Alice Waters: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is
Recently, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) printed a piece on food and specifically the food of the south of France. Underlying the story is a question: Why are we so hungry for the food of the South of France right now? In trying to answer that question, Alice Waters, the 79-year old founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California said
We need to make our diets healthy by eating more fruit and vegetables and less meat, and we need to respond to climate change with farming methods that protect and renew the earth…which is what they’ve been doing in the south of France for centuries.
P.S. Kitchen in NYC
Finding P.S. Kitchen in New York City is definitely on my top ten list of notable discoveries in 2019. That the restaurant is in midtown (246 W 48th Street between 7th and 8th Ave) makes the discovery surprising because I rarely venture into midtown Manhattan when I visit the city: too many people, too many lights, too much noise. But, on a recent visit after an afternoon matinee on Broadway, I walked a few blocks and secured the front table by the window – an incredible table if you can get it. Walking in at 4 pm – an off hour – definitely increases your chances of snagging this front row light filled beautiful table with a cushioned bench and chair surrounding a picture perfect white table (below right in photo). Read more 
Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 8)
Just when I think I have the vegan dining options figured out in Asheville, more pop up. Most of the plant-based dining options in Asheville are at non-vegan restaurants which says a lot about the culture in western North Carolina. Even if menus don’t list a vegan option, most restaurants accommodate plant-based eaters by eliminating the animal products or making an off menu dish. With that in mind, the following restaurants in Asheville offer some great plant-based options for vegans. Read more
Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 7)
Asheville’s vibrant restaurant scene is often compared to Portland, Oregon’s (often referred to its sister city) but its not because both cities have numerous vegan restaurants. Instead both cities are known for being incredibly tolerant and accommodating to diners preferences. Plant-based options are available at most restaurants even when the menu doesn’t list a vegan option.
There are many fine, casual, southern, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Thai, Chinese, and Indian restaurants in Asheville. Here’s just a few that offer some great vegan dining options: Read more
Le Botaniste: Not to Miss!
Le Botaniste in Soho (and also on the Upper East Side) looks like an old-fashioned European apothecary with a black and white checkered floor manned by staff wearing white pharmaceutical jackets. But, instead of rows and rows of “drugs” lined up alphabetically on shelves, the “drugs of choice” – plant food in a rainbow of colored Le Creuset round oven pots and perfectly appointed built in bowls – are front and center behind crystal clear glass.
A plant-based food and wine bar that operates under the mantra attributed to Hippocrates “let food be thy medicine…,” Le Botaniste is an exquisite looking cafe that bills itself as 100% botanical, 99% organic, and gluten-free. It’s also 100% delicious. Read more
Modern Love: Dinner Destination
Four years ago, Isa Chandra Moskowitz – a vegan chef, author (10 cookbooks), and all-around badass opened a restaurant called Modern Love in Omaha, Nebraska – a city put on the map by Warren Buffet (who holds the annual Berkshire Hathaway meetings in this “best bang for the buck city,” according to Forbes) and a culinary destination known more for steakhouses than vegetables.
Spurred on by the success of the midwest venture (which has since moved and expanded to a larger space to accommodate 80 diners), Moskowitz – a Brooklyn native – opened a second restaurant in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York, also called Modern Love. Read more
The Quintessential Arepa
When my daughter was little, my friend from Columbia taught her a Spanish pattycake-like song which went something like this:
a-re-peat-a, ma ma ma
a-re-peat-a, pa pa pa
While they sang the song, they would pretend they were shaping cornmeal batter into an arepa – a round, thick corn cake (think of shaping play doh into a thick round disk and you get the idea) that is very popular in South America and particularly Columbia and Venezuela. Read more
In NYC? Go to Nix
Eating vegetarian or vegan should feel more celebration than sacrifice according to Michelin-starred chef John Fraser and James Truman (the former editorial director of Conde Nast), of Nix restaurant fame. With a focus on flavor, Nix, in Greenwich Village, uses seasonal fruits and vegetables to deliver perfectly prepared dishes that simply taste incredible.
So how did Nix get its name? Good question. Nix was named in honor of the Supreme Court case, Nix v. Hedden in May of 1893 when the court unanimously upheld that the tomato be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit: Read more
Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 6)
The sixth installment of where to find great tasting and nutritious plant-based food in Asheville, North Carolina continues with both local restaurants (Nine Mile and Addissae), a chain (Mellow Mushroom), and Asheville’s own community food co-op (French Broad Food Co-Op) offered as vegan dining choices. All offer various options whether you’re looking for ingredients to make a delicious meal, ready-made dishes, take-out or in-house dining. So explore and enjoy Asheville’s plant-based dining scene. Read more
Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 4)
The Asheville dining scene for plant-based or vegan eaters has never been better. Years ago, I could write about the vegan options in virtually any town or city in one or two posts but not for Asheville, a city known for tolerance, compassion, and a deep respect for personal choice. It’s not that Ashevillians eat less animal products then the rest of the population (they probably eat just as much, if not more); the vegan-friendly approach has more to do with tolerance, accommodation, and a desire to please the people sitting at a table in their restaurant.
This is the fourth installment of vegan dining options in Asheville and there’s still two to go. Enjoy. Read on and taste what Asheville has to offer in plant-based dining on your next visit. Read more
Paddock Post 