Peacefood Cafe Uptown- Then & Now

Haven't been to the Peacefood Cafe in a while, so I hit up the uptown location when I was in the area recently. Um, what the hell happened? First of all, this place use to be bustling. It was practically empty on a Friday night. I'm not complaining about that; it was good for us. Or, was it?

We started out by ordering an old favorite: chickpea fries "an award-winning recipe with a hint of Indian spices, served with our house dipping sauce." These hardy and flavorful spiced fries are famous for being served in jenga formation.

THEN

On this recent visit, however, they were instead served to us as though they'd insultingly been thrown onto a plate from across the room. They did not taste the same either- likely because the proportions were compromised with the smaller fries. Also, the dipping sauce was in a paper cup such that you might find in a dentist's office to rinse out your mouth: totally unappealing.

NOW

For dinner, I wanted to order the PFC unchicken basket of fried breaded plant protein tenders with the option of chipotle sauce. Once upon a time, you could order this considerably sized dish with half the chicken, subbing their delicious potato salad for the the other half. Peacefood downtown has never allowed you to make this adjustment and, now, neither does uptown. With such a small menu to begin with, this seems like an odd place to draw a line.

So, I begrudgingly went with the tempeh avocado sandwich: baked marinated tempeh, creamy avocado, pickled radishes, shredded carrots, and cilantro served on toasted whole spelt rye sourdough bread. This sandwich has always been unapologetic hippie food, but once upon a time it was hardy and decently sized. 

THEN

On this visit it was considerably smaller and served rather sloppily- although slightly less obnoxiously than the fries. The bread was heavily toasted, which made me wonder if it was stale, and the tempeh had no flavor whatsoever. It's hard to believe it won "best sandwich" as recently as the 2010 vegan guide when, all these years later, it just seems basic and unimaginative- yet interestingly at a pricepoint that rivals the likes of Cinnamon Snail's behemoth, flavor bombs.

NOW

Although not necessarily conscious, I think I originally stopped going to Peacefood because their menu never changed; even their "specials" have remained largely constant. Now I see there are more reasons to avoid. A shame, really; this once popular spot has a niche, so long as their food and service remains thoughtful- which it obviously hasn't. Our waiter never even checked in to see how the food came out or if we needed anything else over the course of our meal. He literally just never came near our table at all- we had to track him down in order to procure the check.

To add to the disappointment, on my way out, I noticed that the dessert case- once boasting one of the most impressively sized and varied offering of vegan desserts in the city, had nary half of what they once had on offer and not a single thing that appealed to me. Mind-boggling.

Anyone else been there recently and can tell me my recent experience was a drastic departure from what's normally going down?

Bar Verde

I was really anxious to try Bar Verde, so I was thrilled when a friend planned a holiday din-din there recently. It was a wet, sloshy, slushfest of a day, so obviously our reservation was inside.

The interior is really beautiful- in what seemed like shades of blue, possibly peacock. It was very dark, though; I knew immediately it would be bad for food photography. Don't get me wrong; I get that living in the ambient moment > IG likes, but I feel like restaurants can find a happy medium. I may look better in dim lighting, but my food sure doesn't.

The cocktail menu, though mezcal heavy, looked quite appealing; I'll definitely need to revisit asap for that alone. I'd just come from Oscar Wilde, so I did not want to have another drink. When I ordered a coke, I was offered the choice between a "regular" coke and an "organic" coke. Because the waiter had a gleam in his eye when he said, "organic," that's what I chose. To my surprise, I was served a literal superior Q Kola- which I highly recommend because it was kind of a cross between a coke and a cream soda. Note: since our server had a great sense of humor about the organic coke, I figured it was going to be a fun night AND IT WAS.

The menu is extraordinarily appealing; there were so many things we wanted to try.

We started out with a few appetizers from the "share" portion of the menu. Because we're professionals, two orders of nachos: butternut queso, black beans, pico de gallo, cashew crema, guacamole, jalapeno, (watermelon) radish. This cheese wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was pretty damn great. The proportion and distribution of toppings to chips was almost perfect and the chips remained crisp throughout. I especially appreciated that both the cilantro (worst) and the jalapeno (best) were easy to remove/hoard instead of being hidden throughout and within in tiny dices.

photo credit: Sheryl Yvette

A friend had the elote: grilled corn, chipotle crema, arbol chile, almond cotija, grilled lime; it looked really great and I heard no complaints. My guess is he's already recreated it in his own kitchen because that's how he rolls.

I also shared the smoked potato croquetta: lime cashew sour cream, cacao mole, avocado, pickled jalapeno; it was kind of like deep fried mashed potatoes, but elevated. The thing that made this dish was the varying textures: crisp, creamy, and viscous. I'm not usually a fan of mole, but this was really delicious- particularly mixed with the other sauces. I wouldn't necessarily order this again, but I have nothing bad to say about it.

For dinner I chose the truffle potato flautas with huitlacoche, avocado, marinated kale from the "not tacos" section of the menu. It was kind of small for an entree; I certainly couldn't have eaten just this for dinner and been satiated. Perhaps it was meant to be like a larger plate, not necessarily an entree? That part is a little confusing. To order 2 items from the tacos/not tacos portions of the menu seems overkill, but 1 just under enough even with an app. It was really good; the exterior was crisp and the contents creamy with a taste resembling black beans, although I think that was the huitlacoche. The kale was really exquisite, but the the slices of avocado between the flautas and the kale made the whole dish kind of unnecessarily compact. I think I would have preferred if the kale were served alongside as a salad of sorts topped with the avocado; then the dish would have both appeared larger and would have been cohesive rather than layered.

A friend had the grilled quesadilla with spicy cashew cheese, tomato salsa, salsa verde, flour tortilla. She really liked them. Correction: she LOVED them and "everything else she had." I would have thought plain cheese quesadillas would be boring, but she was definitely not disappointed in the least.

Two friends each had the classic BV burrito: rice refried beans, guacamole, lettuc, salsa fresca, cashew crema. They didn't look too exciting to me and I was warned that the sauce was pretty much pure cilantro, so this one won't be on my must order list.

The wild mushroom tamale with mole, cashew crema, salsa verde was probably the smallest of the entrees. Again, we don't even really know if they were supposed to be entrees. To recap, we ordered from the "share" section of the menu as appetizers and then from the "tacos"/"not tacos" as entrees, but it could be that everything was supposed to be tapas style? TBH, we all steered clear of the taco section of the menu because we assumed they'd be very small entrees. In a perfect world, I'd love to see a mix and match option such as "choose any three" served in a, wait for it, partitioned plate!

For the table, dessert #1: mango cheesecake. The crust was the most impressive factor: very nutty. The "cheesecake" had a nice flavor (not overly mango-y), but was not dense enough to be considered the texture of a cheesecake by any means. I didn't try the dollops because I don't love mango and I figured that's where the flavor would be the most concentrated; others enjoyed, but weren't blown away.

I'd waited the whole meal for our dessert #2, the churros + chocolate. I *think* the waiter threw in an extra churro because he knew I was really resistant to sharing with my tablemates. The chocolate was a dip of medium-thickness; some of my friends had expected it to be an accompanying drinking chocolate and, taste-wise, it was definitely reminiscent. As for the churros...sigh. The ends and edges were crisp, cinnamon sugar deliciousness. The inside may as well have been mashed potatoes; it was so mushy/undercooked.

Overall, we really enjoyed Bar Verde. The space was beautiful, the service was terrific (I love a personality and a sense of humor!), the food was great, and I'd even give the churros another go in case this was an off day. However, if there's an ideal ordering method I should know about, I'm open to suggestions.

Korilla BBQ: Korean Seasonal Kitchen- Quick Review

On Saturday I was trudging through the relentless slushfall with a pal and we stopped into Story to do some holiday shopping. The Korilla food truck was parked out front, but I didn't think anything of it until, when I made my purchase, I was given a token to get a free lunch. So cool!

 

But, I reserved my excitement until I could get outside to check for vegan options and, lo and behold, I was shocked to find that there were vegan Vs all over the build-your-own burrito/rice bowl/salad bowl menu! My eyes just darted around:

Protein option: organic tofu baked with garlic, gluten free soy sauce, red pepper, and sesame. Vegan!

Seasonal toppings: kale, roasted corn, sweet black beans. Vegan!

Sauce: Vegan Korilla mild & smokey favorite made with silken tofu. VEGAN!!!

All options come with your choice of sticky rice, or a blend of sticky, black and brown rice, which is what I chose for my burrito.

They handed it to me all perfectly wrapped up with a smile and I couldn't wait to eat it.

I brought it home and heated it up in the oven so the burrito even got a little crisp on the outside. Then, with anticipation, I sliced it in half to prepare to eat and... womp womp.

The cross section looked like I'd taken a time machine to the early nineties where wraps filled with unseasoned tofu, greens, and rice were the vegan option du jour. I promise you, I took a bunch of pics and none were any better, so I'm using the one with 89 because at least she's interesting to look at.

I have to say, I just don't get it. Korilla obviously went to the the trouble to include vegan (not vegetarian!) options across the board, but nothing had any taste. After the first bland bite, I specifically ate some of each of the ingredients separately. None had any flavor- let alone any spice, aside from natural flavor. Along with the seemingly unseasoned tofu, the kale tasted like it was sauteed without even salt & pepper; the corn tasted naturally fresh and sweet; the black beans just tasted like black beans. As for the vegan Korilla sauce? I don't know know where it could have gone to, but if it absorbed into any of the other ingredients in its travels, I certainly didn't see or taste it.

Aside from Hangawi, Franchia, and Cinnamon Snail's Korean BBQ seitan, I'm not overly familiar with Korean food, but surely it must be more flavorful than this? I'm grateful for the plentiful vegan options at Korilla, but I'm hoping they can kick this up quite a few notches for future vegan menu choices; if I have to slather your food in pedestrian sriracha, it really isn't cutting it.

I'm breaking up with Soyatoo!; Trader Joe's new vegan whipped cream is far superior

Soyatoo!, we've had some good times. Back when you were the only game in town, I was satisfied to wait a half hour for you to "defrost" from the fridge- despite the fact that your can claims that you only need to take it out 8-10 minutes in advance for it to be "ready to serve." Never mind that non-vegan whipped cream is ready at a moment's notice; we vegans are used to accommodating weird inefficiencies. I was even long-accustomed to throwing out what were probably half-full cans of Soyatoo!- simply because I couldn't, for the life of me, get it to come out even when I could feel that there was still cream left in the can. That problem just got chalked up to the vegan tax- paying twice as much money for half as much product. I was willing to accept all of this in order to fill the whipped cream-shaped hole in my life in any way I could. But, no longer.

Veganism has come so far into the mainstream that I am able to be discerning in my quest for vegan whipped cream. Don't think I made this decision to ditch Soyatoo for Trader Joe's new coconut whipped topping lightly. I did what any responsible, whipped cream-loving vegan would do: I conducted a proper taste-test.

First, I had to wait the requisite eons letting my Soyatoo! warm up from the fridge. In case you're wondering, leaving the can in the sunniest spot in the house is the whipped cream equivalent of pressing tofu with a stack of cookbooks and cans. I know I'm not alone in getting creative with this.

Anyone familiar with Soyatoo! knows that it can come out of the can relatively slowly (i.e. snail's pace)- even when full, and appear kind of, well, slug-like. To be fair, I made sure to squeeze out a pretty, Soyatoo! floret to visually compare with the creamy dollop of TJ's whipped cream that burst airily from the can DIRECTLY FROM THE FRIDGE. If it sounds like I'm bitter, it's because I am. Is it too much to have vegan whipped cream and be able to enjoy it on a whim? Must I plan a half hour ahead of time? And, as VM pointed out: imagine passing the sputtering can around the table at a large dinner party? It would be laughable.

Admittedly, I'd never had an issue with Soyatoo!'s color, taste, or consistency until I compared it to TJs.

• TJ's is white; Soyatoo! is ecru- far less appetizing from a visual standpoint. 

• TJ's is sweet and coconutty; Soyatoo! is far less sweet and bland in comparison.

• TJ's is light & fluffy; Soyatoo! is creamy, but oddly thick in comparison.

And, not to put too fine a point on it, TJ's comes right out of the can as soon as you want it to.

I estimate that it took me .0002 seconds to generously spritz TJ's on the left pie slice. I had to work for the plop of Soyatoo! on the right pie slice for about 4 minutes*: three sputtering tries and two unsuccessful attempts included. *This after the 30 minutes of defrost...

All of this to say: it's over, Soyatoo!; I am never, ever, ever getting back together with you and your stupid "!," which- by the way, is an indication of SO SLOW!!

If you need me, I'll be stocking up on TJ's. One for home, one for VM's, one for the car, and one for my purse. Two extras just to be on the safe side.

UPDATE: before I even had the chance to post this, I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up a bushel more cans of whip. To my dismay, I was met with this sign.

The cashier kindly told me that there would be a delivery the next day and that I could call in the morning to ask if they'd hold a can or two for me. In order to "hold" a case, I'd have to place an order in advance. What? You didn't think I'd ask?

Anyway, because I am awfully impatient, I chose to drive to the next closest TJ's in the meantime. Not only were they out as well, but there was not even a sign there. So, I panicked and inquired at customer service. To my surprise, they told me the product is "on hold" as they deal with a "quality issue." "QUALITY ISSUE?," I demanded, "It's practically the world's perfect food!" One of the nearby staff members instantly agreed with me: nodding his head and recommending it on pina coladas (genius). I was assured that the issue was with the packaging, but the whole thing sounds suspect to me. I wanted to blame someone. The USDA, the National Dairy Council...BIG AG? So, this morning I called the original location to request a hold. Sadly, the gentleman I spoke to told me the cashier had been mistaken and went on to reiterate the 2nd location's explanation about the quality issue. He confirmed that it is a problem with the packaging. Apparently they identified an issue with getting the whip to dispense, AND THEY ARE ADDRESSING IT. Imagine that, Soyatoo! Oh, the irony.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of my quest over on Instagram; in the meantime, think positive thoughts on the matter. I meant what I said about Soyatoo!; our breakup was final. Now that I know how good it can be, I'll wait for TJs to make a comeback.

UPDATE 12/5/17: I went back to TJ's yesterday (I'm nothing if not persistent) and customer service told me the issue is that the can originally stated erroneously that the item was a product of Canada, instead of Indonesia. The person I spoke with said this is an "easy fix" but that it "could take some time." In the meantime, I went to Whole Foods to snag their vegan whipped cream (that I just learned about from Jesse) and there wasn't even a spot on the shelf for it. Is there a vegan whipped cream conspiracy going on? Now I just blame Soyatoo! !

UPDATE 12/19/17: This very can of Soyatoo! is still 80% full, but guess what? NOTHING WILL COME OUT. I left it out of the fridge overnight and it still won't budge. I just went on their website so I can send them a strongly worded letter, only to find out that their email address is north.america@tofutown.com. You really can't be angry at someone whose domain is tofutown. It's practically veganville!

Thanksgiving/Thanksliving Recap

Non-vegans always ask me what vegans eat for Thanksgiving. My answer? SO, SO MUCH!

 

First let me give a shout-out to the best-dressed pooch at the holiday dinner: 89, who now has her own insta!! She's wearing a silver hoodie from Dog & Co, adorned with a Compassion Co. pin (gifted from Gone Pie) that says, "Give thanks for all life."

 

Since my family has the veganized Thanksgiving meal down to a science, I'll give you the complete breakdown for your records. But, first: let me note one important factoid... moments before we were about to sit down to dinner, I found this in my parents' kitchen cabinet.

Looks weird, right? A little too tropical for a fall holiday? Well, how about full of vegan, cruelty-free, Thanksgiving goodness?

 

I know; it's hard to believe you ever ate your Thanksgiving meal any other way. It's THE perfect plate- even if it could have used one extra compartment. 

So, let's break it down, shall we? In no particular order:

PPK chickpea cutlets- I know it's not called Post-Punk Kitchen anymore, but that's what it says on my printout from eons ago, and that's what it's gonna stay to me. I miss VM's breaded chicken cutlets with applesauce and this is a superior substitute! Make no mistake; you definitely want to use the double batch recipe (I've actually been known to quadruple batch). The double batch makes 8 and they're never as large as Isa recommends stretching them to. You'll want one every day you're eating those leftovers, with a few left over to eat in sammies.

 

VM's sweet corn stuffing: my mom has been using this recipe forever; she sometimes makes them as stuffing "balls" in cupcake trays and asks guests if they want gravy on their balls. That embarrassing anecdote notwithstanding, it's the best stuffing I've ever had and don't try to tell me otherwise.

 

VM's horseradish mashed potatoes: So, VM is one of those Italian cooks that doesn't read recipes or ever write anything down. She can't explain how to make 99.9% of her amazing dishes, but it's easier if she makes it for me anyway, so I ain't mad. I've watched her mash these suckers and eyeball the butter, almond milk, and horseradish proportions. I couldn't replicate it, but hers comes out amazing every time.

 

Isa's green bean casserole: I don't know when the green bean casserole was invented, but I do know that I can't quit it. If you've never had it, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! I am not in the habit of tweaking recipes, but I've made this so often that I've had the chance to perfect it to the tastebuds of my audience & that means the following:

• Use two pounds of fresh green beans instead of one, so there's proportionately more beans to liquid. Cut them in half at the onset, but don't bother boiling them if you don't mind them slightly al dente (and also want to skip having to wait for water to boil & then having to wash a pot and strainer).
• Use cream of leek soup instead of mushroom; this way it's not as shroomy.
• Use double the fried onions: double the mix in, double the topping. I use Trader Joe's brand because the ingredients are not icky.
• I use water instead of broth and no bouillon because I never have any.

 

Chloe Coscarelli's Brussel's sprouts: You might not think you need a recipe to roast Brussel Sprouts, but you'd be wrong. We sub chestnuts for hazelnuts and use swanky maple syrup, but neither are deal-breakers. Okay, deep breath. I'm not going to lie to you. VM burned the sprouts. Worse, she burned them last year as well. They were so glorious and then she forgot about them like they're not the most important part of the meal. It was a heartbreak (X2).

Also, creamed corn for color (per VM).

Baked sweet potatoes with marshmallows & cinnamon: This one isn't really tough to figure out. VM picks the long, skinny sweet potatoes because we like them like that (and, they also fit in the chopstick section of my tray that way). When they're hot, I stuff 'em with vegan marshies: minis are better, but I had these giant ones left from the summer when we never got around to making s'mores at a pool party. Sprinkle with cinnamon & voila! Note about the marshie's: I've been buying the Trader Joe's ones and they're pretty fab and extremely reasonably priced.

And, in case you were wondering, 89 got her own plate of goodness as well:

I am totally embarrassed to report that we had no room in our tummies to consume dessert on Thanksgiving night. So, we reconvened the next day for a repeat performance of dinner with leftovers:

it's appropriate to come to leftover dinner in your PJs

And we all saved plenty of room for this smorgasboard of Vegan Treats.

 

Dessert breakdown: VM & OD couldn't remember what this one was (they made the trip and chose everything), but I thought it was a pumpkin streusel donut with pumpkin Dandies, which 89 promptly ate. Top right: chocolate pecan pie, which was really delicious and FULL of pecans. Bottom left: traditional pecan pie, which for some reason I liked even better than the chocolate version. Bottom right: apple crumble pie, which I tasted to be polite and reminded myself that apples are only appropriate in sauce. Also cannolis and chocolate-covered cannolis. We'd also shared a pecan bun that morning. And I'd eaten VT pumpkin cheesecake softserve the night before. But. that's it (there may have also been cowboy cookies and jelly donuts).

89 got dessert as well, in the form of a pumpkin pie toy from Barkbox. This was her really excited about it.

And then this was her when she realized it wasn't really edible (but damn if those Barkbox toys aren't sturdy; it's still 100% intact).

Lest I forget to mention... per usual, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. This was my fave balloon this year: Grinch and Max!

 

One more autumnal snack to brag about before the next post, which is going to be about something else FAB-U-LOUS I ate on Thanksgiving!

This Parker's maple cotton candy is maybe the best cotton candy I've ever had- especially since I already love both cotton candy AND maple syrup. I got mine at Orchard Grocer! and they still have some left as of this weekend (you're welcome). I can't promise anything after I go again to refill my supply...

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one and that you're ready for the holiday onslaught! In the meantime, 89 is waiting for more leftovers...

Double Zero Al Fresco

Double Zero (formerly 00 & co) is relatively pricey pizza resto, there's no getting around that. It's up to you if you decide that a $20 personal pizza is worth it to you; I'm not judging. Under normal circumstances, I'd say it's worth it to me. The pizza is good and the location is killer (for me).

But, something is off. The prices have increased incrementally, but I'm not sure the food has kept up. And the service? Therein lies the problem. A place with a limited menu shouldn't have such a hard time getting the service right.

On my most recent visit there were three of us. We were seated right away, but then it took an inordinate amount of time to acquire an iced tea- even longer to get sweetener. So long, in fact, that we guessed they made hot tea and let it cool to room temperature before adding ice. There are only two non-alcoholic spritzers on the menu and they were out of one. The waitress suspiciously told me there isn't much taste difference between the two even though they're lemon basil and rosemary cucumber.

Our appetizers didn't come out together. We hungrily watched OD eat his sunflower Caesar with baby romaine (not loving the choice), capers, sunflower parmesan (excellent).

He was long finished when our oven roasted fingerling potatoes with spicy marinara finally came out. Luckily VM and I are nice, so we shared.

 

For entrees, VM's brunch cauliflower parm sandwich with spicy marinara and cashew mozzarella was a nice choice. It was way too messy to have been served on the slate slab, but I could have overlooked that had our other two entrees not taken an additional 20 minutes to come out. Because she is the most polite person I know, she waited and ate it cold. In case you were wondering, cold cauli parm is not ideal.

 

89 ate some spinach while we waited because she's not nearly as polite.

 

My dad chose the tomato, basil, cashew mozzarella pie and gobbled it up; that's the best review you'll get from him. You'll notice their signature pile of red pepper flakes is missing from the corner of the pan. I asked for some on the side and the server apologized for the oversight, but never brought any.

I ordered the eggplant bacon, tomato, garlic mozzarella, olives, oregano, arugula pizza. The eggplant bacon was amazing, but there wasn't even a piece per slice, and the pieces were pretty small. Same for the olives (sliced, not whole). I don't expect toppings such as these to be piled on, but for at least one piece of each ingredient  to make it on each of the 6 slices isn't too much to ask.

 

We were interested in dessert, but honestly didn't have the time to wait. As it was, we had to flag down someone for the check after sitting with our empty plates in front us for some time. Don't get me wrong; I hate to be rushed. But surely there is a happy medium?

In case you were wondering, we weren't alone in experiencing this service dilemma. A lady dining next to us ordered a hot tea and gave her credit card at the end of her meal. Twenty minutes later she asked to cancel the tea and just have the check. She was told "it had already been put in." Really? The tea order couldn't be recalled after twenty minutes? Honestly, they should have just left it to cool for the next person who ordered an iced tea.

All of this is to say- I love the idea, I love the location, and who can resist a dog-friendly (outdoor seating only) establishment? Not this girl. I'm hoping that this was just a fluke.

We were very happy to see that Bar Verde, another Matthew Kenney establishment, was coming soon (now open). I'm anxious to try it for a multitude of reasons- not the least of which is to see if the service is any better.

And in the hopes that they too, are pet-friendly.