The Vegan Vendy Awards!

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately (oops, September); read up on my adventures at the Vegan Vendy Awards over on Vegansaurus!

Click on the "abby bean" tag for anything you may have missed!

Benny's Burritos and their Secret Vegan Cheese

Benny's Burritos is generally a bit busy, crowded, loud, and non-vegan for my taste, but I went there for the first time on a night when I'd just met some really good friends, so it holds a bit of a nostalgic place in my heart.  Also, they're pet-friendly!

Benny's has a sizable menu, but obviously it's mostly about the burritos.

The thing that's most special about Benny's is that they offer "Healthy Substitutions At No Extra Charge"!!  This includes the options of a whole wheat tortilla, brown rice, and tofu sour cream.  Unless you order the non-dairy burrito, they do charge $1.00 for soy cheese (vegan); I guess they don't consider that a healthy substitution?  No complaints here; just happy they have it.  Besides, I usually order the non-dairy burrito.

 

In any event, as of this summer, the printed menu finally indicates that the soy cheese is vegan.  Previously, anytime you would ask, the waitstaff did not know what brand it was*.  Interestingly enough, though: they always handled the inquiry nicely: consistently explaining that it was casein-free.  You kind of have to trust an omni restaurant's non-vegan waiter when he so easily spews those buzz-words.

So, my suggestion for your best bet?  The aptly but boringly named non-dairy burrito: beans, brown rice, salsa fresca & vegan soy cheese in a whole wheat tortilla w/tofu sour cream on the side.  Since you saved that soy cheese dollar, splurge on some guac and dig in to one of these monsters with abandon.

In case you were wondering: they have an A.

Last summer when we were enjoying an early dinner, we spotted this guy outside.

At that particular moment, the interesting thing wasn't obvious.  It had nothing to do with how he was dressed or what he was standing beside; it was that we'd seen him, earlier that day, toting it through Figment.  How he'd managed to make it with his sculpture in tow from the ferry to the east village in about the same time it took our lazy behinds, we'll never know.

Some shots from Figment 2012 for your viewing pleasure.

* It's an epidemic: as much as I love The Bean, there was a recent, similar incident that went as follows:

Us: Is your tofu cream cheese vegan?
Employee: I don't know, let me ask my co-worker; she's vegan.
Vegan employee: (throws a dirty sideye) I don't know.
Us: (not believing she's even vegan) Can you check?
"Vegan" employee: It's from some kosher place in Brooklyn.
Us: Can you look at the container?
"Vegan" employee: (sighs) (pauses) (looks) It is.

Luckily, Mondays are sometimes "Ask the Bean" day on Facebook, so I did just that.  It was confirmed that their tofu cream cheese is, in fact, vegan. But, still not word on what brand/from where.  More mystery vegan cheese...

Blossom on Carmine: Brunch #2 (Vegan MoFo 2013)

This second visit started off kind of odd, as a friend overheard the host telling another table of diners that Blossom on Carmine is not really affiliated with Blossom and is hoping to have their name changed. A particularly perplexing statement given that, in addition to the name, the menu is quite similar....and they share the same website.  For the record, this theory was categorically debunked by V-Note staff later that same evening. 

In any event, onto the meal.  My friends shared the black-eyed pea and potato cakes: chili pepper aioli to start.  I, on the other hand, snootily abstained: holding out for my preferred pea-cake for dinner.

But, let's get right to it: I knew the moment the tofu Benedict: English muffin, steamed potatoes, grilled asparagus, ham, hollandaise sauce was placed on the table that it was yet another disappointing, BoC tofu dish.  Damn!  I really wanted to like this place.  But, the ham was straight out of a package and barely warmed.  And, I can only assume it was unappealingly placed on top because it was hiding the seemingly unseasoned/un-marinated tofu still in block form underneath.  The English muffin was chewy- my friend thought stale.  The "Hollandaise" had the distinct consistency of Veganaise mixed with a little bit of something extra and had been dolloped, not poured. I'll be damned if I couldn't have made this quickie, lazy Benedict at home. Champs, a significantly less expensive and less-pretentious restaurant could have knocked it out of the park.  And, to make matters worse, it had come highly recommended by our waitress, so TWO of us were suckered into this catastrophe.

Worse than that, the potatoes were boiled and, therefore, tasteless. Why would anyone purposefully boil potatoes unless they were going to mash them?  The only saving grace of the plate was the asparagus, which was fresh and perfectly prepared. Unfortunately- particularly on my friend's identical plate, they were coated in the mayodaise and could not be saved.

Our other friend went simple and had the best plate at the table: spicy tofu scramble with sauteed bell peppers, black beans, cilantro, cheddar cheese, pan fried bacon and potatoes, roasted plum tomato, garlic butter toast.  Having now been disappointed twice, I definitely think BoC is overpriced for what it is; still, I would have taken this dish over mine at any cost.

I'd been looking forward to sharing their awesome chocolate kahlua tart for dessert, but I was so disgusted by my meal that I skipped it.  A restaurant like this absolutely can and should do better than store-bought ham and a block of unseasoned tofu.  Other people have had better experiences, but I'm officially unimpressed.

Luckily our day looked up as we made our way to Governor's Island for Fete Paridiso.  A glimpse:

It runs through the end of September 2013, so try to make it if you can.