Sacred Chow: An Official Favorite

No matter how often I visit Sacred Chow I can't help but be impressed: by the adorable, unique interior; the welcoming, pleasantly accommodating, and extraordinarily even-tempered waitress; and most of all: the gorgeous and unbelievably outstanding food.  Obviously New York is a destination city with gads of offerings, but I would exceedingly recommend that Sacred Chow be immediately added to your "must visit" list; one meal and you will be hooked.

We are always meaning to try Sacred Chow's sangria, but this particularly gloomy weathered day called for a giant coffee and chai latte:
 

VM went with our perennial brunch favorite: the banana bread French toast.  If you've never had this before I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Imagine a thick slab of fresh banana bread pan-fried, then served warm covered in blueberry sauce, banana slices, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Imagine how good it is and then come to terms with the fact that it's even better than you think.

While it was hard to resist ordering the same (which we've done countless times before), I decided to go for the tapas trio, which is available all day.  You might think this would be an enormous amount of food for one person, and you would be right.  Did I finish everything?  Yes I did.*

The sunflower lentil pate was a definite selection, as I had eyed it on someone else's table on our last visit and had been thinking about it ever since.  Ideally textured, this was a large portion of a hearty, fresh spread that went perfectly with the paprika (?) dusted, toasty slices.  The generous sprinkle of sunflower seeds added not only beautiful effect, but also pleasant crunch to a pate that was otherwise creamy, moist, and wholly divine.

Next I chose the sliced ginger soba noodles with spicy peanut sauce on a whim.  *I felt guilty for wasting it, but I had to pick the crystallized ginger off because I am not a fan.  After that minimal adjustment I thoroughly enjoyed the best cool noodle dish I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.  Not that I'm surprised, but this was a truly gourmet version of what has become a ubiquitous dish.  From the temperature to the ingredient proportion, to the extreme deliciousness: this dish was extraordinary.

While I could have very easily ordered the scrumptious baby root vegetable latkes or the enticing Indonesian roasted tempeh, I was good and chose to incorporate a veggie into my threesome.  I couldn't have made a better decision, as the dijon marinated raw kale was so incredible that we were eating it with our fingers like potato chips.  Ok, I know that's an extremely odd comparison, but you understand that I mean it was the unfathomable tastiness that prompted the enthusiastic snacking reflex; the kale certainly didn't taste like fried potato.

At some point during our visit there was a minor delay.  I mention this only because, although we barely noticed, the waitress could not have handled it more kindly or with more professionalism.  I'm sorry I don't know her name, but suffice it to say that the beautiful young woman with the melodious accent gets high marks in our book.  She is always a pleasure, but on this day she outdid herself.

Per usual, we each thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and left with such full and satisfied stomachs that we simultaneously blurted, "Next time I'm having what you had."  That may or may not happen, but no matter what we order it's sure to impress these two confirmed fans.

Champs Bakery, Take Two

After descending upon them with my awesome sweet tooth on their very first day, I was anxious to return to Champs only three weeks later, having been tempted by the promise of even more exciting treats to come.

I was surprised to find that there still weren't any tables or chairs set up, and the decoration hadn't made much progress.  There was a larger and more varied assortment of goodies, but none of the items I was hoping for such as bread goods (croissants!), black and whites, and rainbow cookies.  In their defense, because of my fruit/dessert aversion I passed on a majority of the day's offerings because there seemed to be an inordinate amount of fruity goods: scones, muffins, danishes, etc., which simply are not my individual cup of tea.

vegan friends: the best kind

I brought home a bunch of pignoli cookies, which were covered in nuts just the way I like them.

Last time there was only a sprinkle, so this was a great improvement on an otherwise already delicious cookie.

Of course I had to try the chocolate chip cake balls: giant, dense, glazed munchkins of sorts.

Fantastic, but I suggest that you eat these right away because the sweet, icy, glaze turns the ball quite mushy in the fridge.  This is particularly grand if you're a cookie dough lover, but I preferred them as fresh cake: tasting like an upscale donut hole/tiny cake. 

Look at the incredibly huge chocolate chips lurking throughout!

Finally, I could not pass up the iced sugar cookie shaped like a crown.   They also had a tooth but, um, yeah; I went with the crown.

 These tasted almost exactly like my scrumptious dinosaur sugar cookie from the bakesale; I swooned.  That's what I'm talking about, Champs; things like this truly support a mission of being an authentic, [vegan] Brooklyn bakery.

The consensus among NY vegans seems to be that there's somewhat of a standoff as they wait for Champs to kick things up a notch.  While I agree that I've expected "more" both times I've visited, I can't say that I have been disappointed in anything I've chosen.  But Champs, please do bring it on; we're ready.  And, in the meantime I'll be buying the pignolis, sugar cookies, and chocolate chocolate chip scones by the truckload.

Btw, have you tried their cake?