Vegans and carnivores, living together ...
April 25, 2011 8:13 AM   Subscribe

Where can vegans and carnivores get some good food together in NYC?

I've seen threads recommending vegan restaurants, but our party has one vegan who doesn't mind if the rest of us ... um, pig out. So I'm hoping for recommendations for restaurants that have vegan options but aren't exclusively vegan. Oh, and that are good. Asia de Cuba has served in the past, but they're limited for vegans. Proximity to Grand Central a plus. Thanks in advance for any help.
posted by troywestfield to Food & Drink (7 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I am a serious carnivore, and I really like eating at VP2. I realize that's not exactly what you're asking for, but the mock meat there is outstanding.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:20 AM on April 25, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'm a vegetarian, and here are a few non-vegetarian restaurants I love that are all a few subways stops downtown from Grand Central:

Spring Street Natural Restaurant

Cafe Orlin

Essex Restaurant

Da Andrea (The vegan might be limited to salads and one primo piatto.)
posted by John Cohen at 8:30 AM on April 25, 2011


Tsampa. Right off the 6 train stop at Astor Place, so very convenient to Grand Central. Very delicious, very affordable.
posted by saladin at 8:48 AM on April 25, 2011


Cho Dang Gol on 35th & 5th is a Korean restaurant that specializes in home-made tofu. They have a lot of tofu, veg and rice dishes but plenty of meaty ones too. I don't know for sure if the meatless dishes are strictly vegan - they may use fish broth and such, but this might be helpful. Their food is delicious!
posted by moonmilk at 8:50 AM on April 25, 2011


also backing up Cafe Orlin.

As a vegetarian of ten plus years, one thing that not a lot of meat eaters know is that there is almost always a meat free option or something that can be modified- especially in nice-ish places (especially in nyc). Try picking a place that you think sounds really good and giving them a call. Even if they don't advertize it, they might have a vegan/vegetarian menu.

-- also Not what you are asking for BUT I just went to Soy & Sake in chelsea, and the food was seriously amazing. It's got a lot of vegan options, and it's all vegetarian- but my very meat-loving bf was really happy with the bbq 'chicken' and the sushi rolls.
posted by Blisterlips at 8:51 AM on April 25, 2011


Your question is really, "Where can a Carnivore go that is mostly vegan," and not the other way around. As someone who is open to anything, I can tell you that I once went to a 'raw food' place in the east village. It was disgusting, and ultimately I got sick. If you need to go to a vegan place, I would let your meat eating friends know this in advance, because frankly, I would not bother going to another vegan/raw food (yes I know there is a difference) restaurant.
posted by darkgroove at 11:12 AM on April 25, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks, all. Essex Restaurant got a very enthusiastic nod, but I bet we end up trying most of these places in the coming years.
posted by troywestfield at 1:55 PM on April 25, 2011


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