chennai garden

This weekend Neil and I went on an adventure to NYC for Neil’s 28th Birthday. We took the train from Vermont to NYC (Neil’s desire and the most affordable; however I have to admit it was nice to sit back and relax). We had to start our night off with a big slice of pizza from Two Boots at Grand Central Station . Having done a little (okay a lot) of research for our trip I had read that they always had at least one vegan pizza that you could get a slice of (there are a few others that you can order an entire pie). We got the Earth Mother Vegan slice that was topped with mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach and sauce. It was on a Sicilian crust and was very yummy!

Our first night, following our slice of pizza, we went to Chennai Garden a vegetarian Indian restaurant that specializes in Southern Indian cuisine. The menu was great it clearly identified which items had dairy in them so vegans or those who do not eat dairy could avoid them without having to ask which dishes include dairy (which is great). We started with some pakoras, they were nice and crispy and served with two different chutneys one tomato and the other cilantro. I dived into the cilantro chutney, my favorite, but we never have it unless the dish comes with it because Neil doesn’t care for cilantro. For our main dishes we chose the Chennai Rava Masala Dosai rava dosai with a hot and spicy potato filling and the Mushroom Onion and Garlic Utthappam Neither of us had ever experienced Southern Indian food so this was a treat to try something new. The dosa was spicy and filled with a potato mixture; it was served with sambar and a coconut chutney. It was so yummy and nice to just sit there and eat with your hands dipping into the different sauce and chutney. The utthappam Also came with the sambar and the coconut chutney but it also came with another chutney that was delicious! Overall this was a great experience and the food was amazing! The place is small and loud and crowded but it doesn’t take away from the dining experience rather it adds to the lively atmosphere and yummy food. Also I would like to note that all food is made to order so it is fresh! Neil would have eaten here all weekend had we not had a million other things to do and places to try. We almost didn’t even go here because we were hesitant on whether Indian would be too heavy on our bellies since we were doing Top of the Rock later that evening but we both are glad we did!

Top of the Rock was an amazing experience that gives you the opportunity to view all of the city. For those of you have experience the Empire State Building and are like done it seen it, over it. I would ignore all of those feelings and try Top of the Rock, it is a whole new experience (trust me I was one of those Empire State Building-done it over it people) but this was great. You have three different levels that you can visit and so long as it is a clear night (luckily for us it was) you will have an amazing view of the entire city. They also have four 4min videos that talk about Rockefeller Plaza and the history of the area. This place is great for families, friends, or couples (trust me at night it is so romantic).