Exploring NYC!

I miss New York already. I miss the walking, the food, the many unique burrows and the people. This past week in the city got Brett and I even more excited to move to New York next year. I feel like we'll never run out of things to do and explore while living there. 

Obviously since I've been gone I haven't been able to cook or try out any new recipes, but I did eat some amazing, vegan food this past week. That's one of the beautiful things about such a big city - there are tons of vegan friendly restaurants. Even if a restaurant isn't labeled vegan there are so many ethnic restaurants that have tons of vegetarian and vegan friendly options. 

The first place we ate when we arrive in the city was called Xi'an Famous Foods in Flushing. I got the Mt. Qi Vegetables Biang-Biang Noodles. It was my favorite meal of the whole week. The noodles were fat and chewy and the seitan had a delicious flavor. I ended up going to this restaurant again later in the week in Manhattan's Chinatown and ordered the exact same dish. It was that good.

Another vegan friendly restaurant we found was called Fresh & Co. Brett and I were originally going to eat at an all vegan restaurant, but when we got there it was empty which made us second guess the quality. We had just walked past a Fresh & Co. and decided to go back and eat there. They had salads, soups, "power" bowls and sandwiches. I got a power bowl called Sesame Ginger Seitan. It had quinoa, tons of veggies, kale, seiten and a sesame ginger dressing. Nothing was fried, but the whole bowl was steamed instead. It was delicious and it filled my belly with a bunch of nutrients. Yum!

But...the best restaurant we found - in my opinion at least - was a place called Oat Meals. Brett spotted the sign and we decided to just stop in and see what they sold. I literally squealed when we walked in. It was a little cafe that sold coffee, oatmeal scones AND all different kinds of oatmeal combinations! I couldn't believe it. I've often thought about how there should be a place just like this. It wasn't quite lunch time, and I had already had oatmeal for breakfast, but I told Brett we had to eat there. I got the Indian Spice bowl with oatmeal, crystallized ginger, cardamom, raisins and coconut milk. It was delicious. Brett got the Banana Cream Pie bowl with vanilla wafers, banana, brown sugar and cream. Seriously, I am going to be a regular at this place while we're living in New York.

There was a lot of walking involved the entire week which I loved. It definitely takes longer to get from place to place, but it was rejuvenating to move so much in the dry, crisp air. A lot of the trees still had colorful leaves so we were able to get our fill of fall before heading back to sunny Florida. 

The last place I want to talk about is a restaurant called Franchia Vegan Cafe located on Park Ave. Brett and I met up with a couple for dinner and no one except me was vegan, but everyone loved it. The meat eaters were amazed at how much the faux meat tasted like real meat. I got the Vegetarian 'Duck' with brown rice, veggies, a soy based "meat" and a spicy red sauce. It came in a stone bowl that was pipping hot so it kept all the food nice and hot and even cooked the rice so that it got a nice crunch to it. I didn't get a picture of my meal, but it was incredible. I loved everything about this restaurant - from the atmosphere to the food - and I'll definitely be going back again.

All around it was a fantastic trip. I can't wait to live in the city and continue exploring all the different burrows, parks and restaurants. There is always something to see in NYC!