Veggie Tales!

This is one of my all time favorite restaurants in NYC. I have been to 2 out of the 3 locations in the city (west village and Chelsea) and they have yet to let me down.

Westville, is known for being fresh, simple, vegetarian and vegan friendly! Their mom and pop style restaurant is a local hot spot that I frequent. They have a great menu full of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, hot dogs and veggies. The veggies are daily specials and are definitely my favorite part of the menu, (and I'm totally not a vegetarian) they are always fresh and delicious!

Allergy Info:
Vegetarian Friendly
Vegan Friendly
Nut Friendly

Foodie Rundown:
Greek Salad - Salad portions are huge, which is great for a dinner salad!
Veggie Chili – my parents love this!
Grilled Cheese: Cheddar / Gouda blend melted on a Portuguese muffin (with bacon) – this will just melt in your mouth, fat kid style (see picture)

Veggies (Note – these vary by location / day but here are some of my favs)
Arichoke Hearts with Parmesan
Soy Glazed Green beans
Broccoli with Garlic
Honey Dijon Brussel Sprouts – another brussel sprout award from Foodergie! (these will totally clear out your sinuses, so make sure you like Dijon!)
Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella
Korean Cucumber Salad – So fresh, great during the spring / summer!


Locations:
Chelsea - 18th between 7th and 8th
East Village - Avenue A and 11th
West Village – Bleeker and West 4th (this one only has about 8 tables, so try and go at an off time so you don’t have to wait too long!)

Daily Specials are listed on Westville’s website, they also deliver, so make sure you check the delivery map! http://www.westvillenyc.com/

As seen on serious eats! http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2011/07/a-sandwich-a-day-grilled-cheese-with-bacon-an.html

Bagel Magic

So before I rave about all the allergy friendly options here, the innovativeness, and the absolutely pure genius of providing a “salad” type bar for your cream cheese mix ins, this place is a goldmine.

Vic’s Bagel Bar has over 15 types of fresh bagels that will be sure to delight your hangover on Sunday morning. The whole wheat everything bagel will never disappoint, and for those who are more carb conscious, the whole wheat everything Flagel (a flat bagel) will give you all the satisfaction of eating a carb filled bagel.

Moving onto the cream cheese. The cream cheese bar, is by far, the best part of Vics Bagel Bar. Choose your base, regular, low, or no fat cream cheese. And choose mix ins from the following :
Take big breath now!
Bananas
Carrots
basil
sprinkles
raisins
cucumber
dill
chocolate chips
tomatoes
broccoli
parsley
potato chips
red onion
corn
cilantro
kosher bacon bits
green peppers
chickpeas
scallions
strawberries
pesto
wasabi
za'atar
blueberries
roasted red peppers
edamame
feta

Wow! There are still more??? Breathe in…

mangoes
black olives
bbq sauces
goat cheese
walnuts
sundried
capers
cheddar
cheese
cashews
tomatoes
avocado
bacon
Chopped lox
grilled chicken

Ok so from all of these mix-ins you can put into your cream cheese, you can have a different customized bagel anytime you go Vics. The best news? Is that they now offer a GLUTEN FREE BAGEL!

Oh, did I mention that they deliver? So if you’re hungover and can’t leave your apartment, order 2 bagels to meet the delivery threshold (yes, I’ve done this before), freeze a bagel and eat the other!

Allergy Info:
Please mention any allergies to the guys behind the counter, they are very accommodating
Gluten Free Bagels!
Flagels (carb conscious)

Foodie Rundown:
Many different options, but here are a few that I tend to see…
Bagel: Whole wheat everything
Base: no fat cream cheese
Mix-ins: scallions, cucumbers and sundried tomatoes

Bagel: Blueberry bagel
Base: low fat cream cheese
Mix-ins: strawberries, blueberries and mangoes

Bagel: Whole wheat everything bagel
Base: cream cheese
Mix-ins: lox, scallions and capers

Location:
544 3rd Avenue (Cross Street 36th St)

Order online at Seamless Web! (www.Seamlessweb.com)

http://vicsbagelbar.com/

Eddie’s Pizza...Yummmm

So you have a pizza craving, but don’t want to feel like a slob after lunch? Do you want something delicious? If so, Eddie’s Pizza Truck, the thinnest of thinnest crust pizza, comes with a variety of toppings! The meat lover, the vegetarian, the BBQ lover, can all be happily fed with Eddie’s.

Allergy Info:
Eddie’s Trucks USED to have gluten free crust, but due to a low demand, they don’t usually carry them anymore. If you are gluten free and think Eddie should carry the gluten free crust, tweet at him @EddiesPizzaNY and tell him @foodergie said so! :-p I'm sure he won't mind!
Vegetarian Pie
Make your own pie! For any allergy issues
*note pesto is on the menu

Foodie Rundown:
Eddie’s Favorites – Comes with all the meat you could dream of, including: Sausage, meatballs, pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers and onions (pictured)
Pesto - a light crisp summer pie, with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil! (pictured)

Location:
Permanent location in Hyde Park
Food Truck! For the complete sightings and locations of Eddie’s Food Truck, check out their website http://www.eddiespizzany.com/ or follow them on Twitter (@EddiesPizzaNY)

Travel Thursday - BBQ all year round?

So you want to have a hamburger or hotdog, but it’s either pouring or negative degrees out, or any undesirable weather issue that prevents you from firing up that grill! Well, travel out to Paramus, NJ and head over to the Fireplace! They have the best hot dogs, hamburgers in the tri-state area! They make fast food fresh and delicious so you can forget McDonalds or Burger King, and eat some REAL fast food.

The Fireplace has an amazing reputation in northern NJ. They have been around over 53 years! I’m not even kidding you, my parents and their parents have been going to the fireplace forever! Not only do they have these BBQ delights, they have turkey burgers, veggie burgers and chicken patty’s for all different allergy and food preference variations.

Allergy Info:
Turkey Burgers
Veggie Burgers
All meat is cooked on premises
Milkshakes are made with REAL milk
Soups are made on premises (from scratch!)
NO trans fat in cooking

Foodie Rundown:
Hot Dogs - with all the fixings (which can be found on the side and added at your own discretion)
Cheeseburgers
Recently my mom got a buffalo burger, which was great! Topped it off with some onions and ketchup and was good to go
Onion Rings / French Fry Combo (but the onion rings are better!)
Vanilla Milkshake – you’ll have to roll yourself home after dinner, but it’s ok, you deserve it once in a while!

Address:
718 Route 17 North, NJ,07652 (Right by the Fashion Center)

http://www.thefireplacerestaurant.com/home.html

Cake Heaven!

If you like savory, delicious, melt in your mouth cupcakes and cakes, then you should order your next birthday cake or cupcakes from the Buttercup Bakeshop. I have not tried all the flavors (I really wish I had!), but I do know that the Bakeshop was very accomdoating with my peanut allergy (when I had one). Normally, peanut allergies prohibit the ordering of cakes and cup cakes from normal bakeries, but when I called the Buttercup Bake Shop they promised me that the batter I had chosen had no almond flavoring or nuts of any kind and that any nuts or peanut butter frosting would be kept entirely away from my cake.

What’s even more exciting is that this place delivers anywhere in Manhattan for a small delivery fee. So order your mom’s next birthday cake here (yes, that’s what I did), and I promise it will go over great. The website even allows you to do all the ordering and the customization of colors and text on your cake online! I know you foodies like technologically advanced food websites, who doesn’t?

Allergy Info:
Peanut friendly and DELICIOUS!
*Please note there are nuts in some of their cakes, but the bakery is cautious and happy to accommodate people with allergies, this does not mean that they are completely NUT free!

Foodie Rundown:
Buttercup Golden Layer Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing – I know I say this a lot, but I really think this will change your life, I’m not kidding this time!

Locations:
973 2nd Ave (between 51st and 52nd)
White Plains, NY

http://buttercupbakeshop.com/

It’s Taim…

It’s TIME to get over to a food truck called “The Taim Mobile”. Taim means highly pleasant to the taste or delicious, which is exactly what this food truck delivers. Not only do they have gluten free falafels, but they have a vegetarian and mostly vegan free menu!

So today, my colleague and I ventured to Varick and Grand (see location list here: http://www.taimmobile.com/). We were so happy with our Falafel Sandwiches that we have vowed to make Tuesdays “food truck Tuesday” and head over to this truck every week!

The guys were great, fun, and the service was quick. If you work in Soho or Tribeca (on Tuesdays), definitely head over to Taim and get a falafel sandwich, or probably anything on their menu, because it was delicious!

Schedule for the rest of this week (Week of 7/30) – If you haven’t left yet to find the truck, you’re totally missing out!
Wed 20th St & 5th Ave 11am- 330pm
Thurs World Financial Center, North End Ave at Vesey 11am-3pm
Friday 27th & Park Avenue 11am-330pm
Sat McCarren Park, Williamsburg 11am-?

Allergy Info:
Gluten Free Falafel
Vegetarian
Mostly Vegan

Foodie Rundown:
Falafel sandwich “with everything” – Let’s break this down, the Falafel sandwich has green falafel, hummus, Israeli salad (chopped tomato, cucumber, parsley and lemon mint dressing), pickled cabbage (marinated in a sweet and sour marinade), tahini sauce, S’rug (spicy sauce), Amba (mango chutney), pickles AND peppers! Seriously – it’s like everything but the kitchen sink, leave now to get to tribeca before the truck leaves! I’m not even kidding…have you left yet?

Locations:
Follow Taim on twitter for their most up to date locations (@TaimMobile)
Check out their website for the schedule as well www.taimmobile.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