Review: 00 + Co

 So I’ve never found a super creative amazing vegan pizza in London so I knew that when I heard about 00 +co in New York I had to stop by!

Whenever I get pizza, I tend to go for the marinara or anything with lots of vegetables with no cheese. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of fake cheeses that weirdly taste sweet to me – I would rather go sans cheese  and taste all the amazing ingredients (if you’re in London, you’ve got to try Franco Manca for the best marinara ever) or have a homemade nut cheese on top.

00 + co really stood out to me as their menu is so inventive and uses lots of interesting ingredients. Although they all sounded so delicious, I settled for the margarita with homemade cashew mozzarella on top. OH MY GOD. I really can’t even describe how good it was. I haven’t had a margarita in about 2 or 3 years and this totally made up for it.
The dough was crispy but doughy and cooked perfectly with bits of Maldon salt on top for extra flavour.
The tomato sauce was perfectly balanced, sweet and salty and actually tasted of truly ripe tomatoes.
And the main star of the show – the cheese. In my opinion the consistency was more similar to that or mascarpone than mozzarella, but it was to die for. My mum didn’t even realise that there was no dairy in this pizza until I told her after and saying she was completely shocked and speechless is an understatement.

I couldn’t recommend 00 + co enough, it’s definitely my favourite pizza spot in New York (well… Manhattan, because there are apparently some spots in Brooklyn that I need to check out next time like Vinnie’s and Screamer’s). If you have a chance, definitely go! Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or meat eater, I have no doubt you will be pleasantly surprised by this place!

00 + co
Address: 65 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003, United States
Tel.: +1 212-777-1608
Website: https://matthewkenneycuisine.com/hospitality/double_zero/

Advertisement

Review: Hemsley + Hemsley Cafe

I met the lovely Hemsley sisters on their ‘Good and Simple’ book shoot last year (wow, how time flies!) and I’ve been eager to try out their cafe ever since I heard about it (especially after trying their food and knowing how delicious it was)! I’m such a big fan of their ethos of eating whole foods that do good and make you feel good.

Their cafe, situated on the new Body studio on the third floor at Selfridges, embodies their positive attitude towards healthy eating with bright and flavoursome dishes.
They have a wide range of choices to cater for any dietary needs. I’ve heard that the slow cooked chicken stew with cauliflower rice is particularly delicious and the salmon burger in the flaxseed bun caught my eye. However, on the particularly sunny day in London I was craving a salad. Knowing the Hemsley sisters, I knew I was in for a treat.
Because of the many choices (it was too hard to pick just one!) I went for the mix of the three: puy lentil salad with thinly sliced beetroot, tart apple, dried cranberries with a light maple vinaigrette; sesame soba and carrot noodles; and quinoa with roasted vegetables and brazil nut pesto.

I loved that I was able to try all three and the generous portion for £10 was a steal! My favourite was definitely the quinoa with roasted vegetables. It was packed with different flavours and textures and the pesto added a basil punch to the dish. Next time, I will definitely opt for a large serving of this.

They had a range of drinks and I went for the hardcore green juice as I’m a sucker for it when I see it on a menu! It was filled with green vegetables and herbs which gave it a lovely light flavour. Don’t worry, if you’re not so keen on the liquid vegetables, they also have a range of smoothies and hot drinks.
As well as this, of course they have some desserts options such as chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake and their famous paradise bars.

I highly recommend checking out the cafe as it’s a place that anyone can go and enjoy the food on offer. Although their food is free from gluten, grains and refined sugar, the meals they serve are packed  with flavour and substance and their wide range allows anyone to enjoy the food. But be warned that it’s very small so I would say to go early if you want to get a seat!

Hemsley + Hemsley Cafe
Website: No website, but read more about it here.
Address: 400 Oxford Street, Marylebone, London W1U 1AB
Opening Hours:

The Best Kaiseki Meal in Tokyo: Innsyoutei

If you go down to the woods today you’ll find a big surprise…

Nestled into the depths of Ueno park, you’ll find a beautiful traditional restaurant – Innsyoutei.

It’s almost like a treehouse, hidden within the growth of trees and the beautiful natural surroundings.
The view from the seating area is incredible – if you dine upstairs, you get the view of the park and the trees surrounding you, amost as if you are enclosed in a secret room!

I was lucky enough to have the traditional course meal of kaiseki ryori. It was my first time having it and I’m hooked – not only is the food and harmony of flavours incredible but the beauty of each dish comes through and everything is so intricatly plated.

Also, can we just take a moment to look at the placemat?! It is probably the most beautiful piece of paper ever.

We first started with a plate of bite sized foods. At the top, we have an amazing creamy salad made with cucumber and sesame. Next to that was an incredible namafu dengaku – chewy wheat gluten topped with rich and sweet miso. a piece of what seemed to be frittata bursting with fresh summer vegetables, lemon flavoured sweet potato and a piece of plum to cleanse the palate.

The next course (unpictured) consisted of a slice of winter melon and light king prawn dumpling which was so light and in a smooth dashi broth. I’m normally not one for dumplings in soup as I find that they are soggy, but this was truly another experience!

Speaking of experience, the picture above shows my first yuba experience – almost like burrata, it melts in your mouth while remaining creamy and rich.

The sashimi we got next couldn’t be more fresh – the squid melted in your mouth whilst I was lucky that my two favourite fish came out – tuna and yellowtail, both of which had incredible flavour and texture: so simple yet delicious dipped in soy sauce.

The next fish course was a salt grilled mackerel fillet that was perfectly oily and tender and delicious when paired with the two sides: grated daikon with knotweed to give a fresh and almost mint like flavour and the baked okara (a salad made from the by product of tofu – much tastier than I described it!).

Before heading onto the final course, we had a chilled chawanmushi (egg custard) that was pudding like and so wobbly yet easy to eat and flavoured with the perfect amount of dashi.
The final savoury course consisted of deep, dark and rich miso and some light pickles that came with the large pot of rice that got placed on the table. The rice was cooked in a traditional pot and filled with fresh corn, scallops and herbs to give the most fragrant rice!

Ofcourse no meal is complete without dessert and although I only pictured the matcha mousse here, I actually loved the more traditional wagashi of a mochi like substance, made of wheat, filled with red bean paste.

Innsyoutei is definitely a restaurant where I’ll be back – the food and the service was top quality (nothing less than expected in a beautiful restaurant like this)! They are also known for their nabe dishes where you cook chicken and vegetables in a shabu shabu like manner, so I guess I’ll have to go back to try that! 😉