First time in NY - Greenwich Village

[offcentre]

A friend is spending 6 weeks living and working in NY 10014.

He is a vegetarian.

Any receommendations for great places to eat would be much appreciated. Not high-class dining, I'm thinking great local eateries.

Is there anything he really should not leave without eating?

[Nathan]

there are some excellent restaurants in the area. none of them are very vegetarian friendly. it's some of the most expensive real estate in NY so the "local eateries" tend to be either higher-end (Perry Street, the not-very-good Paris Commune, the MP restaurants, the Italian places) or old restaurants with menus that haven't changed in 30 years.

Fatty Crab is the best local not-high-end eatery. It's excellent. It's also completely non-vegetarian friendly (there might be a couple side dishes he could eat). Perry Street is superb and could accomodate him. It's not cheap but not expensive....in the $65-120 range for dinner. there is an excellent $25 lunch deal.

Barbuto is pretty good and pretty affordable Italian. they could probably work with him.

Pasita is a wine-bar with some excellent brick-oven pizzas...one or two of them might be vegetarian.

he's far better off eating in the EV....vegetarians actually live there. someone else could probably come up with some recommendations for him. there is a poster on the NY board who went through a brief vegetarian phase who might have some suggestions.

Edited August 22, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[daisy17]

City Bakery on 18th between 5th & 6th Aves (a 10 min walk from the W. Vill) has fantastic vegan/vegetarian stuff, including a greenmarket inspired/sourced salad bar with some really creative items. Super casual, great for lunch, not cheap, but it's definitely a downtown institution. Tarts, lemonade, pretzel croissants, cookies, mac & cheese all rock too.

[weinoo]

A friend is spending 6 weeks living and working in NY 10014.

He is a vegetarian.

Any receommendations for great places to eat would be much appreciated. Not high-class dining, I'm thinking great local eateries.

Is there anything he really should not leave without eating?

←

Hi offcentre,

Is your friend vegan, or does he eat seafood as well?

I'm not too acquainted with any vegetarian restaurants in the area, but there any many things for your friend to be able to eat with just a bit of planning and traveling. For instance, at both Lupa and Otto, there are lots of vegetable starters and sides; Lupa has great pastas that are meatless and Otto certainly has a few pizzas that are vegetarian friendly, along with some nice, inexpensive pastas too. Italian is probably the easiest for those with vegetarian leanings.

In the East Village, as Nathan noted, there are many more vegetarian restaurants, though I haven't eaten at any...and there are also some great Japanese noodle places where things like vegetable tempura and soba and udon noodles (though the dipping broth is made from seafood) can be had. I like Sobaya on E. 9th St. for that stuff.

I don't think anyone should leave NYC without eating great pizza, a knish from Yonah Schimmel''s (which would be great for the vegetarian!), and some other stuff that just can't be had anywhere else - but which your friend is not going to eat!

[Nathan]

A friend is spending 6 weeks living and working in NY 10014.

He is a vegetarian.

Any receommendations for great places to eat would be much appreciated. Not high-class dining, I'm thinking great local eateries.

Is there anything he really should not leave without eating?

←

Hi offcentre,

Is your friend vegan, or does he eat seafood as well?

I'm not too acquainted with any vegetarian restaurants in the area, but there any many things for your friend to be able to eat with just a bit of planning and traveling. For instance, at both Lupa and Otto, there are lots of vegetable starters and sides; Lupa has great pastas that are meatless and Otto certainly has a few pizzas that are vegetarian friendly, along with some nice, inexpensive pastas too. Italian is probably the easiest for those with vegetarian leanings.

In the East Village, as Nathan noted, there are many more vegetarian restaurants, though I haven't eaten at any...and there are also some great Japanese noodle places where things like vegetable tempura and soba and udon noodles (though the dipping broth is made from seafood) can be had. I like Sobaya on E. 9th St. for that stuff.

I don't think anyone should leave NYC without eating great pizza, a knish from Yonah Schimmel''s (which would be great for the vegetarian!), and some other stuff that just can't be had anywhere else - but which your friend is not going to eat!

←

well, if he's a vegan he's completely screwed...

if he's a pescaterian than there's not much of an issue. he can eat anywhere.

[weinoo]

A friend is spending 6 weeks living and working in NY 10014.

He is a vegetarian.

Any receommendations for great places to eat would be much appreciated. Not high-class dining, I'm thinking great local eateries.

Is there anything he really should not leave without eating?

←

Hi offcentre,

Is your friend vegan, or does he eat seafood as well?

I'm not too acquainted with any vegetarian restaurants in the area, but there any many things for your friend to be able to eat with just a bit of planning and traveling. For instance, at both Lupa and Otto, there are lots of vegetable starters and sides; Lupa has great pastas that are meatless and Otto certainly has a few pizzas that are vegetarian friendly, along with some nice, inexpensive pastas too. Italian is probably the easiest for those with vegetarian leanings.

In the East Village, as Nathan noted, there are many more vegetarian restaurants, though I haven't eaten at any...and there are also some great Japanese noodle places where things like vegetable tempura and soba and udon noodles (though the dipping broth is made from seafood) can be had. I like Sobaya on E. 9th St. for that stuff.

I don't think anyone should leave NYC without eating great pizza, a knish from Yonah Schimmel''s (which would be great for the vegetarian!), and some other stuff that just can't be had anywhere else - but which your friend is not going to eat!

←

well, if he's a vegan he's completely screwed...

if he's a pescaterian than there's not much of an issue. he can eat anywhere.

←

Nah, not completely screwed - just getting really close! Pizza w/o cheese (yum), some of those vegetable starters at Lupa (watch out for shaved pecorino!) and Otto,

and vegetable tempura w/rice all will work.

Agree about the fish eaters.

[SaltySnack]

Westville - while most of the menu is not vegetarian. They do have a long, long list of daily market sides which one could combine differently and eat happily for days.

[mzrb]

For inexpensive and delicious, I would highly recommend Moustache in the West Village for Middle Eastern/Lebanese. Also, Do Hwa (Korean) on Carmine Street would make a vegetarian happy.

[Nathan]

true...Moustache is pretty good. he could also order some of the bruschetta and tremizzini at Ino.

[raji]

When eating with or craving Vegetarian, i gravitate towards South Indian...

Thali is no longer open, but the dosa man on Washington Square is great -

Haveli on 2nd and 6th is inconsistent but can be very very good

Surya on Greenwich is also good

There is a cafe spice on University and they can be very good if you know what you're ordering...

There's several falafel joints in the neighorhood, where you can also get your hoummus, baba, etc., Mamoun's is probably the best

[Nathan]

Surya's pretty good...agreed. I'm not happy with the rest of the GW/WV Indian.

[Pan]

When eating with or craving Vegetarian, i gravitate towards South Indian...

Thali is no longer open, but the dosa man on Washington Square is great -

Haveli on 2nd and 6th is inconsistent but can be very very good[...]

←

If you're gonna recommend Haveli, in the East Village, why not recommend Madras Cafe, 2nd Av. between 4th and 5th, instead? It's a completely vegetarian restaurant, vegan-friendly, and I find it more consistent and just plain better. The only thing is, if you want your masala dosa really spicy, make sure to ask for little green hot peppers to be put in "so that it's very spicy." But aside from the pickles (which so often taste like turpentine in Indian restaurants in New York), I can't remember anything I've ever had there that wasn't good.

[offcentre]

Great stuff people, thanks very much.

Sorry, I should have said he eats fish. That should open it up a bit.

He's on his own as well. Not sure if that will make any difference.

If anyone feels like taking him for an authentic NY night out....?

[raji]

Yeah that changes everything, basically. So, he doesn't eat anything with a face....

Yes Pan, I completely forgot about Madras Cafe.. aren't they related to one of the curry hill restaurants too? Anyway, I haven't been there since they first opened, I guess about 9 years ago, but it was very good and not such a heavy hand with the Ghee like, at the time, Madras Mahal and Mavali Palace (now closed) had, which I appreciated more 9 years ago... I guess pretty similar to Saravanaas.

It's 18th Street. so gramercy, but close enough and certainly worth it, Devi I still maintain is the best Indian on the Island and probably all 5 boroughs when cost is not a factor...

While the Japanese brainwashed me fully despite no familial connection, one of my other specialties is certainly South indian... but I'm only half a dot, maybe Mayur has more current info...

Fish (and therefore fish sauces) being ok, I'd also check out Sobaya, they've been consistently good for a couple of decades....

I'm quite fond of okonomiyaki, if you've never had a shrimp okonomiyaki, now would be your chance. I think the takoyaki place on 9th Street makes them, albeit in street food fashion... Village Yokocho, on the 2nd floor of that corner, usually makes a good one. BTW if you ever order one and they don't tell you it's gonna take half an hour, cancel that order because it's coming out of the freezer. Okonomiyaki is a labor of love. I love those things. I don't think a proper teppanyaki place opened in NYC, but making your own okonmiyaki with the table as your griddle is delicious fun

Also on the Japanese tip, Umi no ie, I think around 1st and 3rd, something like that, has great great Okinawan food... some dishes have spam or pork in them but a great deal only contain seafood. Uminoie means beach house, the owner is okinawan

But that's starting to get too far east

Is Republic on Union Square still good? still there?

[Nathan]

Great stuff people, thanks very much.

Sorry, I should have said he eats fish. That should open it up a bit.

He's on his own as well. Not sure if that will make any difference.

If anyone feels like taking him for an authentic NY night out....?

←

yeah...you should have. he could eat anywhere then (besides Corner Bistro or Fatty Crab)...even some of the steakhouses.

reasonably priced but pretty good WV spots for him:

Perry Street -- lunch

Otto

Lupa

Ino

Ditch Plains

AOC (AOC Bedford is much higher end but the prices reflect that)

Blue Ribbon

Babbo (pricier but so worth it...he can get a vegetarian pasta followed by the terrific "Sicilian Lifeguard Calamari")

Bellavitae

does he have any specific culinary preferences? it's my hood so there are simply too many options to list without more details.

edit: life is easiest for solo diners in NY (except for tasting menus...most restaurants don't offer them for one..the b____ds)...because there is a large dining-at-the-bar culture here.

Edited August 23, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[daisy17]

Is Republic on Union Square still good? still there?

←

Still decent, but deafening.

Seafood/fish in the W Village: Mary's Fish Camp. And Pearl, but I prefer Mary's.

[Pan]

Yeah that changes everything, basically. So, he doesn't eat anything with a face....

Yes Pan, I completely forgot about Madras Cafe.. aren't they related to one of the curry hill restaurants too?[...]

←

I'm pretty sure they're not.

Also on the Japanese tip, Umi no ie, I think around 1st and 3rd, something like that, has great great Okinawan food... some dishes have spam or pork in them but a great deal only contain seafood. Uminoie means beach house, the owner is okinawan[...]

←

Sounds interesting, but do you mean (roughly) 3rd St. and 1st Av. or 1st St. and Bowery? There's no 3rd Av. at 1st St.

[raji]

wow my memory didn't fail me... it's at 1st avenue and 3rd street