Veggie Restaurant Review

Being a vegetarian can be limiting here in NYC, pretty much in any city really, but I try to be flexible by finding something in any restaurant that my friends and I venture to.  However, my inner food lover jumps for joy when I find a restaurant that has more than three or four options, usually only consisting of salad or pasta.  Here's a review of my three favorite vegetarian restaurants in the city. 

Last week I went to dinner with LW and Shay at what has quickly become one of my favorites, Gobo (West Village Location: 401 Avenue of the Americas; Upper East Side Location: 1426 Third Avenue).  This was the fourth time I've been to the restaurant, and it has yet to disappoint.  Gobo has a sweet and sour "protein" that brings me back to my favorite vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Atlanta that me and Vlad frequented every summer in college. Each entree I try is better than the next.  The restaurant promises a zen experience, focusing on all the five senses in their preparations, and that it is.  I always leave with a satisfied pallet and all. Star dishes:  Sweet & Sour Protein, Mini Veggie Burger Slides (with a magic sauce), Grilled Oyster Mushrooms & Asparagus

It's been a few years since I visited Dirt Candy (430 E. 9th Street), one of the more well known upscale vegetarian restaurants located in the East Village, but I dream about it often.  Executive Chef and Owner, Amanda Cohen, opened up her first restaurant back in 2008 with a stellar resume that included Pure Food & Wine, Teany, and Heirloom.  We went a few months after it opened and diners now have to jump on reservations a month before planning to go.  It's a fairly small restaurant, which can make it some what awkward when you can't help but eavesdrop on the couple on their first date beside you, but worth the work it takes to get in. They have certainly left the vegetables up to the professionals.  Star dishes:  Jalapeno Hush Puppies with Maple Butter Sauce, Coconut Poached Tofu

Located a hop, skip and a jump from my apartment, Pure Food & Wine (54 Irving Place) offers so many different, delicious choices that even meat eaters find themselves flocking to the restaurant.  The ambiance in the restaurant is serene with a garden in the back, the food is flavorful and artistically presented, and the wine is plentiful.  Though some diners squander at the prices,  the quality of the food and the experience is worth every penny.  Star dishes: Zucchini Tomato Lasagna, Sweet Corn and Cashew Tamales, Natsu Maki 


Honorable mentions:
Angelica Kitchen (300 East 13th Street, at 2nd Avenue)
Dang Lai Palace (180 3rd. Avenue, between 16th & 17th Street)
Gust Organics (519 Avenue of the Americas, at 14th Street)
Quantum Leap (West Village location: 226 Thompson Street; East Village location: 203 1st Avenue between 12th & 13th Street)
Tamarind  (Flat Iron location: 41-43 East 22nd Street; Tribeca location: 99 Hudson Street)