Little Lad's Vegan Restaurant- Go Before They Close!

Despite my unnatural affinity for their extraordinary packaged items- including, but not limited to, Herbal Corn, cookies, various dessert goodies, and other popcorn flavors- I'd thus far never been to Little Lad's Vegan Restaurant for a meal. When I explained this to the cashier, he told me that he was glad I'd come because it's good to enjoy a seated meal, rather than eating on the go.  It was a genuine commendation and he was right.

Little Lad's only serves breakfast and lunch; one recent summer Friday, I joined two friends for lunch.

basement lower arcade, 120 Broadway

An unassuming but informative entrance, I barely paused to read the signs before running inside.  But do note the "A".

that freezer inside under the sign is full of Nice Cream

A whole rack of popcorn!  There was actually another, significantly larger rack across from this one but I couldn't get a clear shot- another customer was antagonisticly obliviously blocking my photographic intentions.

the hallway on the left leads to the dining rooms

This rack is full of all kinds of other goodies: granola, crackers, cookies.  There are even Little Lad's t-shirts, sweatshirts and totebags for the true loyalists.

Always nice to see a spread of the most accessible vegan food of all: snacks that come in their own, natural wrapper.  I'm more interested in dessert, of course; but, always nice.

And, finally, into (one of ) the dining rooms for the buffet.  For a mind-boggling $5.98 you may have one dinner plate and one bowlful of the rotating food selections of your choosing from the hot and cold buffets, as well as the fruit bar; refills are $1.00.  If you'd prefer, there is also a menu that you may order from instead.  I've heard good things about the menu items (burgers, nachos, pizza), but I wanted the real Lad's experience.

This is one quarter of one of the (seemingly Holland-inspired) dining rooms in a rare moment later in the afternoon when it wasn't filled to capacity.  Earlier, both rooms were so crowded that strangers were sharing tables.

Onto the grub.  The atmosphere at Little Lad's is on the quiet side and I felt it would have been too disrespectful to the regular patrons to have photographically documented the buffet.  Suffice it to say, it's your standard buffet set-up: nothing at all fancy.  The presentation is predominantly stainless steel and the signage mostly hand-written. 

Plate #1 (clockwise from top) corn pone, sweet potato with onions, beans, cole slaw, chick peas, kale, mixed veggies, guacamole in the center.


photo courtesy of My Vegan Gut

Plate #2: I won't even try to decipher the individual contents of this masterfully assembled platter; suffice it to say, it was more of the same.  Do admire our assorted colored trays.


photo courtesy of alz

 Plate #3 (mine):

• The sliced sweet potato didn't look like anything special, but it was actually deliciously roasted with a nice amount of flavorful onion slices.
• I had no idea what corn pone was, but it looked intriguing.  It turned out to be a casserole consisting of a layer of Mexi-style vegetable protein and seasoned beans topped with corn bread.  So good!
• The guacamole was a little smooth and watery for my taste, but perhaps that's why they serve it with the salads rather than offering chips.
• The chilled carrot salad was not my cup of tea, although I can't pinpoint exactly why; my tablemate enjoyed.
• I was always a potato or macaroni salad type of girl, but this cole slaw looked so deli-realistic that I had to give it a try.  It was great and could pass for the "real" thing any day.
• The sauteed kale didn't seem to be seasoned at all and was unfortunately so overcooked that we joked that it was devoid of any of its original nutrients.
• But it was very good mixed with the unassuming but tasty chilled chick pea salad.

There was absolutely no reason for me to eat any more, but I had to check out the fruit salad bar.  Normally I would have bypassed the creamy topping, but one of my dining companions- a Lad's regular- gave it the thumbs up.  The pink-tinge (strawberry?) made it considerably more appealing than I expected and I drizzled it liberally over my fresh fruit, housemade granola, and toasted coconut shavings.  It was all delicious- especially the cream topping.  This bowl of yumminess was worth the $5.98 alone.

We skipped all of the larger desserts: ice cream, pie, etc., but on the way out I finally got my hands on a dessert that Lad's calls a need 'em.  These are small, chilled, chocolate-covered orbs of...sweetness.  My friend usually gets the original, which he believes is coconut (next time!).  I chose the almond, and there was also mint.  Although small, it was sweet (dates?), rich, and satisfying after the carb-heavy meal.  Not sure exactly what it's made of, but you definitely do need 'em.

Little Lad's offers a basket, I offer a need 'em. (photo courtesy of alz)

Little Lad's is a bit of a mystery, but it's good, honest, fairly priced food that has been a staple downtown for five years and draws quite a crowd of people I can only assume are not all vegan.  Good food = vegan activism!

Unfortunately, according to their website,

"We regret to announce that Little Lad's at 120 Broadway will be closing it's doors as of August 5th.  This building has some new partners who have other plans for this space. Feel free to call Silverstein Properties and join us in thanking them for allowing us to serve you here for over 5 years. Silverstein Properties is showing us other restaurant options in this area. Keep in touch with us regarding a reopening of Little Lad's in NYC. Any Ideas? Send us an email at: mailto:littleladcorinth@aol.com"

This is very disappointing; I hope to hear that they've found a new location soon.  If you have yet to visit Little Lad's, I strongly urge you to do so; there is no place else like it.  Okay, except for their location in Portland Maine, which I can only assume is at least similar.  Go!  [UPDATE 8/2/11: A reliable source tells me that Lad's is expected to stay open through 8/12/11].

Vegan Friends Are the Best

I don't know about you, but I think vegan friends are the best.  They can tell you that the barista is lying to you when he says the pumpkin spice syrup is vegan.  They artistically promote veganism.  They will march, protest, and leaflet with you all the live long day.  If they're wearing something cool you don't have to awkwardly ask to read the contents label before you try to track it down on the internet.  They understand that sometimes you have to make the five hour roundtrip to visit your animal friends at the farm sanctuary. And, most importantly, they share your goal of a wholly compassionate world for animals.

But let us not forget the intrinsic food bond between vegan friends.  Picking a restaurant is never easier, as you are not the odd vegan out.  Conversations peppered with recipes and recent Yelp reviews are a given.  And, if you're lucky, you have vegan friends who gift you fun vegan snacks because they know you can't get enough.

They even share yummy stuff with you despite the fact that you're on your way to lunch (and already have dinner plans).

Better still, they will bake and bring you a ton of tasty stuff just because they are super vigilant about keeping excess sweets in the house.  Brace yourself as you behold (clockwise from left) a super-soft, closest-I've-ever-had-to-an-Entenmann's-soft-baked chocolate chip cookie, a fresh berry mini-muffin,  a crispety-crunchety why-can't-I-achieve-this-kind-of-success peanut butter cookie, and a lemon poppy mini-muffin: all from one baking session!

Vegan friends will tell you when a new cookbook is coming out and will even take the time to point out specific recipes that you might like.  And they will gift you awesome spinach red lentil soup so that you're not an entire fatty-fat fatty; since, if left to your own devices, you would be.

But best of all, vegan friends are the best because they join the blogosphere so you don't have to nag them for their recipes.  Introduce your vegan gut to "My Vegan Gut".

More Little Lad's Popcorn

My affinity for Little Lad's Herbal Corn is well known documented, so how could I have been completely ignorant of the fact that there are other flavors!?

For starters, there is the Snacker Jacks variety.  Sure, Cracker Jacks are vegan; but the taste is artificially sweet, there are never enough peanuts, and the prizes all stink.  On the Snacker Jacks label, Little Lad's notes, "The prize in our bag is the nutrition!!!"; how can you not love that unabashed corniness?  (See how I did that?  Corny?  Get it?  Oh, forget it.) 

Just like Herbal Corn, the taste is unexpectedly addicting even though you can't identify the ingredients.  Well, believe it or not, the flavoring is mostly molasses and tahini; what creative genius came up with that righteous combo?  Delicious.  Side note: try mixing molasses and tahini with some peanuts and add 'em yourself.  Or, eat them plain.  Also good on cauliflower.  Strange, but true.

And then there is the But-tah flavor.  As you can see from the label, it is entirely free of actual butter, gluten, sugar, chemicals, preservatives, and- most importantly- cows!  Ah vegans, such a sense of humor.  This flavor tastes like a very lightly buttered and salted popcorn; good for all of you purists out there who like to keep it simple. 

Even though I thoroughly enjoy both very flavorful Little Lad's flavors: Snacker Jacks and Herbal Corn, I must maintain that there is room in my pantry for But-tah at all times as well.

More Little Lad's Cookie Flavors

I was recently gifted major Little Lad's booty by my Dad, who thankfully goes to the dentist a block away (score!).  He picked up some popcorn, which I'll get to in a later post, and a couple of flavors of their toaster oven cookies.  Having previously tried the delicious blueberry flavor, I was anxious to try more.

I'm not usually a fan of oatmeal (it's breakfast, not dessert!), but the Oatmeal Raisin was very nice and not too oatmeal-y.  Plus, it was filled with plump raisins that only improved with toasting, as raisins will do.

The Pumpkin Raisin was very similar in that there wasn't an overwhelming taste of pumpkin, but plenty of raisins.

Finally, the oddly named Pumpkin Variety was the crowd favorite, as it contained not only raisins, but walnuts and carob chips.

Don't pick up any of these cookies expecting to stuff them in your face and be blown away by their sweetness; that's not what they're about.  Instead, do yourself a favor and warm them in the toaster as suggested; you'll be glad you did.  Enjoy it not as a cookie, but more as a freshly baked muffin top!  While remaining soft on the inside, the edges will get nice and crispy and you will be able to savor the healthy cookie alternative and wonder why there aren't more places like Little Lad's.

Little Lad's Herbal Corn

Some of you have heard of it, some not.  Either way, one taste and you'll be hooked 4-eva. 

Little Lad's is a tiny, vegan, weekday, breakfast/lunch (only) spot hidden within the Financial District.  But besides all of the vegan food, they also serve a special popcorn concoction called Herbal Corn.

Herbal Corn may look like regular popcorn until you notice various speckles and other crumbage adhered to the kernals and floating haphazardly around the appetizingly clear bag.  But don't read the ingredients, just taste it.  Then try to guess.  It's one of those combinations that will have you scratching your head wondering why you'd never thought of it before, whilst you shove the rest of the bag into your face at dizzying speed: savoring the extra "herbs" at the end.

Fret not if you can't get to Little Lad's, as Urban Roots also carries Herbal Corn.  The staff is super-smiley and they won't judge you for buying four bags at a time.  Or six.

Little Lad’s Goodies in Central Park for a Limited Time Only!

In conjunction with Blu Toddy, “an early stage functional beverage and food developer”, some Little Lad’s treats are currently available at the Columbus Circle Market. Located at the Merchant’s Gate at the southwest entrance to Central Park (right across from the Time Warner Center), the market offers a wide variety of shopping opportunities from unique vendors. Many of the products are handmade and the artists are on hand to discuss their work; what an especially nice alternative to the mass-produced gifts you would otherwise be purchasing right across the street!

When you need a break from shopping, bypass the non-vegan, giant gingerbread men and go directly to the Blu Toddy booth. There you will find a trio of Little Lad’s offerings: blueberry lemon cookies, blueberry tarts, and mini blueberry pies-- priced between $2-$3. Little Lad’s suggests that you warm their baked goods for optimum enjoyment, but I can assure you that they are quite delicious at any temperature. For a more decadent dessert, though, I would recommend toasting the tart and serving it with vegan ice cream. Blu Toddy offerings include three variations of hot blueberry toddies that are especially enticing on these frigid days, but be aware that they contain honey.

The market runs until Christmas Eve day, Monday through Saturday: 10am – 8pm, Sunday 10am – 7pm. If you’re like me and can’t stand descending the Time Warner Center Whole Foods’ escalator only to be met with checkout lines blocking your entry into the store, take advantage of this unexpected and limited time offer of Little Lad’s goodies right across the street for your snacking pleasure. But, be forewarned: sadly, there is no herbal corn available!

** This post also appears on SuperVegan. If you want to read it again, click HERE