Celebrate National Vegan Day at Urban Vegan Kitchen!
I am not vegan. I will never be vegan, but I love eating vegan food, primarily because I love carbs and vegetables. I enjoy trying new vegan spots, and always attempt to get the healthy options, but that never goes as planned. Urban Vegan Kitchen was recommended to me, so I decided to give it a try. The atmosphere was pretty hip with Banksy artwork and photography of animals displayed throughout the restaurant (how fitting!). Downstairs in the basement there's a really cool bar and at night there's live music and DJ's spinning all night long.
The first thing that caught my attention on the menu was the mac and cheese (mostly because I already saw mouthwatering Instagram pics, but also because my boyfriend and I are always suckers for mac and cheese). Of course, I knew there was no cheese in the Mac, but my boyfriend didn't do enough research on the whole vegan lifestyle. He was quite surprised (and upset) when he found out it was made with cashew cheese because he is allergic to cashews. BOO frickady HOO. How unfortunate that I had to eat it all myself. Now before I give too much away, here's a rundown of the rest of the meal:
Mac n’ Cheese: cashew cheese sauce, numu mozzarella, elbow macaroni, smoked paprika and herbed bread crumb topping
Crispy Garlic Broccolini: sautéed broccolini, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, shallots and fried garlic slices
Lasagna: brown rice noodles, housemade marinara, sunflower tofu ricotta, carrots, kale, zucchini, numu mozzarella and cherry tomatoes
This was very good, can't really go wrong with lots of tomato sauce.
UVK Quarter Pounder: roasted mushroom barley patty, crispy fried shallot rings, housemade special sauce, tomatoes, pickles and iceberg lettuce on toasted potato bun with handcut fries
This Veggie Burger was perfect (one of the best I've ever had). I will definitely be back for you UVK QP.
Brownie Sundae: salted caramel ice cream, chocolate, caramel, coconut whipped cream and brownie crumbles
This sundae was insane! It didn't taste vegan, and my boyfriend drilled the waitress to ensure there really was no dairy in that ice cream.
Urban Vegan Kitchen definitely hit the g-spot and gets a 9/10. It is one of the best vegan restaurants I've been to in New York (right up there with my #1 by Chloe). I will definitely be back and encourage people to go for a late dinner so they can check out the downstairs lounge afterwards!
Urban Vegan Kitchen
43 Carmine Street
New York, NY 10014
(646) 438-9939
