Pukk you, Miss
If you have visited these pages recently, you wil be well aware of my current trip around the USA in search of vegan food.
These travels landed me in New York City, where Josh and I have been hitting up food trucks, cafes, grocery stores and restaurants all in our quest for tasty treats. Josh has decided to take the controls for this post and tell you all about our experiences with a vegetarian Thai food outlet in the East Village.
Take it away, Josh.
Pukk of NYC
Last night we visited Pukk, a vegetarian Thai restaurant located on 1st Avenue in the East Village. Although it’s not the most exciting of vegan offerings in NYC, it was only a 90-second walk from our apartment and I had a hankering for Pad Thai.
The interior of Pukk has weird public bathroom-style tiled walls, floors and ceilings and a white/black/green theme throughout. It’s tacky but feels clean and welcoming enough.
I ordered the Fresh Rolls to start with of course Pad Thai as a main. Sean ordered the Chicken Nuggets starter and the Tom Yum Soup. The starters came out very quickly. The Fresh Rolls were decent but I certainly wouldn’t say they were mind blowing. The filling of tofu, lettuce, carrot and peppers was a bit simple and some fresh basil or coriander would have improved them. However, the tamarind dipping sauce and fried peanuts that accompanied greatly improved the dish and was enough to convince me I made a good choice. The chicken nuggets were served with tomato ketchup. Again, they were tasty but nothing more than just basic soy-chicken nuggets.
Fresh rolls
Nuggets
The Pad Thai seemed to take a while to come out even though there were just two other tables occupied in the restaurant, with one of them on their dessert course. When it did arrive, it was enjoyable but not mind-blowing. One single sad-looking coriander sprig sat atop the carefully-sculpted mound of noodles and I thought more fresh herbs and a wedge of lime would have been a nice touch. It was tasty though and definitely sated my Pad Thai cravings. Sean’s Tom Yum was a solid choice – simple and tasty with fresh tofu, fresh tomatoes, cabbage and other non-identifiable things floating in a sweet and sour broth.
Pad Thai
Tom Yum soup
I wouldn’t say that Pukk is a must-visit on a trip to NYC but if you’re in the East Village on a rainy night and don’t want to go too far, you can certainly get a filling vegan meal here while not spending a fortune.
Visit Pukk online
I quite liked Pukk, mainly because I went for lunch and got three courses for something like $7 (they did a great lunch deal — such a bargain!).
It really is so inexpensive. I would say that is their best feature.
That’s so cool that you’re traveling around the US in search of good vegan food. My husband and I would love to do that, but that would be a challenge with work. We will be taking a trip this summer to Washington and Vancouver. I’ve heard there’s some good vegan eats in those areas, so we’re excited about that. I’m sure I’ll be blogging about it! Celeste 🙂 PS Let me know if you get to SoCal – I’d love to show you what we’ve got around here.
I love the food in SoCal! The first time I ever went to Native Foods was in Westwood. I also love Flore. San Diego also has some great places, too. I want to come back!
Yes, we’ve got it good here! There’s not a lot near Laguna Beach where I live, but there’s plenty within a 30-minute radius. Muzita Bistro is my favorite vegan-friendly place in San Diego. Please do come back one of these days. Celeste 🙂
I’m very happy to have found a light-hearted foodie blog for vegan diets, and also incredibly happy with the Summer Heights High reference in the title of this post. We’ll get along just fine.