Borough Vegetarian

Franchia - A Pan-Asian Vegan Delight

I am generally not a fan of vegan or pure vegetarian restaurants, or restaurants that span too many genres. With the former, I generally find that all-veg restaurants can too often focus their menus on meat-like elements or mock meat to be enjoyable for me.  With the latter, I generally have found that if restaurants try to do too much, they end up doing too much poorly instead of well.

As such, I was pleasantly surprised when I made it to Franchia, the more casual, pan-Asian vegan outpost of Hangawi, the excellent albeit pricey Koreatown vegan restaurant.  Although pan-Asian and with a huge menu (featuring Korean, Thai, and Japanese-inspired dishes) with a lot of mock-meat type dishes, I found that the diverse flavors at Franchia were quite good.

A friend and split three items at lunch - a summer roll (standard but good appetizer), the lunch special hot pot, and the spicy okra and eggplant curry stew (my main dish).

(Spicy Okra and Eggplant Curry Stew)

Both of the entrees arrived boiling - literally, as shown in the picture above - and were spicy with a ton of vegetables.  Each item could have easily served two people for lunch, especially because they were both served with rice.  

The service was also efficient and quick - perfect for a mid-week lunch.  I definitely look forward to returning.

Franchia

12 Park Avenue, btwn. 34th and 35th Street

Midtown, Manhattan

Steps from the 6 train at 33rd Street, and 10 - 15 minute walk from the B/D/F/M/N/Q/R at 34th Street/Herald Square

Katsuno in Forest Hills - An Unexpected Japanese Treat

At a brunch last year, a number of attendees highly recommended that we check out Katsuno, a Japanese restaurant in Forest Hills, Queens.  When looking up the Katsuno menu and reviews after this initial recommendation, I was pleasantly surprised to find vegetarian options at the restaurant (the initial recommendation we received focused on the meat and fish dishes).

Although the staff wasn't fully prepared for my vegetarian questions/requests when we visited Katsuno in December, they were very friendly and I was able to cobble together a strong meal from many parts of the menu.

We started with the cucumber moroni miso, a cucumber slice dish with an unrefined miso (and maybe rice?) topping that was sweet/salty/rich and added a lot of flavor.  I generally liked the dish, but wasn't as wowed by it as others at our table because I think the texture of the topping was a little too gummy and sticky for my liking.

We also ordered the agedashi tofu, which after some back-and-forths with the waitress, the kitchen was able to make without bonito/fish products.  The tofu was very well-prepared and nicely salty.

My two "main courses" were cobbled together from two smaller dishes on the menu - the vegetable tempura and an avocado-cucumber roll.  Both were good, but fairly simple dishes, so I don't think showcased what the Katsuno kitchen could do.

 

We concluded our meal with the green tea tiramisu, which my husband loved but I thought was slightly chalky and not fully put together (maybe it was frozen or refrigerated before serving?).  I imagine when we go back to Katsuno again, we'll probably try it again though because despite my criticisms, it was still pretty interesting.

Katsuno

103-01 Metropolitan Avenue

Forest Hills, Queens

15-minute walk or short cab from the E/F/M/R subway trains at Forest Hills-71st Avenue or the Forest Hills LIRR stop

Ippudo - NYC Ramen Favorite with Great Vegetarian and Vegan Options!

Like many caught up in this global food trend, I love ramen.  I love the chewiness of the noodles, the rich broth, the varied toppings, and the ability to eat a truly one dish complete meal.  

However, unlike many global ramen lovers, I am also vegetarian and finding truly vegetarian ramen (made with vegetarian broth) can be a bit of a struggle.  Thankfully, there are a few strong vegetarian ramen options scattered through NYC’s five boroughs that can meet the needs of vegetarians and their meat-eating friends alike.

Ippudo, one of the most popular NYC ramen restaurants - if not the most popular NYC ramen destination - fits that bill.  Ippudo has been serving vegetarian appetizer and ramen options for years, and their new-ish location in Hells Kitchen now serves a vegan and gluten-free ramen called Sho-jin that changes seasonally.  AND it gets better - Ippudo actually marks on their menu the vegetarian and vegan options available.

Among their vegetarian starters are the cucumbers with a spicy sesame oil (pictured above), a dish that combines spicy, salty and crunchy into each bite.

Earlier this fall at the Hells Kitchen location, I had the seasonal cold Sho-jin that was rich, satisfying and refreshing.  While not the rich, creamy hot vegetarian ramen served at the downtown location, this ramen hit a few other culinary notes including light sweetness from the goji berries.

Definitely check out Ippudo - great, great place for vegetarians!

Ippudo NY

Two Locations:  East Village (65 Fourth Avenue, btwn. 9th and 10th Streets) and Hell’s Kitchen (321 W. 51th Street, btwn. 8th and 9th Avenues).  Both very accessible by several subway options (for East Village - 6 at Astor Place or 4/5/6/L/N/Q/R at 14th Street-Union Square; for Hell's Kitchen, C/E at 50th Street).

Manhattan, NY