New Job Neighbourhood Food Tour 2014: Chelsea Edition (And Other Thoughts)

Midway through my General Tso’s seitan sandwich, fixed with slices of pickled beets and very spicy mayo, on a toasty baguette, I realized I’d overdone it. I’d put off lunchtime, letting myself get very hungry. I meant to get something a little healthier but my new shoes hurt and I was short on time. There I was, at my desk, downing too much sandwich, and too quickly. Today was also the day I’d decided to wear the tightest jeans I own, fresh from the laundromat dryer. Oof.

And then came the deja vu. I’d been at my new job for a few weeks, and it’s located in a markedly better food neighbourhood than my last job was. The excitement of new lunch options overtook me. But with my restrictions (no meat, no chicken, no dairy), lunch has tended to fall into two categories: salads and versions of sandwiches with versions of various meat substitutes. The tofu bahn mi. The tofu wrap. And yes, the General Tso’s seitan sandwich. Which is delicious, really. But taste and nutrition wise, I felt like I’d eaten some version of a large and fancy hotdog. It was two days before Thanksgiving, and I had a lot to do, without fighting off the massive, rapidly descending food coma. And so, a moratorium: no more junky vegan lunches.

At my last job, I got really good at bringing myself delicious and healthy lunches from home. Leftover roasted veggies, salad greens, quinoa, avocado, black beans, some baked tofu or leftover salmon or even… an omelet (the poor man’s steak, if you will), made at home and the thrown atop the contents of my lunch container – any combo of those required a small amount of planning, whether it be cooking extra dinner to ensure leftovers, or just having a few extra groceries around. So I gotta bring that back. But in the meantime, mini-reviews of the recently sampled vegan and kosher-friendly lunch options in my new work neighbourhood:

No. 7 Sub

Located at the Ace Hotel, No. 7 Sub has a number of vegan options, including the General Tso’s seitan sambo I mentioned earlier. Still fending off that gluten and sugar coma. The pickled beets were a nice detail, though. At $12, before tax, this was probably the priciest of the local lunches. I was tempted by some kind of cucumber seltzer mentioned on their beverage list, but at $3.50, I was like, I should just be drinking more water 😦

V-Life

For a not-too-junky and pretty economic (lunch for about $8) vegan wrap, this place is great. It’s also miniscule, but never that busy. Their tofu wrap comes full of fresh salad greens, and is nicely filling. Actually, once I ordered their hummus wrap and wasn’t able to finish it. I think I finished it anyway.

Num Pang

More sandwiches! Slabs of spicy tofu, with lots of delicious pickled vegetables and a selection of sauces (I generally err on the side of whatever version of spicy mayo on offer), CILANTRO (alas, I married into a cilantro-free home so this is always very exciting), on a toasty, not-too-giant baguette. On the cheaper side, and with just enough veggies to not leave me appalled at my own lifestyle choices.

Bombay Sandwich Co.

Incredibly, I did not eat a sandwich here. “I want something hot and filling!” I told the nice man behind the counter. Bombay Sandwich Co. is entirely vegan, and it’s nice not to have to worry about my food rubbing up against someone’s porcine lunch. I had one of their bowls – a pretty unattractive brown rice and chickpea slop, with a few dabs of side sauces, and some soggy fresh salad. It was warm and tasty but honestly something that should have cost half of what it did. Based on the super-cute store design, and their clever branding, it seems to be a bit of an emperor’s new clothes situation, only with lots of cardamom.

Sweetgreen

Love fancy salad. Love. I had one of their salads, instead of customizing my own. It included delicious greens, avocado, tofu, the sweetest raw beets, broccoli, a sort of lime dressing – it was delicious, actually. And less than $10. Albeit for a day in which I am less hungry, but still. And I love that bit of sourdough they throw in with the mix. Very good for wiping up surplus dressing.

What can I say? It was fun while it lasted. As always, it’s cheaper and healthier to bring lunch from home. I plan to recommit after Thanksgiving, which is also when, coincidentally, I plan to recommit to lots of other things.

This, That, The Other: 3 Recent Eats

1. A Black Seed Bagel

I had few days off work recently, and I spent them trying to do some fun New York-y things. I went to see some art, I had a fun solo lunch at Russ & Daughters, I went to see GONE GIRL at 2.40pm on a Tuesday. And I finally went to eat a bagel at Black Seed. Trekking into the city on a Sunday, and negotiating endless bread lines (yes, they are bread lines) at whichever Hip New Eatery? As people trying to sound like old men from New York say: fuhgeddaboudit. But late morning, mid-week — I had little to lose. The line wasn’t too bad, and I wrangled myself a place to sit by the window. I ordered an everything bagel (they don’t do pumpernickel! Maybe that’s the ***Montreal Bagel*** thing? I’d never eaten a ***Montreal Bagel*** before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to) with their beet cured lox (6.9/10) and some avocado. Of course, it was a little pricey, as was the Stumptown, but I knew that going into this. There’s always that brief moment of disappointment upon receiving a bagel that is smaller than anticipated, but truth is, it’s a size that probably makes more sense than the classic, doughy behemoths New York bagels often are. It’s very SoHo, and a little shame-inducing: “I cost more because I’m smaller and it’s for your own good,” and you’re like, “Yes bagel, you’re right and I’m a glutton for ever having wanted more :-/” Unless you are very hungry. Sometimes I am so hungry and I want every bite of those giant bagels. Anyway, I enjoyed my small and expensive Manhattan bagel, and I ate it sitting perched at the window seats, between two other solo bagel-eaters, looking out at all the people walking by in their dumb, cool clothes.

2. Possibly my final bottle of Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee for the season?

The weather has cooled right down but I can’t seem to say goodbye to cold coffee season. Last year, my pal Zach got me onto Grady’s Cold Brew – literally, without any doubt, the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted. I didn’t know it was possible. Grady’s is impossibly smooth and rich, without even a tinge of acidity. It’s also fairly concentrated; 1 part Grady’s needs like, 2 parts milk, and a bunch of ice. Oh my god. I wait all week to drink this stuff in bed on a Shabbos morning. I buy a big bottle of it (I usually need to make a special trip to a grocery store slightly nicer than the ones in my neighbourhood) and just ride it out. No more than 2 cups in a day, though. I never considered myself caffeine-dependent until I went to the store for my fix, and they were out. I began to panic – my emotional response was like, pretty real and also embarrassing. We made our own cold brew that weekend – it wasn’t bad!

That special milk-hitting-the-coffee moment of ekstasis (ἔκστασις),

3. Roasted Cauliflower with Green Pea Pesto & Mushrooms

I made this recipe up. I actually feel my cooking has improved lately, especially my veggie dishes. I don’t eat much meat, and I get way more excited about which vegetables and fruits are in season. I recently realized that one of the reasons I don’t buy or cook meat often is that it’s just messier. Animal fat is just harder to clean, and I think scrubbing grease of pots, plates, and containers was actually starting to bother me. Anyway, roasted cauliflower is always delicious. I toss it in some grape seed oil, add some salt and pepper, and sometimes a little curry powder or a pinch of cumin seeds, and roast it until it’s nicely browned. Then I sauteed up some green peas (I actually love frozen peas – I use them in anything, and they are a yum high-fiber addition when I don’t have much fresh produce around). I took about half the sauteed peas and blended them with a handful of basil, some fresh garlic, a few pine nuts, olive oil and salt. Green pea pesto! I don’t think I invented this, but it’s new to my repertoire. With the remaining half of the peas, still in the pan, I added sliced mushrooms until they were cooked through. Then I tossed the cauliflower, peas and mushrooms, and pesto, all together. Added a few more pine nuts, and a little lemon zest. Ta-da!

(Aforementioned recipe is on the top right.)

Kosher/Kosher Adjacent: A Wonderful Day of NYC Food

I need to tell you about my yesterday. My real wedding is in a few weeks, but yesterday, we went and got civilly wed at City Hall. I have been dreaming of eloping for years now, but alas, with a family the size of mine, and who are very serious about weddings, that was not an option.  But a fun City Hall day really allowed me to fulfill that fantasy. I recommend it.

Anyway, and have you heard? Russ & Daughters opened a restaurant last week. As soon as I heard, I thought, if I could have lunch there after the ceremony, it would just be the best day. The best day! I’d read the menu already – some websites posted it last week, along with photos of the gorgeous interior. I’d seen photos of some of the details (wallpaper in the toilet featuring a sesame seed motif!) on Instagram. I really was very excited.

Okay, now, just to reiterate. Russ & Daughters is not technically Kosher. For our purposes, I am calling it Kosher-adjacent. I’ll eat bagels and lox anywhere. I’m sorry! I hope I’m not pulling at the very fabric of this blog. Anyway; onwards! We all know that R & D is amazing. It’s not cheap, but I’m always guaranteed a wonderful experience. And the place is staffed by people who truly believe in R & D – it’s really pretty impressive. So the cafe! Big news. After the ceremony, we cabbed down there and – hooray! – got a table. I already knew exactly what was going to eat; sunny side up eggs, lox, and latkes. I mean, it’s my wedding day. Official life partner got the same thing. The others had bagels, egg creams (!) and coffee. Yesterday was also the day I finally understood egg creams. It’s mainly a creamy milkshake, and just a splash of seltzer gives it a slight effervescence. I never got that before. I thought of it as like, a fizzy milk drink. You know? But it’s not! And we shared the cookie plate and halva ice cream for dessert. They also played Hava Nagilla for us, and Jen, R & D’s ever-warm PR champ extraordinaire, came over with some drinks. “I can’t wait to tell my grandchildren about this!” I said. It’s true! Making memories, guys.

That night, I ate Pardes leftovers from my fridge. Have we written about Pardes here yet? I feel like no, but why? Because Pardes is honestly the best Actually Kosher restaurant in New York. And I can say that with never having eaten in probably half of the Kosher restaurants in this farshtunkene shtot. Chef Moses Wendel is one of the best things that Jews, as a people, have going for them. His playful high/low, colourful, ever-changing menu items are always surprising, delicious, and on trend. Not many Kosher restaurants can say that. The small plates thing can be misleading – I always get full far sooner than expected. I was full (on a magical kale salad, a taste of the pea soup, a glass of pinot grigio, and a few of those insaaane french fries, doused in truffle mayonnaise and red wine ketchup) before my BLT came, and I ended up taking it home. The B is the most deliciously fatty smoked beef belly and the star of the sandwich. Add yummy greens, tangy roasted tomatoes, crazy umami mayo (not what it’s actually called) and thin, toasty, crusty rye (I think). Oh my god! I ate it, basically cold, in front of the TV (Yankees-Mets game: Who. am. I???), armed with nothing but a paper towel in case of drips. And oh, there were drips. I’m married. Goodbye.