Dinner: The Heat Made Me Eat Healthy

I have featured Atlas before, but that is because I have a sneaking suspicion this place may be one of my favorite affordable vegetarian/vegan friendly spots in the city. 

Lentil Soup and Smoked Turkey Panini Combo Special

I went here with Melissa and she ordered this one, it came with a side salad and looks pretty darn tasty. Also- a really great deal!

Price: $6.95

Unchicken Tofu Salad

Since is was a sweltering 85 degrees, my body could not take anything heavy, so I opted for a salad. This was mesclan  greens with carrots, olives, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onions, 2 scoops of tofu chicken salad and a vinaigrette dressing. Notice how one scoop is a little differently colored than the other? Weird huh? Will it was still delicious. If you have ever had vegan chicken salad, it tastes exactly like the kind you pick up at Whole Foods in their prepared refrigerated section. Chewy, moist and with small chunks of tofu. Enough unchicken for the salad and to make a sandwich.

Price: $6.75

Verdict: Want a satisfing, healthy, and cheap dinner for under 10 dollars? This is the place for you. They also make crepes and have a wide variety of vegan and non vegan cakes, cookies, and desserts. Just a warning, this place is small and offers no air conditioning in the summer.

Atlas Cafe

73 2nd Avenue

New York, NY 10003

http://www.atlascafenyc.com/home.html

Dinner: Atlas

After work one night my friend Melissa, Nikoma, and David decided to grab dinner at Atlas, a vegan and vegetarian cafe. The place was very small and only had a 4 tables inside and 4 tables outside.  The menu was written in chalk along the wall.  At the counter there were an array of vegan pastries and cakes. I was super excited to try them after dinner!

The outside view

Vegan Tofu Steak Salad

Taste:  They serve it to you with roasted peppers and carrots and a vinegar soy sauce. The tofu was well marinated with soy and spices but was not too salty. The peppers were fresh as was the mesclun leaves. This was a simple, light salad and the portion was huge.

Texture: Crispy fresh salad, crunchy carrots, and the tofu was the extra firm kind that they chopped into long then rectangular squares.

Price: $7.25

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake

Taste:  I am very critical of my red velvet cupcakes since they are (one of ) my favorite sweet treats ever. This was the first vegan red velvet I had, it was a bit too oily but the cream cheese frosting was pretty good (probably made from tofutti or some other vegan cream cheese) The cupcake itself didn't have much if a cocoa taste I love from red velvets, but still satisfied my sweet tooth

Texture: It was very moist and fluffy. It fell apart easily and was best eaten with a fork

Price: $2.50

Vegan Peanut Butter Brownie

Taste:  This was so absolutley AMAZING. One of the best brownies I have ever had, you would have never known it was vegan. The brownie is so chocolaty with chunks of carob/vegan chocolate. The peanut butter had a very sweet flavor and complimented the chocolate perfectly.

Texture: This was a very dense brownie, perfectly chewy and the peanut butter was thick and crumbly.

Price: $2.50
* Just a note, I noticed that this exact brownie is at Satellite Cafe in Philly (the one next to Dock Street Pub) so I'm not sure if there is a company that ships their baked goods to many other vegan places.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this place, the portions were good, the food was fresh. They also make vegan crepes, pancakes, waffles, ravioli and many other super yummy treats.  It is great for a quick cheap and healthy meal.

Atlas Cafe

73 2nd Avenue
(between 1st Ave & 4th St)
New York, NY 10003

www.orderatlascafe.com