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20
Nov 09

Cute Vegan spot in the UWS: Peacefood Cafe

by Pinda Lark

My friend recently moved up to New York’s Upper West Side (UWS), and one night I passed by this cafe and was pleased to find it was vegan. So I made a note to return to this place to check it out since it looked so cute inside. Peacefood Cafe is on New York City’s 82nd and Amsterdam. Peacefood Cafe has outdoor seating and is pretty spacious. True to its name, it feels pretty peaceful inside, quiet as cafes in Manhattan can get, with dark wooden chairs, sea foam green walls, lots of plants and colorful paintings.

I returned on a not so crowded Thursday afternoon with my favorite vegan friend. It was the usual upper west side crowd, stroller moms, lunchers reading the newspaper and having coffee, and the laptop-ers. The cafe offers free WiFi till 5pm and it has decent table space and enough outlets.

I ordered coffee, but since they were in the works of brewing more, they upgraded me to an Americano free of charge. Good coffee, and no extra charge for soy milk.

They have a good selection of salads, sandwiches, pizza, sides, and juice. We ordered the Roasted Japanese Pumpkin sandwich, the Fluffy Quinoa salad, and Pan-seared Shanghai-style Dumplings.

The Roasted Japanese Pumpkin was very hearty and filling. The bread was pretty good considering it was whole spelt rye bread. The sandwich was very flavorful, almost too flavorful. It was hard to distinguish the taste of the pumpkin because the caramelized onions were overwhelming a bit. I did enjoy the slight nutty taste from the ground walnuts.

Lately, I’ve been really enjoying quinoa as my new go-to grain protein instead of rice. The Fluffy Quinoa salad was very fresh, but like my friend said, “It’s something I could make at home,” but in her vegan expertise she did say this was her favorite dish out of what we ordered.

The Fluffy Quinoa Salad

The Fluffy Quinoa Salad

The Pan-seared Shanghai-style Dumplings were my favorite. They reminded me of a healthier version of the Korean fried dumplings called “mandoo.” They were stuffed with chives, mushrooms and tofu. It came with a ginger balsamic dipping sauce that had a soy sauce taste to it. Our server was also gracious enough to give us extra dipping sauces, one was a vegan mayo, another a hot sauce that made the dumplings taste even more Korean.

For dessert we ordered the Key Lime Pie which not only was vegan, but also raw.  All their desserts are baked in their kitchen, no dairy, egg, or refined sugar is used in their recipes. The crust of the Key Lime Pie was really good, made of Brazil nuts and tasted like it also had dates in it. The filling could have been more tart but the texture was good. The filling also tasted like it was made with cashews. Like most raw desserts, it was probably really nut heavy and really caloric, but definitely worth it.

Peacefood Cafe is so cute I definitely want to come here again, maybe come back to try their paninis and pizza.

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NYC — 1 Comment
29
Oct 09

Free Wi-Fi Cafes in New York City

by Pinda Lark

As a freelance designer, I am always searching for a good wi-fi cafe. All I would like is: a quiet cafe with good coffee, free wi-fi, enough outlets, good table space, open late hours, and a restroom that doesn’t smell like urine. But I think I may be asking for too much.

Anyways, here are some options:

Housing Works Book Store Cafe: I love this place, even if it smells like an attic and it feels like I’m in a bat cave. You’ll feel good knowing that 100% of their profits go to Housing Works, Inc. and its totally run by volunteers. That’s why you can’t get mad at the barista when they’re really slow and when your coffee is cold. But there’s a limited number of outlets and the tables are small and often they’re all taken.

Aroma Espresso Bar: There’s 2 locations, one in the Upper West Side and one in SoHo. The last time I was at the SoHo location, they shut my wi-fi off after 30 minutes. And you could only get a password after you purchased something. The food here is actually ok, the sandwiches are made with super thick bread and the soups are pretty good. The coffee is decent and you always get a piece of chocolate with it, which I always like. However, I don’t know if the prices are worth the food and service is never that good.

THINK Coffee: If I was a hipster NYU student, I’d love this place. I’d also love this place if I could get a table. They have great grilled cheese sandwiches with generous portions of buttery bread and good coffee. THINK also carries vegan cupcakes from Babycakes, my favorite Vegan bakery in the Lower East Side. On Friday and Saturday nights they play live music (really loud too), so don’t plan on getting much work done here on weekends. But maybe I’m the only workaholic working on a Saturday night…

Gramstand: I haven’t been to this place in awhile but when I went a year ago it was really cute. The cafe is located on Ave A and 13th street and they have a great selection of teas. Again, like all cute cafes, its small and hard to get a table. Double points if you can score a couch.

Subtle Tea: Another great tea place is this cafe in Murray Hill. The seating however is only one large table but service is always really friendly here.

Cosi Sandwich Works: Their salads are never fresh and are overpriced. The sandwiches are ok because their bread is so darn good. When its not too crowded, I’ve spent some really good afternoons at Cosi. I’m pretty content with their bread samples, free fountain drink refills, and being able to sit in a booth.

and lastly, I default to, do I dare say it, Starbucks. They offer “free” wi-fi if you sign up for their rewards cards. Sometimes the convenience of one being on every street corner overrides how bad their coffee is. My favorite Starbucks is the one on 88th and Broadway, but it turns out thats everyone else’s favorite Starbucks as well. It’s probably the plush couches and the upstairs section that lures everyone. Also, has anyone ever noticed the strange Harry Potter mini doors at this place? If only they led to a place with better coffee…

So that is my round-up for now. I know there are many other wi-fi places I have probably forgotten to mention and will be adding to this list soon…

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28
Oct 09

Harlem’s Finest Chicken & Waffles: Amy Ruth’s

by Pinda Lark

If you want chicken and waffles, you have to go to Harlem, and you have to go to Amy Ruth’s. Amy Ruth’s Restaurant is located right off the 116th stop from the 2/3 train on 116th and Lenox/Malcom X Avenue.

Amy Ruth’s Restaurant is open 24 hours on the weekends and closes around 11pm on the weekdays. But if you come at 10:30pm on a Monday (they close at 11pm) you might get some rude service. When I’ve come and dined for brunch I’ve always had pretty good service so lets just hope last night was just an off night, with one off lady. (I would recommend coming for brunch just for their amazing biscuits alone).

For our late night eats, we ordered The Rev. Al Sharpton Chicken & Waffles, The Larry Dais Waffles with Boneless Rib-Eye Steak, Cheesy Grits, The Inez Bass Red Velvet Cake, and Sweet Tea. (Yes, these are their real names).

You have the option of getting fried or smothered chicken with The Rev. I’ve had both, and recommend the smothered. The Rev. was by far my favorite part of our feast and probably the best smothered chicken I’ve had in a long time. A close second was the dessert, Red Velvet Cake, a little darker in color with really good frosting.

Since they were out of Mac n Cheese, we ordered the Cheesy Grits. It was my first time having Cheesy Grits, and it was just cheddar on grainy oatmeal so I wasn’t that impressed. The Sweet Tea was way too sweet and had to be diluted with lemonade. And I don’t recommend the Larry Dais Waffles, the Rib-Eye Steak looked suspiciously like it was grilled in a waffle maker. (It had the waffle maker grill marks and everything).

So if you’re craving Chicken & Waffles, stick with the Chicken & Waffles. Get it smothered, try a slice of their red velvet, and don’t come 30 minutes before closing. And do read the cute story about Amy Ruth on the menu, she’s like the Southern grandma you never had and she loves Jesus.

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