Decaf Vegan Delight!

Do you hate coffee? Are you a vegan? Do you like keeping a healthy diet? Do you love tea?

Argo Tea has an insane menu of teas, hot, cold and decaf. With scattered locations around NYC, the standard menu along with the seasonal menu flavors cannot be beat. The first time I went to Argo Tea was because of the “Irish Cream Tea Latte” poster that was hanging in the window. My friend Jaymelee and I walked by, then walked back and said we had to try it! It just sounded to good not to try! We left Argo Tea full of smiles. Delighting in the flavor of the tea while actually drinking something quite light. The customization of soy milk, whole milk, almond milk or skim milk allows you to customize to your liking.

In addition, their small bakery of quiche and muffins has some gluten free options for our gluten free friends! This place keeps getting better and better! For all nutritional information, you can check the link on their website! Nutritional Information Here

Allergy Info:
Customizable Tea’s (all tea can be made either hot or cold!)
Many Decaf Teas
Gluten Free and Vegan Options at the bakery and the catering menu
100% Organic
Nutritionally balanced
Wholesome ingredients

Foodie Rundown:
My personal favorite is the Green Tea Strawberry Cream (made with skim milk). This is naturally sweetened and delicious! Definitely has caffeine, but is delicious either hot or cold! You can also buy the loose tea and bring it home, which is fabulous!

Seasonal Irish Cream Tea Latte (made with skim milk) was my first ever tea from Argo. A life changing experience, if I must say so myself!

Other Teas to try:
Earl Grey Vanilla (hot)
White Tea Acai Squeeze (cold)
Pom Tea (either hot or cold)
Tea Sangria (hot or cold)

Locations:
NYC
Flatiron Building
NYU Langone Medical Center
Columbus Circle
Chelsea
Union Square
NYU Academic Resource Center
Chicago
Boston
St Louis
Beirut, Lebanon


Argo Tea

Travel Thursday!

Psych! Today we are traveling to Colombia without actually leaving Manhattan. Palenque is a food truck with gourmet Colombian delicacies. The food is made using only the best eco-friendly and organic ingredients and has vegetarian and vegan options as well.

What is an Arepa? You might ask…It is a bread patty made from corn and water (Palenque offers brown rice or quinoa based patty’s as well). Arepa’s can be topped with arugula, queso de hebra, beef, chicken, shrimp, seitan (wheat based and vegan), portobello mushrooms (vegan), organic vegan Italian chorizo or organic vegan chipotle chorizo! And if you think that’s not enough! They have organic vegan chipotle mayo (made with soy), guacamole and chimichurri-cilantro sauces!

Allergy Info:
Organic
Vegan
Vegetarian
Nut free!

Foodie Rundown:
Organic Chipotle Chorizo Arepa– A fan favorite according to the truck. This vegan, vegetarian, chorizo arepa, on a corn based patty, was outrageous. It was full of flavor and definitely packed a nice little spicy punch!

Beef Arepa on a Brown Rice and Sesame Patty – same great flavors as the chipotle chorizo, with a little less of the spcies! Absolutely delicious, the patty was nice and crisp, and both were thoroughly enjoyable!

Location:
Their Schedule is located here: http://palenque-schedule.blogspot.com/


http://www.palenquehomemadecolombianfood.com/

Terri Tuesday!

What are you doing for lunch today?  Head over to chelsea (23rd and 6th) during your lunch break to get a vegetarian, organic, vegan & gluten friendly lunch! All items on the menu are 100% vegan and kosher, and only organic ingredients are used.  They have sandwiches with gluten free bread available, along with some great dessert options, including cookies, donuts and cupcakes! Make sure you grab a drink or a side to go in the fridge on the left, the strawberry mint lemonade is delicious!

Allergy Info: 
Vegan
Vegetarian
Organic
Gluten Free



Foodie Rundown:
*Fan Favorite - I would have to say, that while waiting for my Hummus & Avocado Wrap, the 4 people before me got the Hummus & Avocado Wrap!  Full of hummus, avocado, smoked tofu, hot peppers, lettuce and tomato (See Picture)

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - 'chicken', Buffalo sauce, vegenaise (a vegan version of mayo), lettuce, onion and celery

Strawberry Mint Lemonade - says it like it is


Location:
23rd and 6th

Follow Terri on Twitter here

The Daily Juice

Today's post comes out of Austin, Texas.  With lots of readers with affiliations to Austin, I wanted to make sure you got reviews that would make you smile!  The Daily Juice, is an all natural juice bar, never using chemicals, preservatives, chlorine, processed or genetically modified foods.  They are local and organic, as much as possible.  For a list of nutritional information for many of the Daily Juices ingredients (you can use this even if you don't live in Austin) please click here.

The Daily Juice is a local hot spot, stop by for a smoothie, a juice or a shot.  Hang out on the back porch with some friends and enjoy your juice in the hot sun (not sure if it's ever NOT hot in Austin).

Allergy Info: 
All Natural
Local / Organic when possible
Lots of nuts on the menu, so not allergies be careful

Foodie Rundown: 
check out the menu for the list of smoothies here
I had the Ahh...I see, which was acai berry, banana and fresh apple!  Naturally sweet, refreshing and delicious!

Locations: 
Austin, TX (Hyde Park)
2 New Locations to open up:
Westlake & Downtown Austin

http://dailyjuice.myshopify.com/  

The RITE choice!

I scream, you scream, we all scream (for healthy alternatives) to ice cream!!!

At The Lite Choice, you will be able to eat flavorful frozen yogurt, guilt free and allergy free! The flavors and toppings make this frozen yogurt hot spot a great treat for anyone, any age with any allergy (nut allergy be careful, but allergy friendly). At The Lite Choice, they use farm fresh dairy that has no rBST hormones. Great for cakes, special occasions, smoothies cups or cones. In addition to that all the flavors, The Lite Choice has NO:
* artificial additives
* preservatives
* corn syrup

In addition to that, if it couldn’t get any better, The Lite Choice is:
* gluten free
* low fat
* kosher
* lower calorie
* all natural
* organic

Chose from over 80 different flavors at any point in time! Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Allergy info:
* no artificial additives
* no preservatives
* no corn syrup
* gluten free
* low fat
* kosher
* lower calorie
* all natural
* organic flavors
* no rBST hormones
* farm fresh ingredients

Foodie Rundown:
Caramel Frozen Yogurt with Rainbow Sprinkles and Peanut Butter Chips (pictured) - So yummy!

Locations:
NYC Locations:
146 West 72nd Street - (btw. B'way & Columbus)
436 6th Avenue - (btw. 9th & 10th)
1318 1st Avenue - (btw. 70th & 71st)
2542 Broadway - (btw. 95th and 96th)
116 7th Avenue South (Sheridan Square)
2245 Broadway (Zabar’s Café)
84 7th Avenue- (btw. 15th and 16th)

Long Island
Queens
NJ
Montreal, Canada
PA – Coming Soon

http://www.thelitechoice.com/index.html

Mr and Mrs Smith

If you guessed that the tomato soup was from The Smith, you were right!

Trendy, great drinks and in the heart of the east village. Full of youngsters, hipsters and students alike. The food, never disappoints, the prices are a little high, and you can’t sit unless you’re entire party is the there (sounds great, right?). Sit near the open window to enjoy some interesting people watching. You’ll see everything in the E. Vilalge. Make sure you get a drink (or 2) as the drink creations, muddlers and somewhat tastey whiskey flavored drinks are all worth dinner at the Smith.

Note: Bring your loud voice, screaming to your friends across the table will be necessary, as the acoustics aren’t great.

Allergy Info:
Allergy friendly! On the menu, The Smith states: “ Please alert your server of any food allergies, as not all ingredients are listed on the menu. Eating raw or undercooked fish, shellfish, eggs or meat increases the risk of foodborne illnesses.”
Also on their menu – The Smith supports local, natural, sustainable and organic practices whenever possible.

Foodie Rundown:
Tomato Soup – best in the city? My 3 friends during dinner thought so! For someone who doesn’t love tomato soup, no offense, I just think it tastes like tomato sauce, but this tomato soup was pretty amazing. Thick, with cheese and some croutons in it, it’s like French onion soup gone tomato, definitely a must try! (pictured)
Brussel Sprouts – now these are up my alley, if you think Crispo’s Brussel sprouts are good? Make sure you try there, because they are outrageous. (pictured)
Special: Thursday night – Sticky Ribs Special
Mussels with Fries (not quite flex mussels, but definitely great)
Ricotta Gnocchi with truffle creak sauce – a fan favorite at the table - when in doubt? Truffle it out! (pictured)

Locations:
E. Village (11th and 3rd)
Midtown (51st and 2nd)

Bareburger – Spare it all, but the Bun!

For those of you gluten free friends out there, don’t let your burger be bare at Bareburger! Eat the burger WITH the bun! Popping up all over the place in NYC, Brooklyn and Queens, this organic, all natural, free range, grass fed burger sensation will be sure to delight all family members.

Whether you are looking to stay lean with a multi-grain roll, wheat or lettuce wrap, looking to keep your cholesterol down with a turkey burger, veggie burger, or chicken patty, or just trying to make up any excuse to eat a beef, elk, bison, or ossie burger, go to Bareburger!

Foodie Rundown:
Start with some pickles for the table, don’t want to fill yourself up before the big meal
Fries…or Onion Rings? Can’t decide? Get the basket combo with both!
The Western (This was the burger I had, with a gluten free bun, out of this world!)
Maple Bacon Chesesebarburger (This was the burger my friend Tara had, on multi-grain, that was described as the “best burger ever”)
The Roadhouse (Turkey burger, on a wrap, the healthy version that my friend Jolene tried)

Allergy Info:
Not Nut Friendly (100% peanut oil is used for all the fried items)
BUT
Veggie Friendly
Gluten Friendly
Cholesterol Friendly
Organic Friendly
Beef Friendly
Chicken Friendly

Locations:
Manhattan
Laguardia Place, NY, NY - Washington Square Park
3rd Ave - Murray Hill
8th Ave, - Chelsea
2nd Ave – East Village
1st Ave – Upper East Side

Queens
31st Ave – Astoria
31st St. – Astoria
Austin St. – Astoria
Bell Boulevard – Bayside, NY

Brooklyn
7th Ave – Brooklyn, NY

Daily Double!

Happy hump Day everyone! Today’s Daily Double comes straight from Chef Louis Lanza. A brilliant man who has brought flavor to his dishes and to his restaurants! He is the owner/chef of Josie’s East and the owner of Citrus Bar and Grill.

Josie’s East:

An organic menu full of surprises for the non-organic foodie. As a skeptic, I was concerned the flavor would not be intense enough for me, but if you want to eat flavorful, filling, yet healthy food, head to Josie’s on the East Side.

Allergy Info:
Organic Menu (featuring free-range meats, poultry, eggs, eco-friendly seafood, organic grains, beans and flour)
If you are allergic to single or double filtered water, don’t worry, Josie’s filters their water a whopping 3 times!

Addresses:

37^th and 3^rd

Foodie Rundown:
Who doesn’t like Mango Salsa? Good thing the Thai Chilli-Seared Wild Shrimp is covered in it!

Can’t go wrong with dumplings, either the Steamed Organic Belgian Potato & Broccoli Dumplings or the Black Bean Dumplings

You won’t be disappointed by the “Un-Fried” in the Shrimp “Un-Fried” Organic Brown Rice Entree (pictured)

Ctirus Bar and Grill:What do you get when you mix Ricky Martin with Jackie Chan? An uncommon duo yet well blended mix of flavors that let your mouth dance with joy. At Ctirus start of your dinner with chips and dip, maybe some sushi, then a nice piece of meat, chicken or fish.

Allergy Info:Difficult for seafood / shellfish allergies

Addresses:

Get out the subway map, heading uptown to 75^th and Amsterdam for this one

Foodie Rundown:
Trio of Dips – Share with friends

Surf & Turf Roll will change your life, last I checked, shrimp tempura and filet mignon go very well together

Lobster & Shrimp Salad Roll is as refreshing as this menu

Any dish with the Coffee BBQ Sauce is a must!