Let me just say, in the past two days, I have been to Whole Foods Twice. The first day was a tradition; that one Saturdays my mother and I go to Whole Foods to eat brunch. I had a mock chicken salad, Zen Palate Shreds of Heaven, some corn, cucumber, Zen Palate sesame soy protein, and a dumpling. The mock chicken salad was amazing. I could not stop thinking about it all day, no really, it was that good. Though I usually love the Zen Palate Shreds of Heaven, I though this particular one was not so good. The sesame soy protein was great. So was the dumpling. I will get to the next Whole Foods trip in my next post.
After taking a self-defense class, I went to the West Village. It is a family tradition that we go to the West Village every Saturday. We always make the same trip; a Thai Restaurant called Galanga, Jack's Stir Brew Coffee, Three Lives Bookstore, Birdbath Bakery, and finally, L'Arte del Gelato.
At Galanga, I always get the Vegetable Pad Thai. Because they use fish sauce in almost every one of their recipes, I order it without. I have never had better Pad Thai. No matter who makes it (even homemade,) no one can trump their Pad Thai. I dare you to try it. Their Nid Spring Rolls are just as amazing but because of my horrible New Year's resolution, I cannot eat them until next year. No matter how bad the reviews, it is the best Thai place in NYC.
How much can a rave about Jack's Stir Brew Coffee? Their coffee is, and was rated, best in the city. Because coffee is supposed to stunt growth a bit, I have to trust my father on this one (something I rarely do.) He gets the Mad Max (the strongest coffee in the shop) every single week. Jack's uses Fair Trade Coffee (meaning the workers get paid well.) Though that may seem like most coffee, it is sadly not true. The only milk they use is from Hudson Valley Fresh, a farm with well-cared for cows. They are quite vegan friendly. They have options of soy milk for coffee and sugar in the raw. Don't get me started on the baked goods. They have amazing Oreo cookies, oatmeal-Oreo like things, oatmeal cookies (new,) ginger snaps, croissants (plaint and chocolate,) and vegan-kosher-organic scones. They have different muffins everyday, each of which are spectacular. They are not just regular muffins, they are a mix of the weirdest ingredients. I will give you some examples once my brain switch is on and starts to remember stuff. And last, but not least, Aunt Rosie's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are, I am not joking, the best cookies in the entire world. For years, I have been attempting to find out what goes in those cookies. One of the best parts about the cookies is that they are made ahead of time so when Jack's runs out of cookies, they heat some cookie dough up and it comes out warm from the oven. Their cookies are the only reason I am not fully ovo-vegetarian.
While my father is buying books at Three Lives Bookstore, my mother and I go to Birdbath Bakery, an Eco-friendly, vegan-friendly bakery. I don't think "Eco-friendly" describes them, more like "save the environment or we might kill you." Okay, maybe I am over-exaggerating, they are quite lovely. They have great chocolate chip cookies. Their vegan chocolate chip cookies are good, but not as good. By the end of the day, when we come, is when they don't have much left. At that point, I usually get a vegan (or sometimes non-vegan) chocolate chip cookies and my father gets a raspberry bran muffin. Yesterday, I mixed it up and tried a vegan raspberry bran muffins. I have not had it yet but am quite excited to try it.
Though I did not go to L'Arte del Gelato last night, I know they have the best Gelato. They are not exactly vegan-friendly but for any non-vegans, they are great! They are high-quality gelatos and sorbetos. They have different flavors every time we come. I recommend going there.
And that is my basic Saturday night trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment