                       1   2   3   4   5
Value for money      1   2   3   4   5
Quality of service                   1   2   3   4   5
Atmosphere/comfort            1   2   3   4   5

Total score:   21
Star rating:   3.5

Spicy and Fresh - Franchia Vegan Café

12/5/2018

Type of Restaurant: Vegan Asian fusion

Date: December 3rd 2018

Paragraph of Blurb: This smallish frontage hides a real gem of a place. The interior is reminiscent of a Japanese tea house and is staggered up like seating in a theatre. The lines are clean, but not sterile and seating is on high chairs at thick topped wooden tables. The movable partitions allow large parties to dine at the long benches, but also give privacy to smaller groups. Staff are very friendly and informative and of course, the provenance of all dishes on the menu is guaranteed vegan. The prices are very reasonable for a place that has style, comfort and service.

We came in for lunch during the week and it was mainly an office crowd with several tables of single diners, perhaps shoppers, tourists or office escapees. All were welcomed equally.

The lunch menu is wide and varied, from sushi and salads to dumplings and bibimbap, but all dishes are fresh and healthy. There is an extensive tea list and a full page of gluten-free options. Service is relatively quick, which is what you often want for lunch, but there was no sense of being rushed or hurried if you wanted to relax longer over the meal. We had a vegan crispy ‘duck’ salad, which was delicious and came with a small bowl of vegan ‘clam’ chowder! This soup was creamy and unctuous, feeling like a real bonus treat.

We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone, vegan or otherwise, and defy you to miss the meat. The more extensive evening menu at Franchia looks fabulous too, as does that of its sister restaurant, Hangawi, on E32nd St. We will be visiting there soon….

Address etc:     12 Park Ave, between E34th and E35th
   (212) 213-1001
   franchia.com
   Open 12noon – 10pm Mon-Thurs, 12noon – 10.30pm Fri, 1 –
   10.30pm Sat, 5 – 9.30pm Sun

Review:

Range of vegan products   1   2   3   4   5
Clarity of information           1   2   3   4   5
Quality of food                       1   2   3   4   5
Value for money                    1   2   3   4   5
Quality of service                  1   2   3   4   5
Atmosphere/comfort           1   2   3   4   5

Total score:   24
Star rating:   4/5

Notes:

The menu looked great, wide range of relatively inexpensive dishes for lunch and evening. All look spicy, fresh, tasty and authentic.

We had a vegan spicy duck salad (£11.00), which came with free vegan clam chowder. Just drank tap water, so total bill was $11.98 - bargain

All information and menus

Fresh from the Oven - Peacefood Café

12/5/2018

Fresh From the Oven – Peacefood Café

Type of Restaurant: Vegan kitchen and bakery

Date: November 28th 2018

Paragraph of Blurb: We have been to this restaurant before for lunch and were very happy with the fresh, vibrant food that we were served, the pleasant busy buzz of the place and the friendly, efficient waitress. On this occasion, we were on one of our yomps around the city and decided to stop for breakfast on the way down to the Village. To be fair, we probably arrived around 10.20am or so, but the place was open from 10am. However, they didn’t really seem to be ready or even very keen to have actual ‘sit in’ customers at that time. The breakfast menu is very sparse, consisting of about 3 items (including scrambled tofu which did look good when we saw it come out for someone else), along with a couple of baked goods (banana & pecan muffins or chocolate chip scones) that were nearly ready. There is also an extensive list of freshly made, healthy juices and smoothies. Is solid food not a thing in the mornings??

We decided to go for coffee and the muffins. They arrived within a few minutes and were still hot from the oven. You don’t get much fresher than that and the flavor was warming and wholesome, without being too sweet. I guess, in the end, you don’t need a thousand different things to choose from if what is produced is delicious, and these certainly were. The place is well laid out, with some quirky pictures and ornaments, and the on-site bakery is definitely a winner. As the place is a vegan restaurant, you can be confident in the ???? of the food. The lunch menu is more varied, with great, fresh salads, sandwiches, focaccia and pizzas and of course those fresh baked goods. Some of the staff are a bit too cool for school, but most are friendly and knowledgeable about the menu.

Go and give it a whirl. Great venue to lunch with friends or colleagues or take away coffee with a cookie, cake or raw dessert (I’m a particular sucker for raw desserts!)

Address etc:
    460 Amsterdam Ave, between W82nd and W83rd
   (212) 362-2266
   peacefoodcafe.com
   Open 10am – 10pm daily

Review:

Range of vegan products   1   2   3   4   5
Clarity of information           1   2   3   4   5
Quality of food                      1   2   3   4   5
Value for money                   1   2   3   4   5
Quality of service                  1   2   3   4   5
Atmosphere/comfort           1   2   3   4   5

Total score:   22
Star rating:   3.5/5

Notes:

Much better menu for lunch. We had 2 vegetables and soup ($12.95), Asian greens salad ($11.95) and pan-seared shanghai-style dumplings ($9.50)

For breakfast we had 2 x banana and pecan muffins ($8) and 2 x coffee ($5). Very sparse menu. Baked goods only just coming out of the oven at 10.30am – but warm and fresh!

Downloadable menus on the website show lunch specials and evening menu. Evening looks good and OK value for money.

Urban Vegan Restaurant Reviews

Location, location, location – Indian Road Cafe

Matto Espresso - Everything (Absolutely Everything) $2

Spicy and Fresh - Franchia Vegan Café

Fresh from the Oven - Peacefood Café

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