Visiting and Eating Veggie in NYC

I recently returned from a week-long trip to NYC.  I love NYC… the energy, the vibe, the people, the food.  I used to live in NYC about 15 yrs ago…  how time flies.  I still consider NYC the Capital of the World and, as such, it has the best of everything and the worst of everything.  I returned home to San Juan because there was a point in my life when I was focusing on that worst side… now I choose to concentrate on the best side of NYC.  And I love it…

I love the corner markets full of produce and seasonal flowers…  I love to see all the produce out there for people to buy and cook that same night.   

I love to use efficient public transportation and to shop through the streets of a city… without having to go inside a mall.  My dad taught me how to move in NYC using the subway and buses at an early age.  At the time, I did not know how handy that has become when I turned into an adult.  I am the go-to-person to direct people when they’re traveling in NYC – I even gave a class to a friend of mine this time around on how the streets and avenues are organized…  she lives in NJ and I live a 3:30hr flight away.

I love its cultural side and almost always try to visit a museum or see a musical.  My favorite museum is the MoMA.  I tried to get tickets to see In the Heights, but my schedule did not allow it.  In previous trips, I was able to see Wicked with its original cast twice, the first time on the second row dead in center stage, Avenue Q, The Producers, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Hairspray, Cats, among others.

It’s sometimes hard to believe, but when I lived in NYC I did not appreciate its diversity in food.  Now, even though I am vegetarian, I have a better palate and better appreciation of its restaurants and markets available in the city.  Something I definitely love about NYC is how open and accepting they are of vegetarians.  Not only are there many vegetarian and vegan restaurants to choose from in almost any neighborhood in Manhattan, what I love is the availability of vegetarian options in many non-vegetarian restaurants.  Here is an example of a restaurant in 14^th street with 7 vegetarian sandwich options – exactly like in PR, huh?

I met with a friend from my days of living in Chicago, he suggested we had lunch at Josie’s, located on 3^rd Ave and 36^th street.  To my surprise, the menu included about 7-8 options for me to choose from – from soups, to sushi rolls, burgers made with soy or portobellos.  Something that caught my eye was the Juice Bar, where you can create your own freshly squeezed juice made from up to 4 of these options – apple, bell pepper, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, ginger, spinach, tomato or arugula.  I ordered their Butternut Squash soup with organic basil/pumpkin seed pesto, labeled as vegetarian and dairy free and a delicious and refreshing Mango Lemonade.

In the next couple of weeks I will be sharing with you my visits to various NYC markets, my visits to several vegetarian restaurants and some other adventures in this trip.  What’s your favorite place or thing about NYC??  I would love to hear what u think…