By Kaela Rae Jensen
There are oodles of vegetarians and even vegans at NYU, which you’ll have noticed if you’ve gone to almost any NYU student-run event, because they usually try and lure the vegans with cupcakes Tarzan download. Remember TBNYU’s demands? I sure do. I bet you do too.
Even if you’re not a rabid, protest-inclined liberal, maybe you still don’t eat meat. Maybe you just don’t eat red meat (pussies) or you hate hot dogs. Who knows, but regardless, I’m shocked when I hear that people don’t know about the ridiculously good veg restaurants around our campus. And I don’t just mean places where you can get vegetables on your pad thai instead of cow. I mean straight up fake meat, imitations that make you anxious because perhaps you’re being tricked. These places can do things with seitan and tempeh that cannot be described. These are places you can take your carnivorous friends, and they’ll be just as confused as you are.
First of all? Vegetarian Paradise 2 and Red Bamboo. These are owned by the same people, and probably share a kitchen, because they also share many menu items. And they’re just steps away from each other, on the corner of West Fourth and Sixth Ave! Go, and go now, to get their fake buffalo wings. Even my friend from Minnesota, where most subsist on ground beef alone, appreciates this place. Pretty much everything else on the menu is equally orgasmic, so why in tofu’s name don’t people go here more? Watch out on the weekends and evenings though, because the place will be packed. Do you need more incentive?
If you’re around the Union Square area, hit up Curly’s on 14th between 2nd and 1st Ave. The place is tiny but kitchy, and if you draw a good enough picture on your placemat, they might put it on the wall. Go here for the Philly cheesesteak, or maybe the Buffalo Blue burger. And obviously, the curly fries. Again, a place to take your skeptical meat-lovin’ friends.
Those two are my stand-bys, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg (lettuce). Around Greenwich Village, there’s a number of veg-friendly places, but I’d say try Quantum Leap (Thompson St., just below W. 3rd). The number of veggie burger combinations they have there is comparatively staggering.
If you’re looking for a fancier experience, I was taken to a pre-Opera dinner at Angelica Kitchen on 12th St. in the East Village. They have a fake reuben sandwich there, unprecedented in my experience. I miss reubens.
Go to the Little Atlas Cafe on W. 4th on campus to get a quick “unchicken” sandwich on the go at reasonable prices, as well as delicious vegan sweets. Watch out for the customer service though.
So go, take your meaty friends, and give yourself a break from salads and noodles. Any other suggestions? Stick ’em in the comments.
Image via Ecorazzi
