The Hubz, the Rents and I headed out yesterday afternoon to Stamford CT, where we are staying this weekend. By the time we got there we were pretty hungry and decided to try a place called Little Buddha. The place and it’s sister restaurants have received great reviews from the NY Times and the reviews were right on AMAZING food.
Now the place leaves a little to be desired like it only has seating for 14 people and you are crammed into a small place. However the restaurant is more focused on it’s take out orders and the food makes up for the not so ideal dining space. Here is what we shared:
Neil and I are off for a weekend filled with lots of fun in CT, NYC & MA. Will blog when we return. P.S. Any NYC bloggers that want to meet up for wine and chocolate meet Saturday at 3pm at Cocoa V. Let me know if you want to meet up by leaving a comment DM me @cookveganlover or send me an e-mail.
My husband I decide that we would runaway for the weekend and after he got out of work on Friday we headed to Connecticut – and then NYC for the day on Saturday. On our way down to Connecticut we decided to stop for dinner in Northampton, MA and had one of the best meals. I had heard from another blogger that Paul and Elizabeth’s was the place to go in Northampton for some great vegan eats; it is not vegan however most the menu is- also there is no “walking animals” served at their restaurant…i.e. they only serve fish and shellfish, and vegetarian items.
I ordered the Grilled Tofu Kebabs which were marinated and broiled tofu and vegetables on a skewer on a bed of brown rice with a garden salad. My husband ordered the Vegetarian Plate which was one of the specials for the night and it came with a big bed of bok choy, kale, onions and tofu with rice croquettes on the side. We also started with a small bowl the Sweet Potato Coconut Soup which was creamy and delicious. At first glance you might look at the menu and say wow prices are a little higher (around $12-15 a dish) however the meals a huge – enough for 2 – and the food is amazing. I unfortunately forgot the camera in our car so I didn’t get any photos but I am sure that on my next visit I will make sure to get pictures of their delish food.
On Saturday we headed into the city to wander around meet up with old friends and had planned on staying the night however life happens and we weren’t able to- which meant missing VegFest ….I guess there’s always next year. After walking for about an hour we finally made it to our first destination- Peacefood Cafe on 82nd and Amsterdam. It is this great little spot that is open from 9am -10pm and has breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with baked goods, coffees and juices.
There were so many things that we wanted to order and had the hardest time deciding however we finally came to a decision and got the Raw Key Lime Pie, Macaroon, Apple Ginger Soy (it had juice of an apple and some ginger topped with steamed milk- amazing), a Panini of Pan-seared French Horn Mushrooms with sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, artichoke aioli, mint & basil pesto and we ordered a Tempeh Avocado sandwich with baked marinated tempeh, creamy avocado, pickled radishes, shredded carrots and cilantro. We loved the Raw Key Lime Pie it was delicious and had a great key lime sauce on it, however the macaroon it was okay (but I think I make a better one). As for the 2 sandwiches the Panini was the winner it was warm and creamy and delicious. The temeph sandwich was okay but my husband and I both felt it was a little salty and that there were too many pickled radishes on it which just over powered the sandwich. I do however love this place and after seeing other peoples orders there is so much more I want to try.
We spent the remainder of our day wandering around the city and meeting up with friends. We met up with my bestie at this great little coffee shop in Soho called Ground Support on West Broadway across from Seven for All Mankind and next door to Anthropolige. We didn’t get any coffee because I had already had some that morning but it smelled amazing and Cate loves it there. After that we stopped in at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum Shop (which for all you vegans out there is just around the corner from Babycakes and down the street from Moo Shoes) this shop and museum is one of our favorites in the city and has a great selection of books and gifts. My husband picked up a great T-shirt from here as well as a book and I got a new vegan bag which I love. It was great too I asked the girl if it was leather and she was like I don’t know lets google the designer and see what their site says and to my luck the bags are all vegan faux leather (and I know you all are wandering well who makes it then? and i forget…there is no tag in the bag). We also stopped at our favorite candy shop in Chinatown Aji Ichiban which has a variety of Asian treats and are all labeled with their ingredients.
Before we left the city we met up with my friend from high school and went to Chennai Garden one of our favorite Southern Indian Restaurants. We had amazing food and the best part is everything that has dairy in it is labeled so you know which items you can order- oh and the place is all vegetarian. We always go with a dosa- this time the gunpowder one which was amazing and we went with a curry as well the Malki Kofta (not usually vegan but here it was! love it). We were so hungry I didn’t get any shots in but you can find pictures here from my last visit.
Our last stop before we headed home was in New Haven CT at Claire’s Corner Copia for breakfast Sunday morning. We had a great breakfast too- I ordered a coffee and Tofu Scramble with whole wheat baguette and Neil got an orange juice and the Pancakes with bananas. Our meals came and we dug in they were great. Mine wasn’t the best scramble i’ve had but it was good and the baguette was amazing with it. My hubz pancakes where really incredible – they were whole wheat and had cinnamon in them and topped with bananas and real maple syrup. Claire’s has become a favorite stop of ours and it’s all vegetarian with vegan items clearly marked and many dishes they can make vegan- and trust me their menu is huge!
Overall great trip but of course never long enough.
This week has been an emotional one for my husband and I, at 11 weeks along we found out that we had lost our baby. After days of hanging around the house and lounging in our bed grieving our loss we decided it was time to get out of town and we headed south…..to Massachusetts and Connecticut. I unfortunately did not take any photos on our trip as our camera is still full of pictures from our cruise. We headed down to MA and CT on Friday afternoon and stopped in at Angkor Wat in Woodstock Vermont where we had a disappointing overpriced meal.
We then headed to Northampton one of my favorite small towns and we wandered the shops and the downtown area. We stopped in Herrel’s Flagship Store and got ourselves a scoop of No-Moo Coffee “ice cream”. It was delicious. I see that they have a bunch of other flavors (we have had the peanut butter at the Cambridge location) and I am dying to try burnt caramel – what a fun flavor!
On Saturday we took a drive south towards New Haven where we wandered around the Yale campus (which is beautiful) and then we stopped for some lunch at Claire’s Corner Copia. This place was packed! There was a line out the door ,which seems to usually be a good sign, plus the place has been around for 34 years so it must be doing something right. My hubby got the Cornercopia Grande Burrito with refried organic pinto beans, brown rice, roasted organic vegetables, chipotle soy chicken and salsa. It was huge and delicious! I got the Quesadilla Tia Juana that was filled with a salsa of organic black beans, corn, organic bell peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, onions and Anaheim chilies and served with guacamole it was delicious!
On Sunday (I saved the best for last) we headed home and stopped at Esselon Café in Hadley MA for some amazing brunch. My hubby got the Vegan Brekkie which included tofu scramble with sautéed spinach, mushrooms, avocado, and grilled tomato with toast and a side salad and he also got a soy chai latte. I got the Vegan Benny which was grilled and seasoned tofu, sautéed spinach, roasted red peppers, topped by vegan hollandaise and came with a side salad, I also got a soy latte. The food here was by far the best all weekend. The Vegan Benny was delicious and as my husband said (bashfully) it was better than mine (crushed ….haha just kidding I totally agreed). His food was great too and huge so much food I was impressed. Also the salad is a great touch much better than homefries or something similar to that.
After one great weekend away we are planning another in about 5 weeks for a wonderful weekend to go to all the places we didn’t get to visit.
