Urban Vegan Kitchen- Quick Review

It wasn't until I was in an Uber headed for Urban Vegan Kitchen that I realized it was located in the former Blossom on Carmine space. I thought it surprisingly fortuitous for one vegan restaurant to replace another until I arrived and my friend told me she thought they were still affiliated. I glanced around and the similar decor seemed to support that theory. A quick Google search brought up results from places like Seamless and Open Table that referred to UVK as, "formerly known as Blossom on Carmine," and,  "a.k.a. Blossom on Carmine-" seemingly suggesting definitively that she was correct. This article confirmed the association.

Unlike, say, Peacefood Cafe's severely limited brunch, the UVK brunch menu lists an impressive amount of offerings. As it happened, my friend and I both chose the same: breakfast sandwich: crispy tofu rounds, avocado, kala namak, shiitake bacon, hollandaise aioli, arugula, red onion, multi-grain english muffin served with garlic sauteed kale, homefries, ketchup. A note about the homefries: you can order them separately and they are described as seasoned potatoes with chives. I was very excited; potatoes can sometimes be the star of the show and I'm okay with that.

The dishes and mugs that UVK uses are beautiful pottery pieces that really lend themselves to the presentation, but I found the components of the meal to be considerably less stellar. The homefries for which I'd had such high hopes were under-salted and seemed "seasoned" with only pepper- nary a chive to be found. As my friend pointed out, the sauteed kale looked like the decorative or ornamental variety you see planted around strip malls in the fall. It was wilted and chewy and I began to wonder if it was meant to be edible. Another Google search does not recommend:

"...there is ornamental kale, and there is culinary kale. Both are members of the brassica family, but they're not quite the same...Ornamental kale is still edible, but you probably wouldn't enjoy it much, as the plant is fairly tough and chewy."

The sandwich, although in desperate need of hot sauce, was good- albeit oily. Curiously, it consisted of three, thin, fried, stacked, rounds of tofu along with the aforementioned accoutrements, but even the English muffin was soaked with oil- presumably from the grill? Again, the overall taste was relatively yummy, but rather underwhelming. Coincidentally, this has also been the issue in the past with Blossom on Carmine. Tastewise: way better than Blossom du Jour's messy egg, cheese, and bacon muffin...nowhere near as good as Terri's simple but delicious bacon, egg, and cheese muffin with hollandaise.

All this to say that I think UVK is simply a new concept for Blossom and it's not necessarily one I'd care to revisit. Coming in at $16 for the plate (one of the less expensive menu items), this turned into a $25+ brunch with OJ, tax, and tip. I guess brunch isn't one of the meals I tend to splurge on (ahem, dessert), but just speaking in terms of good food for the price, this falls skewed towards not-really-for-me as opposed to would-go-again. I guess I should just be happy they didn't charge a brunch surcharge.

Blossom On Carmine

A few friends and I scheduled a catch-up brunch and wanted to do it up right.  We considered returning to V-Note, but after considering the trek to the UES, chose instead to make an inaugural visit (for most) to the new (Cafe?) Blossom on Carmine.  The visit started off on an especially high note when we entered the restaurant and were greeted by one of our favorite waiters from Sacred Chow.  He was as charming as ever and our waitress was just as friendly.

Blossom on Carmine serves four small black-eyed pea and potato cakes with chili pepper aioli as their version of the coveted appetizer.  They are as good as any, but there is a contentious debate brewing as to the best offering of the pea cakes in all of the Blossom restaurants.  In contrast to these four small, Blossom on the UWS serves two medium pea cakes.  But, at this meal it was definitively decided 2 - 1 in favor of the large, sole black-eyed pea cake offered at both V-Note and Blossom on Ninth.  Frankly, there isn't a pea cake I'd turn down, but BoC's fell a little heavy on the breading side for me; I prefer a much higher proportion of potato: 2 mediums or 1 large prevail.

I really like that BoC offers a "lunch" menu that includes both brunch and lunch offerings.  Two of my friends ordered the southern fried seitan: with herb and cheese biscuits, gravy, sautéed kale and they both loved it.  I'm not a huge seitan fan, but I thought it was delicious.  And, while I don't like even the idea of biscuits and gravy, I find brown gravy significantly more appetizing than white; nice choice.


photo courtesy of JD Gut

Our server was kind enough to let one friend sub the brussel sprouts special for the standard kale: a generous portion of humongous sprouts that rivaled the somewhat less impressive (but nicely prepared) serving of kale.

As much as I hate to say it, my banh mi sandwich: with marinated tofu, kimchee, sprouts, cucumber, carrot, mayo, avocado, cilantro, basil, mint, toasted baguette was almost a total fail.  For starters, it was served sloppily on this odd, airy, thick bread instead of a baguette.  The pickled vegetables (carrot, kimchee) were limp instead of crisp, and there was no cucumber or basil to speak of.  Instead, there was the unexpected additon of a sea vegetable- which, in and of itself is unpleasant, but- as an accompaniment to the non-traditional inclusion of avocado, was extremely off-putting.  The only thing good I can say about the sandwich is that the tofu was prepared nicely.

I don't think I've ever in my life sent a dish back, and I didn't make this an exception.  I could almost have forgiven the poor execution, but it would have been nice if I had been- at very least, informed that they were out of baguettes; who eats a banh mi on bread most likely intended for French toast?  And the un-advertised sea vegetable?  I'm sure it's not just me that doesn't like to be surprised with seaweed: blech.

To make matters worse, while our server was kind enough to let me sub their mouth-watering sounding salt and vinegar garlic fries for regular, there was no discernable salt or vinegar taste detected.  Fine fries with lots of garlic- that's it.  Boo.

Because I was headed to The Vegan Bake-Off later that day, I made a conscious decision to skip dessert at brunch.  My friend, however, could not resist the chocolate kahlua tart: with date and hazelnut crust, vanilla ice cream that we were all eyeing.  And, when it came out beautifully presented in a mini cast-iron pan on a slab of wood we were all struck unusually giddy with admiration.  This is where the photography stopped because none of us could resist digging in- it was adored even by the non-chocolate lover of the group.  As good as the food generally is, I've never enjoyed a decent dessert at Blossom...until now.

To re-cap, the space is pretty and the staff is refreshingly pleasant, accomodating, and efficient.  Despite my meal having been a huge disappoinment, I would definitely return to give them another chance- perhaps for dinner.  However, it has not gone unnoticed that Blossom isn't new to the game; misses like this plainly shouldn't occur.  They are easily avoidable and won't be forgiven twice.

Vegan MoFo 2012, B is for Blossom

When we approached Cafe Blossom on Columbus Avenue, we were startled to see the B in their window; a B?  Really?  We're generally A-only diners...

...but those black-eyed pea cakes were calling our names.  I sat myself on the perimeter of the outdoor seating area with 89 in her bag beside me and VM went in to let them know we'd be dining outside.  The waiter came out and told us that he didn't think we could have 89 with us, but said that he'd "go check".  After about 5 minutes another waiter came out to take our order.  We asked if that meant that having 89 was okay- only to find out that he was completely unaware that another waiter had already approached us and was supposedly checking on the dog rule.  Then he said he'd go check.  He returned to tell us that the manager did indeed say that dogs weren't allowed in the outdoor seating area, "especially since we are up for re-inspection." I was rendered speechless by the odd admission, but credit goes to VM who didn't hesitate to reply, "Looking to get rid of that B I guess?  And that was even before a tiny dog wanted to dine here."  Gotta love it.

Mind you, our complaint isn't by any means that they have a rule, but rather that they are ill-prepared to explain it and incapable of enforcing it with any competence or finesse (this is not the first time their lack of professionalism has ticked me off).  Alternately, all over the city there are clearly posted signs on either end of the spectrum.

Yay!

Nay!

In fact, just yesterday I was in a store where the owner pleasantly approached me and said, "I'm sorry, but we don't have animal insurance so you can't stay in here with your dog.  Maybe I can help you quickly before you go?"  She also mentioned that 89 and I looked alike, but that's neither here nor there.  Nor is the fact that when I said, "Yes; we have the same hair," she replied, "No; it's the face."  I do not have a furry face!  But, I digress.  If this low-key shop owner could so kindly and professionally explain her position, so too couldn't Blossom's staff have?  Surely we're not the first people with a dog wishing to dine outside.   Let's face it- most establishments welcome pets (even those with an A).  If you don't and you choose not to be clear about it, then at least equip your staff with knowledge of your stance so that they may properly handle the request.  Suggest take-out at very least!  But no, they were completely out of their element and literally didn't know what to do.

So, we didn't dine there for brunch.  But later that afternoon we were still craving those stupid pea cakes, so we decided to place a takeout order to enjoy in the park.  A couple of weird things happened when I picked up the order.  To start, they told me that they don't have decaf coffee.  Huh?  I know VM has had coffee there before; this is not an unusual request.  But, alright.  Weirder, they refused to sell me bilberry juice without the champagne because "we just don't do that." Really?  I'm pretty sure you do.  I've been drinking it for years!  But, now that I think about it, the last time I ordered it with dinner they told me it was "brunch only" and also that they ran out (when in doubt, piggy-back your excuses).  Is there a massive Blossom conspiracy against providing me non-alcoholic bilberry juice?  Not cool.  Anyhoo, we took our order to the park and the food was fab, as expected.

Our beloved black-eyed pea cakes: yukon potato, red pepper coulis, chipotle aioli in a sad little container.

Totally awesome mushroom pizza bites: crushed cherry tomatoes, garlic, vegan mozzarella, fresh herbs, were as terrific as last time.

They were out of the root vegetable phyllo pastry and, upon my request, instead suggested: garlic herb gnocchi: sauteed brussel sprouts, white bean puree, fresh lemon.  The gnocchi was on the pasty side and bean puree was an odd pairing, but the brussel sprouts were prepared exquisitely.

Despite the delicious grub, I still had a bad taste in my mouth.  Blossom is one of the finer vegan restaurants in the city, yet despite their phenomenal food, they consistently exhibit behavior inconsistent with that distinction.  None of this, however, prevented me from grabbing two butterfinger shakes from the newest Blossom du Jour in Midtown West later that day.  What ill-will can't a butterfinger shake remedy?

Well, it can't remedy ill-will while simultaneously fostering additional ill-will!  I present exhibit A: I know what you're thinking; where's the chocolate!?!?!  Good question.  And I know you know what I'm talking about, Blossom.

Exhibit B: Why so watery?  This shake is supposed to be thick, not soupy.  It's not Halloween yet, but BOO!

It goes without saying that Terri wins the shake war, HANDS down, and will be our sole supplier going forward.  It was a bad Blossom day from beginning to end.  As VM said, "Blossom always finds a way to get us."  Indeed.  Bad form, Blossom.  To start, I hope that you earn that A.  Then maybe you can concetrate on consistent, competant, and professional service.

Mirror Image Meals at Blossom

Blossom in Chelsea is our favorite of the group.  Why?  Mainly, pea cakes.  And by "pea cakes", I of course refer to the delectable and infamous black-eyed pea cakes appetizer for which my stomach knows no limit.

"Crispy cake of yukon gold potatoes and black eyed peas, served with chipotle aioli."

Then there is the incomparable phyllo roulade entree.  Yes, yes; I know.  Sue us; we both order the exact same thing every time.  It's just that good.

"French lentils and root vegetables baked in a phyllo crust, served over a carrot-cream sauce. Caramelized onions and swiss chard complement."

Another thing that makes Blossom divine is the chilled bilberry juice; I love it when restaurants offer a non-alcoholic beverage alternative to soda.  So, while VM always orders wine, I unfailingly choose the mild but extraordinarily tasty bilberry juice.

Blossom only carries beer and wine, but I'd venture to guess that the bilberry juice would also be fantastic mixed with vodka on the rocks.  Just saying.

So there you have it: one of our favorite meals.  Try it; you'll like it.

Blossom...Best Appetizer in NYC

Another dinner at Blossom where two pathetic diners can't help but order the very same things they always do, but don't regret it in the least.

For starters, the beloved Black-eyed Pea Cake.  Oh pea-cake, how we love thee.  This was a decidedly rounder and less crispy (smaller?)version of Blossom's single pea cake appetizer (Cafe Blossom serves two miniature ones in their variation), but equally delicious.  Filled with yukon-gold potatoes, black-eyed peas, onions, bell peppers, and probably other unidentified goodies, this appetizer is a winner topped with and sitting atop of an addictive chipotle aioli.

For dinner, the (seemingly smaller) lentil-packed Phyllo Roullade swimming in a buttery carrot cream broth and served with swiss chard and carmelized onions: this alone could make Chelsea's Blossom your favorite of the group (and it has for us). I like to pretend that you can't adequately reheat phyllo dough as an excuse to finish the whole portion, but I will have to test this theory one day because I certainly wouldn't mind having this for dinner two nights in a row (or twelve).

We don't usually do dessert at Blossom, but for some reason I decided we should try the caramel apple cigars for dessert.  I am neither a fan of apples or fruit as dessert in general, but my companion loves the combo and I was feeling generous.  Error in judgement.  The boring, miniscule order consisted of 4 teeny phyllo sticks (~2" long with a dime equivalent circumference) "filled" with barely visible pieces of apple.  There was a tasteless, caramel-colored liquid sloshing around the plate, but the piece de resistence was the foul, melon-ball serving of "vegan ice cream".  Perhaps I'm now spoiled by Lula's, but for a restaurant whose food offerings I hold in such high regard to offer such an unappetizing ice cream was both surprising and disappointing.

Here's my current take on Blossom:

1. The food remains delicous, but the dessert is a definite pass*.
2. The portions are shrinking.
3. With prices on par with Candle 79, the Blossoms need to collectively up their game as far as service is concerned; the waitstaff is consistently adequate and that doesn't cut it.  Hipster swagger is ok for a coffeehouse, but not an upscale dining establishment.

* alternate dessert suggestion to be offered in next post

Cafe Blossom FOR DINNER

I am a big fan of Café Blossom’s brunch and goodies: berry pancakes, French toast, chocolate chip cookies drizzled with extra chocolate, banana chocolate chip muffins, chocolate peanut butter shakes, etc. The tofu scramble I spy at other tables always looks incredible, but I can’t help but order the sweet stuff…they even give me all the maple syrup I need to drench my breakfast-- without any judgmental sneers (I use a lot of syrup; even at home sneers come with the territory). But after visiting Blossom in Chelsea and thoroughly enjoying all of the “real” food I knew I had to do the same at Café. So, I grabbed me an enthusiastic vegetarian and a grumpy carnie and made them promise me that we were ALL going to partake in real grub…and we did.

Appetizers
Cornmeal crusted oyster mushrooms: big, meaty mushrooms deliciously breaded and fried, then served with a tasty, mustardy sauce. The carnie was especially all over this one and even stated that he would “order it next time”, stunning the vegetarian and I into silence.

Caesar Salad: generous portion with just the right amount of tasty Caesar dressing, sprinkled with gomashio and served with crouton-esque crostini. Initially frightened by the gomashio because he heard the waiter’s description containing sesame seeds and thought I was trying to get him to eat vegan furikake again, the carnie ultimately enjoyed the salad as well. I will note that although I’ve never eaten carnivorous Caesar salad, I would imagine the furikake might make a nice addition in lieu of the little fishies. Just sayin’. The vegetarian didn’t partake in this one because she too is afraid of furikake (!), as she avoids analogs of any kind (if furikake counts as an analog simply because it “tastes fishy”).

Black eyed pea & potato cakes: The vegetarian and I cannot go into either Blossom without ordering this tasty appetizer. In Blossom it’s served as a giant crispy cake with a hint of Indian seasoning, but in Café Blossom it’s served as a couple of smaller, softer cakes. Both versions come with a scrumptious dollop of chipotle aioli and are equally good in their own way.

Dinner
I went for the Morrocan tempeh and it did not disappoint. There were so many textures and flavors going on that for a minute I thought I was in Horizons. It was truly exquisite and so too were the reheated leftovers the next day.

The vegetarian’s veggie grain burger was very good, but I was a little disappointed that it was served on toast (menu said bun). Also, it was an 8 on the mushy veggie burger scale: one being the perfect consistency of a Sunshine Burger and 10 being Candle 79’s ridiculously squishy black bean burger. She loved it, though, and the cole slaw was fresh, crisp, purple and out of this world. Note: the cole slaw did not fare so well as leftovers; eat this all at first sitting.

Finally, the carnie went for the fettucini alfredo. It was a huge bowl of what he tells me was authentic fettucini, filled with tons of portabello mushrooms and topped with a few strips of chicken cutlet and different colored cherry tomatoes. It was a little less creamy than I expected after enjoying the ravioli in cashew cream appetizer at Blossom, but he seemed to really enjoy.

Sides
Because we couldn’t stuff enough into our fat faces, we also had to do the 4 sides for $18 combo. I realize that some people do this as a dinner replacement: combining veggies and a grain, so don’t judge us. We went for the potato salad, French fries, Cajun sweet potato fries…and the brussel sprouts (we ran out of potato options). The potato salad was as fresh and delicious as the cole slaw, the fries were good, the sweet potato fries not nearly as spicy as I would have liked, and the sprouts were good but not anywhere as good as my Mom’s.

Dessert
I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to squeeze in dessert, but there’s always room for a chocolate chip cookie and a hot chocolate. The cookie was a big, yummy sucker and the hot chocolate was good, but no where near the epitome of hot chocolates: Candle 79’s version.

Overall, it was another fine meal and evening at Café Blossom and I’m glad I gave the real food a try because it was great. The phyllo roulade dinner at Blossom is still my favorite, but I’d definitely come back to the Café to try out their bacon cheeseburger now that I hear they are using Daiya.

My only complaint is that the manager was a bit flaky about my Woodstock Farm Sanctuary member discount. I use it all the time, yet he tackily sent the waiter back to the table to question me about it. Not cool. Considering Blossom’s usual warm and enthusiastic handling of the discount, I emailed them about this slip-up and received no response. Very disappointing and even less cool; I hope they work this out.

WFAS Thanksliving Banquet

This weekend I excitedly attended the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Thanksliving Banquet; it surpassed any and all expectations I possibly could have had, and did so with an extraordinary event that seamlessly combined an unflinching respect for animals with seemingly limitless, delicious food.

The weather was on our side. Despite forecasts of snow, the sun shone into the windows of the ginormous, heated tent that housed the veritable ton of people that had come out to support the sanctuary at a time of year when most Americans are equating giving thanks with turkey genocide.

As did most attendees, we arrived early in order to visit with the sanctuary’s population of rescued farm animals until it was time for the banquet to begin. At that time, the gate that normally serves as the entrance to the goat pasture was flung open in hearty welcome and we all hurriedly entered the seasonally decorated tent, awestruck by the sights: from the beautifully set tables to the impressive and plentiful offerings on the auction and raffle tables, the tent had been converted into a cruelty-free, fall wonderland. The live band, Ida, enhanced the atmosphere.

Almost immediately the appetizers started flowing. Just when you thought they couldn’t be more selfless, those hardworking sanctuary volunteers transformed into waitstaff and began buzzing through the crowds, deftly offering up endless platters of assorted goodies. Our favorites were inevitably the black-eyed pea cakes from Blossom, and the Dr. Cow cheese spread onto fresh Bread Alone ciabatta and garnished with capers.

The generous assortment of appetizers continued their circulation as everyone placed silent bids on the auction items and chose which prizes they wanted to win with their raffle tickets. We had our fingers crossed for the Sweet & Sara assortment, the Vegan Essentials gift certificate, or the wine basket, but alas- we are not the type who are lucky in such raffles. No need, the event was spectacular on its own.

Onto dinner: the table was set with sparkling water and a heaping basket of assorted breads from Bread Alone and those delicious Karma Road Café sweet potato biscuits. We each enjoyed a glass of wine as the dinner was presented: assorted recipes from area restaurants that are not necessarily vegan or vegetarian. As we indulged, the speakers (Dan Piraro, Nathan Runkle, Jenny Brown, etc.) entertained and enlightened the crowd with stories, information, and even videos. Finally, what better way to end a delightful meal than with a choice of incomparable Vegan Treats cakes? Danielle Konya, the recognizable bakery queen herself, was in attendance, but may have been outshined in this animal loving crowd by her furry tablemate: the Discerning Brute's adorable dog, Enzo.

Because the weather was so nice, farm tours were given after the main event was over. With quite the drive ahead of us, we chose to wander around ourselves before picking up our goodie bags and hitting the road. Unfortunately, we find ourselves too full- days later- to even think of indulging in any of the delicious snacks that it contained; only the non-edible items have been enjoyed thus far. A great ending to an incredible day that was made possible by many generous, animal-hearted people.

If you’ve never been to the sanctuary, I implore you to go: enjoy and support it as frequently as possible. If you don’t live in the area you might be surprised that there are sanctuaries all over the country; do some searching and find one (or a few) that you can support. These special events are extraordinary, but sanctuaries need our help all year long.

Blossom in Chelsea

Usually, I proudly visit the UWS cafe location for brunch (french toast, berry pancakes), shakes (butterfinger, chocolate peanut butter), muffins (banana chocolate chip) & cookies (giant chocolate chip), but Chelsea Blossom's more lunch oriented menu forced me to eat "real" food. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The black eyed pea and potato appetizer was amazing; it reminded me of the delicious entree currently offered at Red Bamboo Brooklyn. Also delicious (but in 2nd place) was the ravioli in cashew cream sauce. There was a similar pasta entree on the menu that I'd definitely try for a main course next time; we snuck a peek at the order at the table next to us and it looked fresh, full of veggies, and basically divine. Though not my choice, the salad was fresh, light, and huge. But best was the Phyllo Roulade. It was almost beyond description: hearty, generous, and delicious.

It takes a lot for my sweet tooth/junk food addict self to admit, but clearly I have been missing out by not trying "real" food at Cafe Blossom. Blossom is not pretentious like Candle 79 and I found the dishes to be more inventive, better spiced, larger, and overall: infinitely better. They don't try too hard in an attempt at being considered avant garde, but they aren't afraid to play with spices and tastes (both the black eyed pea cake and phyllo roulade had a subtle and satisfying Indian flair). You leave feeling satisfyingly full of real, good food with flavors you couldn't duplicate at home. Finally, they are "...first and foremost animal caring"! If you are a member of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (and why wouldn't you be?), they happily offer a 15% discount with a great big smile and a genuine thank you for helping the animals right along with them.

I will even admit that I was so full of good, real food that I skipped (!) dessert altogether. Yep, that's how good it was. Ok, I did have Vegan Treats cake at the T-Salon later that same day, but the point is that, at the time, I was fulfilled with real food.

So, how can you resist? Go here for a great meal. Only, don't make the mistake of going before Veggie Conquest as we did; there will be plenty of food there and your tummy will be full, full, full.