NYC

Vegan Cheese Revolution at Orchard Grocer, NYC

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You may have seen my post from last week about all the amazing vegan food that I sampled in New York City during my 48-hour visit earlier this year… but there was one place that was so impressive that it deserved a blog post of its very own!

Orchard Grocer in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is one of the best-stocked vegan stores I’ve ever been to in my life, which just happens to share a retail space with a vegan shoe shop. It is filled to the brim with incredible products that are hard to find anywhere else. I was so full from my previous eating that I didn’t even get to try the house-made sandwiches but I’ve heard REALLY good things about them from others. Anyway, enough chit-chat… check out these photos:

Orchard Grocer, NYC

It was so overwhelming seeing this many incredible vegan products in one spot. Check out my Instagram video of the cheese selection:

My visit to @orchardgrocer in #NYC earlier this year #vegan #vegancheese #vegannyc

A post shared by joshleuner (@joshleuner) on

For those who have visited Moo Shoes in NYC previously, you’ll be interested to know that Orchard Grocer actually takes up half of the store. Moo Shoes is now using just half of its original space while Orchard Grocer takes up the rest. Read more about Orchard Grocer on their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Happy drooling!

48 hours in New York City

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Earlier this year I was in New York City for just two days and obviously had to eat as much vegan food as possible in that time period. So without further ado, here is a photo-heavy collection of what I ate.

First stop: 100% vegan Champs Diner in Brooklyn where my dining companions and I devoured the following:

Champs Diner – BBQ Tempeh Wings
Champs Diner – Sweet Potato Fries
Champs Diner – Hangover Hashbrowns
Champs Diner – French Toast Slam
Champs Diner – Amazing vegan milkshakes

I love Champs so much. Everything was delicious and I can’t wait to go back to NYC just for them!

Next up was Superiority Burger in the East Village:

Superiority Burger – The famous Superiority Burger. Tasty but tiny.
Superiority Burger – Burnt Broccoli Salad
Superiority Burger – A broccoli rabe side

Overall I wasn’t blown away by Superiority Burger. Everything was tasty but the fact that they aren’t 100% vegan and that they have tiny servings would probably keep me from going back in a hurry. However, they did redeem themselves by having a poster of Divine on the wall:

Superiority Burger – Divine was watching over us!

Still a little peckish, we excitedly remembered that 100% vegan Dunwell Doughnuts now have a location in the East Village just minutes away from Superiority Burger…

Dunwell Doughnuts in the East Village, NYC
Outrageous deliciousness from Dunwell Doughnuts
Dunwell Doughnuts – Choc chip doughnut… out of this world!

Dunwell Doughnuts are amazing and they have locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan so there’s no excuse not to try them. The staff in both locations are lovely and our upon entering the shop and seeing my eyes glaze over at the sight of so much vegan deliciousness, the server correctly summed up the situation as “an embarrassment of donut riches”. How very true!

It could have been the same day or it could have been the next… it’s all a blur. Either way, at some point during my 48 hours in NYC my sister and I decided to head down to Nolita/Chinatown to try the pan-Asian dishes at 100% vegan LuAnne’s Wild Ginger.

LuAnne’s Wild Ginger in NYC
Wild Ginger – Fresh Rolls
Wild Ginger – Crispy Wontons
Wild Ginger – Pad Thai
Wild Ginger – Basil Garlic Eggplant with String Beans

On my final morning in NYC, I was catching the train to Philly from Penn Station. Rather fortuitously 100% vegan The Cinnamon Snail now have a permanent location in The Pennsy, a kind of tricky-to-find food court in the Penn Station/Madison Square Garden complex. FGV has written about The Cinnamon Snail food truck in the past and I was certainly no stranger to their delicious sweet and savoury offerings. Seeing them with a permanent location was very exciting and their amazing array of sweet treats had me drooling.

The Cinnamon Snail at the Pennsy
The Cinnamon Snail – an incredible array of sweet treats

I had to start with the savoury offerings and I got the incredible Korean BBQ tortilla…

The Cinnamon Snail – Korean BBQ Seitan on a grilled tortilla

… while my dining companion got the Red Curry Grilled Tofu roll:

The Cinnamon Snail – Red Curry Grilled Tofu roll

As expected, everything was incredible and of course I couldn’t leave without two delicious donuts:

The Cinnamon Snail – donuts!

So that was my 48 hours in New York City. What good spots did I miss? Where should check out next time?

All time Champs

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Many have tried but no one else comes close to what Champs do with diner comfort food in Brooklyn.

As my bus trundled into the Port Authority bus terminal, I had an overwhelming chorus of NYC vegan eatery recommendations swimming in my head. A call out on my blog for food ideas to explore during my time in the Big Apple had been met with countless suggestions and recommendations, so it was up to me to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Of all the recommendations that landed in my laptop, one place towered above the rest for sheer number of mentions.

Vegans of the world, I give you Champs Diner.

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We have a winner

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If you are new to this blog, you might not know about the post category called Vegan Ice Cream Wars.

Reading these posts will open your eyes to all my frozen dessert adventures, although I mostly showcase store bought items due to a distinct lack of vegan ice cream parlours on the planet.

I don’t think NYC got the memo about vegan ice cream shops not being a thing because they have two (Blythe Ann’s and DF Mavens). I recently visited DF Mavens in the East Village and I walked away an extremely happy FGV.

The feeling of entering a gorgeous shop front and being confronted by a huge, 100% vegan ice cream selection can only be described as joyous. I actually got a bit emotional.

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FGV in NYC

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One of my favourite cities on the planet (and number 2 on my top ten list of global vegan cities) is the incomparable New York City.

NYC is like no place else.

I am gearing up for a brief return next month and I need your help. Please hit the comments section to let me know your top tips for being a happy vegan in New York.

I will of course be dining out at my favourites Red Bamboo and Cinnamon Snail, but I need some new experiences of the plant-based variety during my Big Apple stay.

Tell me what to eat!

donut NYC

Pukk you, Miss

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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
Pukk of NYC

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A job well Dun

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You know I travel a lot, right? I have hauled my hefty frame from one continent to another for many years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The desire to keep moving runs deep in my veins and I’m perpetually plotting and scheming my next journey.

People have often asked me where I would ‘settle’ if I had to and I always answer, “I never want to settle’. But then they get annoyed at me for not playing the game properly so I answer, “Wherever I can purchase and consume Dun-Well Doughnuts“.

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LHR-Foodswings-LAX

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My regular readers will be aware of a story category I use on here known as Taking the long way around. The bulk of my stories deal with London-based tales of depravity, over-consumption and brief queer history, however I do venture further afield and I love to bring you the details of these adventures and misadventures too.

With that overly-verbose introduction out of the way, I want to tell you how a vegan eatery named Foodswings saved my life during a journey from London to LA.

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Cheesy beefy bagel glory

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Is there a more pleasing bread product than a bagel? You can’t go wrong with something chewy, doughy and simple that can be held in one hand.

During my first visit to New York City many years ago, I was staggered by the huge range of bagels on offer. No matter the neighbourhood, there were stores and bakeries everywhere I turned baking and selling bagels. Unfortunately for FGV me, many establishments weren’t forward about their ingredients and I wasn’t familiar with bagels enough to know what was vegan or why they might not be animal-product free. Growing up in suburban Australia meant I existed in a bagel-free zone during my formative years. My bagel-curious nature is only now being satisfied thanks to a fabulous company here in the UK.

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