new york, new york

it's always so nice to return to a place you love...  new york has held a special place in my heart since we spent our honeymoon there 3 years ago.  this little trip was part anniversary celebration and also possibly the last getaway before we grow to a family of 3!  we kept things simple and aside from one little guided tour of the tenement museum {totally reccomend it} we mostly just walked and explored on foot, visiting a few spots we had missed in previous trips.  and of course we ate and ate and ate. 

without spending too much time rehashing every single meal, here are some of our highlights.

 
as soon as we arrived at our favourite little hotel we dropped our bags and set out to wander around  the lower east side, making our first stop at babycakes to fuel up on a yummy salted caramel doughnut and a biscuit with jam & cream.  then we made our way around the corner to moo shoes.  sadly neither m nor i were successful in the footwear department but we did treat ourselves to new herbivore t's and i'm in love with my new kale tank!!

 

we took some time later that first evening to make a plan of attack to get in as much vegan eating as possible.  between restaurants i've been wanting to visit, recommendations from a few blog pals {thanks ladies!}, the east village guide from vegnews & the wicked compilation farm sanctuary put together that we picked up at moo shoes, we had our work cut out for us.  thankfully some cheese & crackers helped think things through.

shopping our way through the east village to work up an appetite for brunch at sacred chow where we feasted on almond milk cappuccinos, apple-carrot-beet juice, breakfast sammie on biscuit with tofu scramble, tempeh & daiya for m and for me the kale caesar with tofu 'croutons'.  we both decided another visit is a must so that we can try more from the awesome menu!  {thanks x100 to jl & megan for the recommendation!}

walking to brooklyn via the williamsburg bridge was great but a long haul from greenwich!  it was worth it though to check out the williamsburg flea - lots of fun jewlery, thrifting and more to be seen & great people watching too.

onward to dun-well doughnuts!  for the record, totally not in williamsburg - more like a good 30 minute walk from the heart of it, but totally totally worth seeking it out!  by the time we got there it was close to 6pm so the pickings were slim but we managed to select some winners with the vanilla glazzed with sprinkles and the cinnamon sugar.  frankly i'm not sure we could have chosen wrong, because holy mother they were amazing.  3 cheers for the vegan doughnut boys from brooklyn!

a super awesome slice for lunch at viva herbal pizza, followed by a walk along the high line and more shopping {i'm totally shopped out but completely stoked on the obsessive compulsive cosmetics stop i squeezed in and i can't wait to try out my new vegan nail polishes that are big 3 free!}

our final dinner plans were foiled when we arrived at our beloved casa a fox to find out it was closed for a private party, but after a walk around alphabet city we happened upon a sweet little taco joint {i had avocado on the brain and nothing else would do} called five tacos.  they've got meat on the menu but have some great vegan options - i've no pics for you, but you'll have to take my word & seek it out.  unless you're taking you food to go you've got to squeeze in at one of the several bar stools or around a single communal table, but for under $30 we gorged on soft corn tacos suffed with rice and a butternut squash & red pepper filling, massive sides of homemade salsa and their black bean & cucumber salad, and a bowl of guacamole the size of my head.  ginger beer for her and a negro modelo on tap for him.  wicked homemade hot sauces too!

we also enjoyed a romantic late dinner at angelica kitchen sharing plate upon plate of wholesome food. {heads up - it's byob here!  we didn't know so m dashed around the corner to pick up a couple local beers for himself.}  i loved the cozy vibe here and that guests are politely asked on the menu to not use their cell phones within the restaurant.  we also tried out teany this trip - i found the menu was really confusing because they list ingredients such as chicken, turkey, ham etc and only some menu items are listed as being vegan.  turns out that the cafe isn't completely vegan and does serve dairy and eggs but all the 'meats' on the menu are vegan.  our lovely server did apoligize for the confusion and said they were planning on a menu much needed re-write soon.  meal highlight was the awesome pb chocolate cheesecake.

sadly we missed out on a few stops.  i had the best of intentions of a big fat sundae at lula's but lost track of the days of the week and unfortunately they're closed on mondays.  i also missed gus's pickles because apparently they moved to brooklyn & silly me, i thought they were still on orchard street in the lower east side. 

sigh.  oh well, guess i'll have to return sometime... 

 

 
all in all a perfect little romantic getaway with my sweetheart.