Review: By CHLOE

 The best vegan restaurant in the bizz? Quite possibly.

I went here 5 times on a 20 day trip to New York. 5 TIMES. GUYS. Seriously, that’s pretty much an addiction. lol. But I’m actually obsessed.

 I went with pretty high hopes the first time (and the decor was gorgeous. so aesthetic. (I’m joking, but for real)) and it did not dissapoint. Even my mum was like holy hell yum yes please. The first thing I tried was the avocado pesto pasta at the Bleeker Street branch. Creamy, dreamy, avocado-y, basil goodness. I was hooked from the first bite!

So we obviously had the go back and this time went to the Flatiron branch. From my experience, the Bleeker Street branch was so much better as I found everything at Flatiron was really oversalted (I went twice, and both times were ok but not to the amazing standard that the Bleeker street branch had set). I tried the sweet potato mac and cheese (creamy and gorgeous and the shiitake bacon – wow. Legit tasted like real crispy bacon!), kale artichoke dip (good, but salty, passable) and air baked sweet potato fries. Ok. We need to talk about their dips for one sec. Beet ketchup and chipotle aioli. what whaaaat?! Actually amazing and so inventive. 

So then another time I tried their desserts for a little snack. The banana bread was so moist and the chunks of walnuts made it like 10000/10. To be honest, to me it tasted more like a gingerbread cake loaf but in a really good way. Filled with spices and all that cozy good stuff. Buuuut I also tried their kale cookies and cream ice cream and I’ve got to say it was quite meh. It was overly sweet and almond essence flavoured for me (probably because they use almond milk as a base). I personally think you could get a better ice cream from the store or Van Leeuwen.

We also had to try their famous guac burger another time which was real good. Filled with lots of guacamole, sweetcorn and a black bean, sweet potato and quinoa burger. And obviously I loaded it with the chipotle aioli. It was like fast food but made you feel good? Possibly the weirdest explanation ever.

And the final thing I tried (and got TOTALLY hooked on) was their quinoa taco salad. If you go, you need to get this. I would literally eat this everyday if I could. If you have an image of a sad salad with cucumber and salad tomatoes in your head, GET THAT SHIZ OUT! This is hearty and packed with flavour. Spicy seitan chorize (this seriously scarily had the texture and taste of spiced ground beef. so weird), avocado, cherry tomatoes, crispy tortilla chips and a quinoa and bean salad (a salad on top of a salad!!) all on top of a lettuce dressed perfectly with an agave lime vinaigrette. Oh, and topped with the best cashew crema on top. Hell yes. Thinking about it is making me drool.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve said ‘amazing’ or ‘delicious’ in this post but it’s definitely been too many. But honestly it was so amazing and places like this show that plant based food can be flavour packed and inventive and so damn mouth-watering. Honestly, I’m craving it now and its 9am in London. help.

By CHLOE
Address: 85 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012, United States
Tel: N/A
Website: http://bychefchloe.com

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Link Love Sunday

How has everyone’s week been? Mine’s been good but VERY busy (I’ve got two huge deadlines next week! 😮 ) but I did get to go to some galleries this weekend which made up!
Now that the mornings are getting much crisper (aka icy) I’m in need of major comfort food, so here’s some I chose this week!

This roasted kuri squash sounds like fall!

I love the sound of this salad with pearl cous cous and roasted squash!

I would like a big bowl of these red lentils with kale, coconut and crispy shallots please.

This lentil and sweet potato curry seems like a warm blanket on a cold day!

I will never say no to a veggie burger!

This Thai coconut soup looks incredible! (pictured)

Another kuri squash salad, with kale!

This pad thai salad is definitely being made for lunch next week!

These sweet potato noodles with cashew sauce? I’ll dive right in!

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Review: JuiceBaby

I’ve found a new fantastic lunch spot for you all! I know its called JuiceBaby, but they have SO much more to offer!

First of all, the interior is so cute! I love how they have comfy sofas and the sun shines whilst they rest of it has quite a rustic feel and plants dotted around that makes it feel super homely.

I first tried some of the best seller juices, as you can see from the packaging, they are all raw, cold pressed and organic, so it ticks all the boxes. My favourite was definitely the Green Glow (I adore green juices, but if you’re not the biggest fan, they also have a green juice with apple for a touch of sweetness!) – I found the juice super smooth and easy to drink and love the fact that they use seasonal greens.

The next juice, Spicy Immunity, was something a bit different. Unlike any other juice before but it was so refreshing! As you drink it, you get the sweet pineapple flavour that envelopes your mouth, and then you get the hint of cayenne which warms your throat. This is definitely one to try!

The Doctor Carotene and Candy Beets were both great: they were much sweeter than the other two, so perfect for people who are new to juices. They both feature fantastic ingredients that I adore (and the colours are so vibrant)!

Next up was probably the hardest – choosing which salad I wanted to eat! They have such an amazing range and one thing I really love about Juicebaby is that they really put effort into the food. I find that some places focus solely on juices and might have a few snacks or a sad looking pot of zoodles, but here, you’ll find raw taco bowls or falafel bowls. After much consideration, I opted for their Rainbow Buddha Bowl. It was a very generous portion of steamed kale, quinoa, grated beets and carrots, arame, avocado and a miso dressing. Quite a mouthful and so delicious!
I love how they make the most of the fresh ingredients and create something that tastes so good (and is so nourishing for your body!)

Ofcourse I couldn’t stop by without trying something off their breakfast menu so I tried out one of their smoothies and a chia pot.

This smoothie was amazing – I got the Iron Man smoothie which is filled with green powders, bananas, pineapple, almond butter and spinach. This is probably one of the best smoothies I’ve had -it was so smooth and the ingredients are fantastic!
The chia pot was made with almond milk, cinnamon cashew cream, and topped with raspberry chia compote, flaked almonds and coconut. It’s perfect if you’re looking for a protein packed breakfast and super creamy and sweet, for me, it was almost like a dessert (not necessarily a bad thing 😉 )!

They also do a range of sweet treats: all of which are free from dairy, gluten and refined sugar (as is everything there). One of the best sellers is the Caramel Bar and I can see why – the taste and the texture is that of millionaire’s shortbread but about 100 times better!
Unpictured is also their almond milk which they make in house. They have a variety of flavour from cacao to coffee and vanilla, which is the one I opted for. Its naturally sweet and perfect to make oatmeal with to give a lovely creamy and rich texture or even just a glass on its own!

I really love Juicebaby and I feel like they have captured a really great ethos and are creating wonderful things. I can’t wait to go back and try the rest of their ever growing menu!

Juicebaby
Wesbite: http://www.juicebaby.co.uk/index/
Address: 398 Kings Road, SW10 OLJ
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday: 8am-7pm, Sunday: 9am-7pm