Hello, friends! Do I dare allow myself to think spring is finally here? I don't know about you but I have spring fever!!! The trees are starting to blossom and I can leave the house without taking an hour to put on eleven layers of clothing. But besides that I am inspired to eat more healthy foods. During the winter months if it isn't either covered in cheese or frosting I don't want it. But when the warm breezes begin blowing the garbage around New York I start making healthier choices. (No no...I love New York and am not afraid to shout it from the rooftops!)
Today I found myself wondering what to have for lunch. I usually keep a mental list of places I have been meaning to try so when the time comes I can choose something off that list at any given neighborhood. Is this a foolproof system? No. I often drag poor Greg around in search of some imaginary bistro insisting, "I know there is this adorable French place right around here."
But today the system paid off. Hooray! I was working in the midtown area and had seen a casual vegetarian place called "Otarian". In fact it had made it onto the mental checklist but I'd never gotten around to going. So today was the day. I looked first at the website and was smitten. It was created by Radhika Oswal whose philosophy is to create a more sustainable planet and to eliminate the negative effects of livestock production. My fellow vegetarians, we all know what a horror the meat/livestock industry is and Otarian provides a very wide range of dishes that are meat-free and also help to decrease our carbon footprints. The ingredients are local and never air-freighted and each item lists the CO2 footprint right on the menu. Also, the materials used in the restaurant are good for the planet. The chairs are made in an ancient southern African technique of weaving recycled plastic onto recycled aluminum frames. But not only that - the floor, tables, ceiling lamps are all made from recycled materials as is the packaging for the food.
Speaking of the food...isn't that the reason I set food onto their recycled floor? When I walked in I immediately saw a refrigerated display with beautiful and fresh sandwiches, fruit salads and desserts. Being a chocolate lover, I grabbed a chocolate crunch bar. Beside that was a small salad area where they offered a tabouli salad and a mozzarella, tomato and avacado salad. It was all very bright and beautiful and lightly dressed so I wouldn't even dare call it a salad bar which brings connotations of heavily dressed wilting pools of gunk that had once been a vegetable in a former life. Finally I looked at the menu and got even more excited. Even though the food wasn't flown in from around the world, the recipes must have been. There was a Vegetable Biryani with a yogurt cucumber dip, Spicy Vegetable noodles, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna and various meatless burgers. This wasn't your average soy burger at all! There was a Portabello mushroom burger, a Potato Spinach burger and (the one I chose) a Lentil Mushroom burger. Mind you, there are plenty more things on the menu. I am only naming a few. Each had an egg-less mayonnaise aioli dressing and lots of fabulous burger toppings. Mine had lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar and lots of good pickles. It came with a spicy Chipotle mayo but I am a wimp so I changed it for a Dijon mayo dressing and it was amazing! There was a subtle taste of cumin in the lentils. It definitely satisfied that burger craving but you know you are eating something really healthy. You can choose between a white or wheat bun and my wheat bun was soft and fresh but held up to the goodies within. They also serve fries and various desserts. My chocolate crunch bar was so decadent and amazing! It was like a buttery shortbread cookie with chocolate running through it and a slab of dark chocolate on top.
They have two locations in NYC and two in London. Check it out and let me know what you think! You can look into it at www.otarian.com.
I will be back tomorrow to talk about Passover. I have some wonderful vegetarian Passover recipes to share with you.
Have a lovely day!
Love,
Robina
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