Revisiting John's for Eve Eve Eve Eve

My first visit to the historic John's of 12th Street was a magnificent hit.

 

The next two were considerably less so, but this year we decided to take our celebratory Eve Eve Eve Eve group there to see if their vegan game was still going strong.

Warning: #moodlighting #ambiance #poorlylitfoodphotos
The menu was very similar to what I remembered, but I believe that there were some minor changes.

Of course I had to get the bruschetta: garlic-grilled bread with avocado, basil and tomatoes. It was just as good as we remembered.

I was inordinately hungry, so I also ordered the vegan Caesar salad. It looked unassuming, but it was pretty darn outstanding and incredibly authentic. I couldn't believe my ears when the waiter for the next table told the diners it gets mixed reviews. Not from me!

Aaaaand, the vegan garlic bread. They also have vegan butter if you just have plain bread for the table, but why would you?

A couple of people ordered the grilled portabello mushroom with polenta and greens. While they  reported that it was good, the "greens" consisted of a few random leaves of mixed salad greens. While vegans have no problem eating garnish, it really seemed to be all it was; John's might want to rethink the description.

I didn't get a chance to photog the pizza and seitan alla rosa at the other end of the table, but on my end most of us ordered the famed, housemade, seitan parmigiana with Daiya cheese. Don't let the unfortunate lighting fool you; this was as good as ever.

And they even brought out Go Veggie! vegan parmesan. It's impressive that they even have this detail covered.

While eavesdropping on a conversation between the waiter and the vegan table next to us, we learned that John's decided to start making their own ice cream during the period that Lula's was not open and has continued to do so. While no one at our table partook, that table did and reported high marks on all counts. Instead, I shared the chocolate cannoli with a pal (we, of course, had plans to go to Lula's later that same evening). I admit that this was the lowlight of the meal; my heart definitely belongs to the cannoli from Vegan Treats.

The bottom line is that if you're lucky enough to have a good and pleasant waiter (or multiple as was the case with our large party), the food at John's will take care of itself and your experience will be primo.

M.O.B. For Two Celebrations

So, I'm embarrassed to say that this post is SO overdue: I started it in 2013! Apparently, this is an M.O.B. theme of mine.
Still, YUM!

Last year for Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve a bunch of us went to M.O.B. for dinner. Though their menu is small, it is varied. So,it's hard to make a decision (also vegans are programmed to accept the single veganizable menu item, so choices can sometimes make our heads spin).

These are the kale chips they give you while you're pondering.

 

One friend ordered the corn soup: popcorn, curry, sea salt, corn, miso, soymilk that I always covet. It's amazing but somehow I never order it for myself.

Roasted sunchokes were a special of the day (so long ago).

World's tiniest salad or largest citrus wedges?

Somehow my lemonade wound up all over the table. No one had been drinking heavily; it was pure clumsiness.

Ok, does anyone remember what or whose this is? VBA, I'm looking at you.

None of this matters, of course, because so many of us ordered M.O.B.'s incredible mac & cheese: in a creamy sweet potato and cashew cream with smoked pecans, grilled broccoli rabe and sauteed artichokes (note: it's now served with oyster mushrooms instead).

 

This is a rich, satisfying meal that I'm pretty sure you could eat all day every day if given the opportunity. In advance of our visit we'd ogled many IG photos in anticipation, then posted a trillion of our own in appreciation.

THEN a big group of us visited again in the summer for another special occasion.
This time my lemonade stayed in the glass.

Because it had piqued my interest at our Christmas Eve dinner (I try not to make a habit of photogging everyone's dish), I ordered the MOB dog deluxe with all the fixings: traditionally spiced carrot, mushroom, and chickpea dog, mustard & ketchup, Brooklyn brine sauerkraut & relish on a sweet potato dog roll with choice of crispy fries, potato wedges, salad (what do you take me for?). I loved the presentation:

The dog, however, did not live up to my extremely high expectations...or the impressive plating and assembly. For starters, it's HUGE! The frank itself could have easily been halved and that would have made it much easier to stuff in my face enjoy. Great bun & condiments but everything was overshadowed by the enormous furter. Second, the dog is kind of Yeah Dawg style, but...I'd choose YD over this one. Also, the fries were kind of meh. Don't get me wrong; I ate them all, but overall I wouldn't order this again. I will take my own advice and eat the mac forever.

A bud of mind ordered the MOB burger deluxe: crimini mushroom burger, your choice of freshly baked whole wheat or potato roll, secret sauce, Brooklyn Brine pickles, charred onions, tomatoes, smoked eggplant and lettuce with choice of crispy fries/potato wedges/salad. Again, great presentation (though sub-par photo on my part).

I'm not a huge burger fan, but he liked it a lot- particularly interesting given he's not a mushroom lover. In my opinion, the (healthier option) potato wedges were good but not great (yeah, I stole one).

So, another vote for the mac!

Overall, I'm a fan of M.O.B. and I'm glad to see that they've added a few new options- particularly to their appetizer menu. It has a great interior and a nice vibe, so I look forward to what direction their menu takes in the future. In the meantime, MAC 4eva!

Eve Eve Eve: V-Note and Biscoff Chocolates

In an attempt to surpass the previous year's Eve Eve festivities, this year we celebrated on Eve Eve Eve!  This time, my good friend coordinated a group to celebrate the holidays at V-Note on the upper east side.  I'd never been, but I was anxious to try someplace new whose menu was so similar to Blossom's (without actually being Blossom).

It all started out on a pretty amazing (v-) note when I noticed bilberry juice on the menu.

And you'll never guess what happened: I ordered it, and it was served!

Well what do you know?  Some places can actually deliver bilberry juice instead of making a federal case of it (see here and here)!

I couldn't decide between two appetizers, so luckily my pal agreed to split them with me to save me from making the wrong choice.  First up, my favorite appetizer of all time, the black-eyed pea cake: crispy cake of Yukon gold potatoes and black-eyed pease with a chipotle aioli.  Different restaurants serve this dish different ways: either one large cake or two small.  While he prefers the small, I do believe I prefer the large.  But I would like to stress that I wouldn't turn one down in any form.

the all-important cross-section

Second, the lentil rings: french lentils and root vegetables in a phyllo crust with pistachio mustard.  Interestingly, not actually rings at all, but totally delicious and reminded me of the phyllo roulade entree that I love at Blossom, albeit with a completely different sauce.

For an entree, I chose the feijoadinha (Brazilian stew): smokey tempeh, chayote, sweet potato, chick peas, lotus root and black beans, served with rice.  Since the menu was very seitan-heavy, I was glad to have a tempeh option; I'd probably order this again (although VM ate the leftovers and dubbed it "too beany."

Two (almost 3) friends chose the the crispy pinenut and basil seitan: pine nut and basil crusted seitan cutlets in a creamy white wine sauce with slivered artichoke hearts, roasted potatoes and cherry tomatoes, topped with grilled fig.  The portion was extremely generous and enjoyed by both, but no telling why the slice of pineapple came into play.

admittedly, this angle is not the best representation of this dish

The seitan piccata: seitan cutlets in white wine lemon-caper sauce with mashed potatoes and grilled escarole was definitely the most enviable plate at the table.

And the mushroom risotto: creamy tomato risotto, porcini, cremini, trumpet and lobster mushrooms, seaweed and basil looked absolutely decadent-  another hit.

Photographer Thumb

The salads all sounded really appealing, so I was glad this one came out looking and was reported as tasting as good as the expectation: Caesar salad: crisp romaine, soy chicken, toasted capers, herbed croutons tossed in our Caesar dressing sprinkled with gomashio.  

V-Note also offers an entree option of a vegetable plate: choose 3 or 4 sides; two of my table mates went with sautéed kale, spiced quinoa, brown rice, and black beans.

Professor Thumb

The medallions au poivre: seitan medallions in a French peppercorn sauce, served with potato-cauliflower puree and roasted asparagus looked positively succulent and was another dish of significant size.

Baker Thumb

I think I can speak for everyone in our party when I say that V-Note now has a slew of new fans (plus 1 or 2 repeat fans).  The food was terrific, the dining room was pretty, and our waitress was unfailingly friendly, patient, and pleasant.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn't mention that I felt strongly that some aspects of the service were not befitting the upscale restaurant.  The food runner assisting our waitress consistently stood on one side of the table, announced the dish he was holding, and then handed the plates to be passed amongst those of us dining.  This happened during both serving and clearing of dishes and was annoying and unnecessary, but would be very easily remedied.

Finally, inspired by Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking, I'd purchased these chocolate moulds a while back and finally decided to try them out for Eve Eve Eve.

Pressed for time and thinking of Biscoff, I simply melted dark chocolate, mixed in Biscoff spread, moulded, and chilled.

They certainly didn't turn out perfect, but they were yummy.

Plus, who can resist the snowmen?

Coincidentally, on the walk from the restaurant to the train I thought I'd spied Andrea walking in the same direction.  This was unexpected, as she lives on the other side of the country (although I knew she'd recently been visiting Philadelphia).  I called her name and there was no response, but it was possible that the wind had prevented her from hearing me.  We all wound up on the same subway platform so I asked; it wasn't her.  Almost, Andrea!  Or, more honestly, not even close.

Thank you to my friends for such a nice Eve X 3; see you on Eve Eve Eve Eve 2013.

Eve Eve

This year a group of us were hoping to get together on Christmas Eve, but family plans were an impediment.  So, we created our own non-secular holiday: Eve Eve!  

Here's how it went down: we went to Hangawi for dinner.

my requisite plum juice

Our first shared appetizer was the vegetarian dumplings, fried; it was Eve Eve after all.

 

Next up was my fave Hangawi appetizer, combination pancakes in pumpkin, kimchi, and mushroom leek.

They kindly quartered each flavor to make it easy for our party of four to share.

For dinner I took my cue from my friend, PS, who always orders the best noodle dishes: we both went with the vermicelli stone bowl rice and I stole all her hot sauce.  I still think I prefer the avocado stone bowl, but this hit the spot.  Our fourth, HB, ordered the original vegetarian stone bowl with brown rice (it looked too much like mine to warrant another flash photo in the serene dining room).  Note: it would seem that the stone bowls no longer come with complimentary miso soup.

My bud, MVG, ordered the tofu with mixed vegetables in brown sauce; it was mild, but extremely tasty.

We all telepathically agreed to forego dessert and headed to the place where everybody knows our names, Lula's Sweet Apothecary.  I had a sundae of pumpkin, cinnamon, chocolate, and peanut butter chip ice creams...

topped with hot fudge, caramel, graham crackers, whipped cream and a cherry.  A masterpiece!

As you can see, Eve Eve was a raging success; it just might have to be a permanent celebration.

photo courtesy of BYOL

Happy Eve Eve to all, but especially to the Fab Vegan Five!