The Vast Disappointment of Cocoa V

As a chocolate lover and huge fan of both Blossom and Cafe Blossom (now Blossom Uptown), I was very excited when I heard about the impending opening of Cocoa V. Then, when I read a description on SuperVegan likening it to a vegan Godiva- I swooned. I hurried over there one Saturday morning after ten to find it closed, even though the brand new website clearly stated 10:00am as the opening time. I waited until almost 11:00 and then left.

Fast forward a few days and I ducked in on a weekday evening after work. From the outside it does indeed look like a vegan Godiva and I bounded in. Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived. There were about eight people working there and our presence was not so much as acknowledged. On the counter was a truffle pulverized into minuscule truffle crumbs: presumably "tastes"; kind of chintzy when you're used to Rose City Chocolatier's friendly and generous offerings of whole candies while you order. To make matters worse, as we stood around awkwardly waiting to be greeted and/or offered a seat in the cafe, the owner entered and added to the unfriendly atmosphere by completely ignoring us as well. I admit we almost walked out.

Instead, after waiting to try to catch someone's eye we ultimately asked for a table in the otherwise empty cafe. Once seated, the waiter immediately told us what kind of wine they were offering that evening. Yup, that's wine: singular. Now, I'm not personally into wine, but the person I was with is and we had both assumed that someplace tauting itself as a chocolate and wine bar would have at least a minimal selection of both. Not so apparently.

Worse yet, the food offerings were wholly misrepresented both on the menu and the website. They didn't have any of the cakes listed on the menu- including the chocolate raspberry my companion had decided upon and the chocolate peanut butter I had heard raves about and wanted to try. We were told that they were "specials" (Really? On the permanent menu?) and that instead the offerings were....lemon cake, chocolate cake, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies: kind of boring. To add insult to injury, when I attempted to order the crepes and nutella advertised on the website I was told that they "are working on that". Ugh. I lost count of how many strikes we had tallied thus far.

So, we sat in the desolate cafe listening to Fleetwood Mac and waiting an inordinately long time for our 11th choice desserts. We stared questionably at the place settings that consisted of miniature stages for chocolate that should have been removed when we didn't order any. When our desserts arrived, the waiter chose to leave the unnecessary place settings where they were and placed our actual desserts on the end of the table opposite us: leaving us to rearrange things ourselves so that the useless stages were pushed aside and our actual eats were within reach. So not cool and hardly befitting an upscale establishment.

And then we finally began to enjoy our desserts: the chocolate chip cookie was good, but I can grab the same one anytime at Cafe Blossom. Even though I'm not normally a fan of brownies, this one was surprisingly good because it was more of a light, moist, chocolatey brownie/cake hybrid with chocolate chips. The hot chocolate was thick and tasty, but after about half of the mug it was obvious that it was entirely too rich even for this ardent chocoholic.

With some treats in our bellies we were finally enjoying more than each other's company when the owner and another worker entered the cafe, stood nearby, and began having a discussion about how dim the lights should be. Sigh. Call me crazy, but perhaps you should focus on acknowledging the mere presence of your customers rather than discussing the ambiance you're currently ruining by rudely chit-chatting nearby?

Needless to say, we quickly finished our desserts and left.

Ironically, it was one of the owners of Lula's Sweet Apothecary who first clued us in about the impending opening of Cocoa V. In the future when I'm in need of a delicious fix of sweet dessert I will be sure to head over to Lula's instead: exquisite offerings, terrific service, incomparable atmosphere, and no pretense.

Cocoa V's business card reads: Chocolat Perfecto.

Far from it.

71 Irving Place

When I first tried to find Irving Farm Coffee I wound up across the street from Union Square standing in front of an office building with nothing but a giant, over-filled Starbucks in my line of sight. With no other option, I begrudgingly suffered an overpriced, lukewarm, 3/4-filled decaf soy peppermint mocha in the loud, packed, anything-but-coffeehouse atmosphere. As it turned out, my google text had returned the address of Irving Farm's wholesale headquarters. Ugh.

The second try was the charm, as the gilded sign for 71 Irving Place glistened in the sunlight beckoning me towards it. The neighborhood pooches adorning the facade as their owners' picked up breakfast further suggested that this was exactly the type of place I was looking for: the anti-Starbucks*. Too dark for photos, the atmosphere was pure, upscale coffee house. As I stood in awe my vegetarian companion quickly left me to find a table for us in the crowded cafe and called over her shoulder, "Get me a black coffee and anything for breakfast; it all looks incredible." Indeed, it did.

My attention was drawn by two big, brightly lit cases filled with assorted, delectable baked goods: contents all clearly marked, vegan where applicable. Additionally, there was soy milk for coffee and vegan cream cheese for delightfully minimally doughy bagels (I abhor doughy bagels). I chose a vegan peanut butter chocolate chunk (extra points!) cookie over the maple ginger, and my companion thoroughly enjoyed a giant, non-vegan, mixed-berry scone.

Despite a constant flow of tourists off the beaten path, neighborhood regulars, and peeps like me who may have found them on SuperVegan, the service was quick, efficient, and friendly. It was the kind of great NY place that makes you wonder why anyone ever patronizes chains. It also effortlessly exhibited how easy it is for omni establishments to cater to vegans and allow the two to dine harmoniously for something as simple as coffee. Needless to say, I will happily return.

*Don't get me wrong, I enjoy many of Starbucks offerings and am happy that the nationwide chain was one of the first to offer soy milk. However, their vegan-friendliness seems to have stopped there. Only ONCE did they try offering a vegan baked good 'round my parts and it STUNK. Further, they have made no effort to label which lattes are vegan and which aren't (ahem, pumpkin spice). And, most importantly of all, I make a concerted effort never to visit a Starbucks in Manhattan; the service is abysmal. Give me a reserved, suburban New Jersey Starbucks any day & I will thoroughly enjoy my lattes indoors or out.

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

NY Dosas Cart

Thanks to Supervegan, I made my way to the NY Dosa cart on Washington Square South right outside of the park on an exceptionally warm and sunny weekday in November. Comfortingly, it looks like any other cart until you get close enough to read the menu and see the exclamations of "vegan" and "dairy-free" alongside the multitude of print accolades this vegan cart has amassed thus far.

Despite being a veritable celebrity to vegans far and wide, Thiru, the owner & "Dosa Man", is instantly welcoming. I half expected him to be the Sri Lankan, dosa-doling version of the Soup Nazi, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. He never stops working as he simultaneously cooks and greets, without ever rushing a customer or an order. While you wait he regales you with NY stories and history as he brings you behind the cart into his spotless kitchen to show you how his artistry and fresh ingredients combine to turn into something much more spectacular than the simple word lunch implies. He effortlessly endears himself to each and every customer whether new or familiar and you feel as though he had been looking forward to seeing you rather than vice versa.

The food is outstanding, high quality, generously portioned and extremely affordable. While many upscale Indian restaurants offer minuscule, greasy samosas consisting of thick dough, a few tasteless potato cubes and a pea or two, NY Dosas' are practically the size of your head: overflowing with tasty ingredients and practically a meal in and of themselves. The roti is also a delicious appetizer, similarly stuffed but with differing spices that I couldn't place but of which I loved the contrast. Next time I should try the veggie spring roll and drumstick, but I don't know how I'll bypass the confirmed goodness of the roti & dosa. Perhaps a to-go bag?

The main event: I asked for the most popular dosa and he wasn't lying: everyone on line in front of and behind me ordered the same- the Pondicherry Masala Dosa. The last time I had a dosa I was seated at a well-known, cloth napkin establishment on curry row and was disappointed to have been served a ginormous crepe containing a minuscule amount of spiced potatoes. In contrast, NY Dosas' version is a dosa the way it was intended: huge and proportionately filled with potatoes, spices, and fresh, crunchy veggies spiced to your liking. Accompaniments included soup and generous helpings of at least four chutneys: including a super fresh and unique coconut.

There are so many incredible lunch options in the area, but I'm going to be hard-pressed to pass up the Dosa Man in the future.

Veggie Conquest III; Yes We Cran!

I attended another wonderful installment of Veggie Conquest III this month. Please read my post here on Supervegan.

Daiya Ode to Chi-Chi's

Remember Chi-Chi's? Moreover, Chi-Chi's buffet? Endless platesful of sweet corn cake, Mexican rice and cheese & onion enchiladas...finished off with a pile of warm sopapillas drenched in chocolate sauce- no wonder they went out of business; I could really pack it away! I hadn't thought about them in ages until I placed my most recent Daiya order from Pangea and began brainstorming the use of my incoming bags of shredded cheddar. In the end it wasn't a quesadilla, nor the chili con queso, but the cheese and onion enchiladas that won the opportunity to showcase my cheese this time around.

In the interest of honesty, I will admit that when I imply that I chose to make the cheese and onion enchiladas, I invariably mean that I had the Daiya shipped to my vegetarian Mom, tracked its delivery from work, and sent her a text message immediately upon its arrival indicating that she should check her email for the detailed instructions that she was to follow. Said instructions included a very simple enchilada recipe, and began with some variation of, "This is your mission...if you choose to accept it". Of course she did; she's my Mom. And who can resist Daiya and the prospect of cheese and onion enchiladas? Right, no one.

Anyhoo, you'll note in the picture above the beauteauos pan-ful of enchiladas that she was able to create under such vegan duress: yum. I hesitate to mention that before partaking, the carnivorous Dad asked if we had any "real" cheese to cover it with (!). More important to note, though, is that after being refused, he proceeded to scarf down double the helping of the other diners, sans "real" cheese. Hmm, not exactly missing anything, was it, Carnie? No, I didn't think so.

To be clear to vegans, vegetarians and omnis alike, the Daiya smelled, melted, looked, stretched, and tasted just like mild, delicious cheddar cheese of vegetarian days gone by. The onions were suitably crunchy in contrast to the squishiness of the rest of the enchilada sauce laden, generously cheesed 'ladas and there were happy tummies all around. There is still quite a bit of Daiya left over from this delivery, but I think I am once again going to forego the baked macaroni and cheese in favor of a good old grilled cheese, some melty nachos with jalapenos, and cheesy fries (Nathan's, of course).

I will make a concerted effort not to order another shipment for at least a month, lest I become addicted as I once was with "real" cheese. In the interest of full disclosure though, I'll admit that I have two wheels of Dr. Cow in the fridge from my order as well; so, I'm not exactly cheeseless in the interim.

For those of you who may have missed it, please see my first Daiya swoon here on SuperVegan.

And for those of you who also miss Chi-Chi's, does anyone have the recipe for their moist, sweet, corn cake? You know the one: they used to serve it by the ice cream scoop! Gotta miss Chi-Chi's.

Vegan Mini-Mall, Part II: Herbivore

My mom is an elephant collector, so when Herbivore came out with the line of elephant stuff my radar was up. Only problem was that everything with an elephant said, “I’m vegan and I love you”, and my mom is neither a vegan or a poser. Then I found the matching belt, with the buckle boasting the same elephant and no saying. I thought I had scored until I realized the belt was printed with the word herbivore. She’d given up red meat and fish, but chicken was still on the table, so to speak. So, no go.

One day I absentmindedly sent her a picture I had found on the internet of a cute, fuzzy, live baby chick chillin’ in a hamburger bun. THEN I took her to the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary for the first time to meet the ridiculously colorful chickens in person. AND THEN she went vegetarian. Gotta love it. So, I proudly marched myself right into Herbivore and picked up the very last herbivore elephant belt for my deserving herbivore mom. And now? She explains to everyone who asks her where she gets her protein “If elephants can maintain on the protein they get from a vegetarian diet, then so can I.” HA! Take that, carnies (read more about her on SuperVegan).

But, I digress. It was great fun poking around Herbivore and chatting with the friendly gals. They have tons of cool shirts, sweatshirts, etc., and plenty of accessories like bags, wallets, jewelry, etc. Of course they have a bunch of adorable pins and stickers, and also cute cards and artwork. I got a bunch of stuff, including a really cool belt by Yosifa Penina that I must have missed on the website, and a gorgeous wallet by Espe. Funny note, a non-vegan coworker saw my wallet and surreptitiously went online in search of one for herself. The next day she told me she ordered herself one and asked me if I’d ever heard of “Alternative Outfitters”. Um, yeah! So now one less cow is a wallet; thank you, Herbivore.

A second enjoyable stop in the unduplicated vegan mini-mall; stay tuned for Part III: Scapegoat.

Kyotofu

So, Kyotofu is kind of a weird place. Confirming the general consensus on SuperVegan, it is odd for an eating establishment whose main ingredient is tofu not to have more vegan options. With tofu an advertised ingredient the battle is already won; why add dairy?

That aside, the reason I wound up at Kyotofu is because on October 9, Serious Eats NY sent out a specific bulletin indicating that until October 17, Kyotofu would be offering a pumpkin version of its consistently vegan offering: soft serve soy ice cream. UNTIL OCTOBER 17. I do want to note, though, that Serious Eats NY described the ice cream as "light, creamy, and completely inoffensive [!?], but I chose to ignore what I figured to be yet another vegan dig from meat-centric Serious Eats. Anyhoo, I went out of my way to head over there a mere two days after the bulletin on October 11, only to be told that they were out of it. Out of it? A week before October 17? "But," I was reassured, they would "have it again". I ask you, what good was that doing me as I was standing there staring at a bunch of non-vegan, tofu-based desserts with my tofu-hating companions craving pumpkin ice cream as advertised? Sigh.

Mostly because I doubted I'd ever bother heading over to this non-vegan, tofu "dessert bar" (and people think vegan is exclusionary) again, I admit that I refused to let the trip be a complete waste and decided to partake in the chocolate soft serve. The small is very reasonably-priced and includes a topping, but the offerings are slim and mostly non-vegan. Again, weird for a place whose main ingredient is tofu, the word vegan seems to incite major confusion. Two separate people were perplexed by my inquiry as to whether or not the whipped cream was vegan, and a third was simply exasperated by it. Really? If you're exasperated by vegan inquiries in your tofu bar maybe you should clearly indicated things that are vegan or, better yet, ADD MORE VEGAN OPTIONS. It's almost as if Kyotofu's invisible tagline is, "Everything's made of tofu, but don't worry; we're not vegan!" To add insult to injury, the girl who took my order also seemed unaware of my rule not to mix healthy stuff with dessert, and was rather insistent on putting some kind of mixed fruit garbage on my chocolate ice cream. Eventually my forceful refusal resonated and I was handed a generous to-go cup of plain chocolate (not pumpkin) ice cream that was actually very good.

Something else a bit confusing about Kyotofu is that it tauts itself as a dessert bar and bakery, yet they do serve real food and even sake. I think they should make this clearer because, had we realized, I could have convinced my tofu-avoiding companions to at least partake in sake and edamame (which one has yet to connect with the soybean). What with their misleading title (dessert bar & bakery), the foyer filled with baked goods on display, and the fact that we were only shown the dessert menu- I thought I had been previously misinformed about their lunch and dinner offerings. But, now that I've checked their website I see that I was not. Hmm, very perplexing little place indeed.

Overall, while I'm happy that Kyotofu's website uses the word vegan to describe it's ice cream, I wish the establishment would be a little more vegan-friendly. And, I wish they'd have pumpkin when tauted! But, admittedly, the chocolate was very good and it is nice to know that you can grab a vegan ice cream in Hell's Kitchen (if you're not picky about the flavor). But, let's be clear here: it's no Lula's.

**

added 11/2/09:

Please see my follow up post:

Kyotofu: Quest for Pumpkin Ice Cream, Part II!

T-Salon in Chelsea

I went to see the High Line a few weeks ago (yawn) and stumbled into the Chelsea Market for the first time ever. The space is crazy; I'm going to have to do some research to figure out what it is because it looks like a renovated subway tunnel in a really cool & polished way. I don't know how to describe the collective establishments inside, though. Giant food court? (Non-vegan) cupcake overload? I mean seriously, how many cupcakes can non-vegans eat? On the healthier side, I should mention that there was a produce/spice/bulk market with the most incredible vegetables I've seen in the tri-state area. Great assortment and everything was fresh and reasonably priced; if I wasn't leaving for Portland in two days I would have stocked up. As it was I couldn't resist some cranberry beans from a youth farmstand on 9th...and was cramming them down the night before my flight.

But back to the matter at hand. Other than the produce market, I didn't see much vegan-friendliness in the Chelsea Market-- and the place is predominantly food. As a vegan, the only option seemed to be the T-Salon which I had read about on Supervegan. And T-Salon should thank them profusely because it it weren't for them I wouldn't have even bothered going in to check; they don't exactly advertise their vegan options. Which is a shame because with all of their vegan dessert offerings they should have a flashing "Welcome Vegans" sign. But, heaven forbid we scare away "normal" people with the frightening word. Instead we all seem to find these things through the Vegan Underground...tee hee.

The goal of the T salon seems to be to provide a calm oasis in the otherwise bustling Chelsea Market. This begins and ends with the meditative music.

The bad: the staff is horrendous- generally unpleasant, rude, curt, etc. They act like it is a chore to assist you and try their hardest to make you feel moronic. Also, there's lots of food, but the tables and chairs are not really conducive to eating. Worse, market shoppers with unruly, obnoxious children seem to think it's ok to utilize the seating area as a jungle gym, complete with ear-piercing shrieking. I should also note that there is only one tea menu (a binder), so if someone takes it to their table you're left to search for it on your own while the person behind the counter yells to no one in particular that "The menu is supposed to be looked at AT THE COUNTER!"

The good: lots and lots of Vegan Treats offerings (4 cookie choices, 5 cakes). After many eye rolls and exasperated sighs, the counterperson explained that ALL of the desserts were from Vegan Treats except for the red velvet cake. I should note that there (presumably) was a sign to this effect, but it had curled over in its holder. She could have simply propped up the sign, but then she wouldn't have had the pleasure of being a meanie.

Of course I had a VT lemon poppyseed cookie and three slices of VT cake: pumpkin cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, and a chocolate bundt that the server told me was something that Vegan Treats "makes special for them". It was nowhere near as good as everything else VT, so I'm beginning to wonder what exactly is so special about them? Now that I think about it, it's more likely that the girl was annoyed at me for my vegan inquisitiveness and served me an egg-laden bundt. Ugh.

I did also tried the red velvet cake, which I suspect might be from Red Mango (per SuperVegan). The vegetarian I was with said it was the real deal and I found it surprisingly delicious since I don't usually go out of my way for red velvet, having never had the "regular" version. Red Mango, if it is yours you should make sure they share the info with the customers because you have turned me into a red velvet fan. *UPDATE* Red Mango has kindly confirmed that T-Salon does indeed carry their out-of-this-world red velvet cake. I urge everyone to try this and anything else from a bakery that can master the elusive red velvet!

So, overall, the service was very bad, but they have awesome vegan goodies! Other than that I didn't notice any vegan options in the actual food area (where everything looked pretty petrified). My advice: grab your (confirmed) Vegan Treats goodies and scram.

Update: the T-Salon is now closed.