Borough Vegetarian

Brooklyn Bagel - Oddly Enough, a Queens-Based Mini-Chain

Brooklyn Bagel has become a hot bagel store, with three locations in Astoria, Queens and one Manhattan location in Chelsea.  I've sampled Brooklyn Bagels two or three times (the Broadway location in Astoria), and while it doesn't quite rival Brooklyn and the city's best - the Bagel Hole - it is a great bagel option.

The cream cheeses are wonderfully light and they have unique flavors that they rotate weekly.  The bagels also have that nice crunchy exterior.

The only slight critiques I have about these bagels are that they are a little too large for my taste and the interiors are more fluffy than chewy.  In addition, I don't know why I ordered a whole wheat everything bagel the last time (the bagel pictured throughout this post), which was a little too dry for my taste as well.  But despite these minor concerns, Brooklyn Bagel is absolutely worth is a trip!

Brooklyn Bagel

35-05 Broadway, 36-14 30th Avenue, and 35-9 Ditmars Blvd. in Astoria, Queens

286 8th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan

All of the Astoria locations are 4-5 blocks from stops along the N/Q line, and the Chelsea location is closest to the C/E trains at 23rd Street.

Venturo Osteria - Surprisingly Strong Neighborhood Restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens

Venturo Osteria is one of the few restaurants in Sunnyside, Queens to have "broken out" from local attention and received recognition from citywide/national sources like the Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list.  While some restaurants are certainly befitting of such recognition, others can too often underwhelm despite the reviews.  Thankfully, Venturo fits in the former category and is a great choice, particularly for vegetarians, in western Queens.

Venturo's seasonally based menu often has a number of vegetarian appetizers, pastas and pizzas, and their brunch is a vegetarian delight with a range of sweet and savory options.  While I have sampled their dinner options a few times over the past year, what I really get drawn to over and over again is Venturo's brunch.

Their chocolate french toast is better than most I have had, as is their rich buttermilk pancake (served in a griddle), farro bowl, and brunch pizzas.  

And another great feature of Venturo's brunch or dinner experiences is that there is rarely a wait for a table, with a back patio adding space to the wood dining room during the warmer months.

Venturo Osteria and Wine Bar

44-07 Queens Blvd.

Sunnyside, Queens

A block or two away from the 7 train at 46th Street, and accessible from the Q32 and Q60 bus lines.

Sage General Store - No Frills, Vegetarian-Friendly Spot in Long Island City

Sage General Store is a popular casual eatery in Long Island City, Queens.  I first went to Sage General Store for a quick coffee/pastry a few years back, and have since found myself there a few times this past year as it is a great Queens weekend brunch option for folks coming in from Manhattan.  

In addition to a number of vegetarian options on the menu, the kitchen is also quite accommodating in removing meat from existing dishes when feasible.  As such, I've sampled both some of their vegetarian and made-to-vegetarian brunch fare.

My standard order is the New Mexico pizza without chicken - the crust is a little dry, but the ancho chile sauce and fresh avocado make it a great, light lunch treat.

I also unexpectedly liked the "Big Mess" sandwich without bacon (pictured above).  While it is typically served on their homemade cheddar biscuits, the afternoon some friends and I ordered it, they had run out of biscuits and served it on toast instead.  My unexpected enjoyment from the sandwich relates to the inclusion of egg in the sandwich - I am generally not a big fan of egg-based breakfast sandwiches, but this version is pretty good, albeit rich with the cheese.

And one can never go wrong with their fresh fruit salad!  

The one other brunch menu item that I have been wanting to try is their chilaquiles - hopefully they can make that without meat as well!

Sage General Store

24-20 Jackson Avenue

Long Island City, Queens

Just a few blocks from the E/M/7/G trains at Court Square, a 10-minute walk from the E/M/R trains at Queens Plaza, and a slightly longer (15 minute) walk from the N/Q/7 at Queensboro Plaza

Behold - The Bagel Hole Bagel!

I love bagels.  All kinds of bagels.  Grocery store bagels, frozen bagels, bagels that are functionally thick bread.  Well, I don’t like sweet bagels.  But all savory bagels are winners in my book.

As such, it’s a huge problem to live in New York, where bagels are not only plentiful, but decent-to-excellent bagels also abound.  Ever since I moved to New York, I have been on a bagel expedition throughout the boroughs.

The great thing is that I haven’t yet exhausted all of the “good” bagel places that you read/hear about AND I have already found very tasty bagels from Utopia Bagels in eastern Queens to Terrace Bagels in central Brooklyn.

My favorite bagel place to date is indisputably the Bagel Hole in Park Slope (I’m sorry my other bagel friends).  The Bagel Hole bagel is shockingly good - such that I would regularly also buy the bags of 6 day-old bagels for my freezer when I’d pop in for fresh bagels during a weekend (granted, I did say I will eat ANY bagel, but these day-old ones are still SO good). 

The Bagel Hole bagel is great because it is decently sized (i.e., not insanely huge), has a crisp/firm exterior, and the interior is chewy.  The Bagel Hole bagel is also great because these firm no-toasters churn out fresh bagels throughout the day, and when you get a fresh bagel (ask for what has just been baked), the cream cheese will slightly melt inside leading to that much more of an amazing bagel experience.

Gosh, I miss living within a mile of the Bagel Hole.

The Bagel Hole

400 7th Avenue (btwn. 12th and 13th Streets)

Park Slope, Brooklyn

Easily accessible via the F/G stop at 7th Avenue

Tom’s - Solid Breakfast Spot Near the Brooklyn Museum

If you search Yelp for the “best breakfast” or “best brunch” in Brooklyn, Tom’s on Washington Avenue will appear at the top of the list.  Far from a new Brooklyn hot spot, this diner has been in the neighborhood for decades.

After years of wondering if a trip to Tom’s would better than our local diners, we finally decided to make a late morning trip during last year's holiday week.  We waited for about 15 or 20 minutes for a table, and were ultimately seated on their indoor patio at a relatively small but comfortable table.  

We decided to split a savory dish with a sweet one, and both were pretty good, though not outstanding (even for diner fare).

I got the veggie omelet with cheddar, which was definitely HUGE but otherwise not that special.  The breakfast potatoes were also pretty good but didn’t really deviate from the norm for similar potatoes.

The husband got the Danish pancakes with blueberries.  I think I liked them more than him in that the blueberries gave the pancakes a nice sweetness and the parmesan, which I couldn’t fully taste, may have added some salt to the dish?  In any case though, I don’t think it’s a dish that we would necessarily re-order in the future.

So ultimately, we will probably go back to Tom’s if we are ever in the neighborhood at breakfast time.  However, I don’t think we’ll travel again just to eat there.

Tom's

782 Washington Avenue (at Sterling Place)

Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Easily accessible via the 2/3 subway lines at Eastern Parkway, and slightly longer (10 minute) walk from the 2/3/4/5 subway lines at Franklin Avenue

Dough Doughnuts - Even Non-Doughnut Lovers Will Adore This Place

I first had a Dough doughnut at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg two summers ago.  I don’t know what exactly inspired me to get a Dough doughnut - doughnuts aren’t exactly my go to dessert, breakfast, snack…or anything really.  

But boy, when I had my first Dough glazed doughnut, it was a revelation.  Perfectly sweet, glaze hardened in just the right way, and an incredibly pillowy interior.  I couldn’t wait to get another (and thank gosh by the time I consumed the doughnut, we were already off the Smorgasburg premises).

We finally went to Dough’s storefront location in Bed-Stuy last year and tried 2 new doughnuts in addition to the original glazed version.

Well, first, I have to say the glazed doughnut was just as good as ever.  The other two doughnuts sadly varied in quality.  Starting with the not-as-awesome, the passion fruit doughnut with cocoa nibs was a little too tart and sweet for me, so I probably won’t get it again sadly.  The chocolate with cocoa nibs though was fantastic - great mild chocolate flavor with the extra kick from the cocoa nibs.

(Look at that fluffy interior!)

Dough 

447 Lafayette Avenue

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Easily accessible via the G subway at Classon or Bedford-Nostrand stops

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14 W. 19th Street

Flatiron, Manhattan

Easily accessible via several subway lines, including the F/M at 23rd Street or N/Q/R/4/5/6/L at 14th Street-Union Square