Blunching at Blossom

I really don't feel up to the challenge of writing the definitive post on Chelsea's wonderful vegan establishment, but it has been over 24 hours since a handful of SPFers dined at Blossom and something needs to be said. I'm going to have to take advantage of my total boredom and inability to write a paper on encyclopedias right now and shortly relive the experience.

omg i really like blossom and want to go back.

Okay, so Blossom is fairly expensive, and the second bottle of champagne was probably unnecessarily lavish. But sometimes, in new york, you just have to sacrifice eating for the rest of the week so you can pretend to be in an episode of sex and the city.

While my french toast was pretty badass, I'm kind of plagued with regret for not getting the tofu scramble. But k and eLs insisted upon it and I'm pretty opposed to more than half of the table getting the same dish. At the time, I also thought it was unacceptable to get beet salad for the second time this week, and I'm realizing that was silly of me because now I can't stop thinking about it. Also, that chocolate thing that the people at the table next us caught me shamelessly lusting over would be cool right about now.

Basically, I have a lot of unfinished business at Blossom.

vegan taco!

image from freewilliamsburg.com


last night, p and i went to taco chulo - a "taco bar and margarita lounge" in williamsburg. their ingredients are very fresh, and you are able to make many crucial choices: which salsa you want, rice or potatoes, etc. i actually used to live on the same block (grand between marcy and havemeyer), but i always walked the extra few feet to lodge. mistake!

let's start with the drinks. p was good with his 32 oz. bottle of tecate, which was really entertaining to watch him drink. i had a couple of the house strawberry margaritas. now for my taco chulo margarita rant:

last time i ate at taco chulo, i had three frozen margaritas and didn't feel a thing. i asked the waitress about this, and she said that frozen margaritas are 90% water and that being much less alcoholic is their nature. while i'm not sure that i believe this completely (i've gotten drunk at chili's guys), and even though i really prefer frozen, i went ahead and ordered them unfrozen. it was delicious and obviously made with fresh strawberries. next time, i might try a beer cocktail. they have a lot of them, and they all sound pretty delicious.

now for the food. oh, the food. vegan mexican fare is hard to find, unless you customize a taco or a burrito to the point where it's just beans and lettuce. taco chulo has two vegan options, and is kind enough to mark them as such on the menu. i had a conejo taco, which was $4.50 and contained the following: whole beans, cabbage, salad mix, guacamole, rice, pico salsa, tofu sour cream. it came as a heaping pile of ingredients atop a couple tortillas, which i prefer as you're able to experience it as more of a salad before it becomes a taco. it was incredible, and the tofu sour cream (which i've always been curious about) was unobtrusive but necessary. all in all i'd give this taco a rating of mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. and for the omnivore's info: p had a chorizo taco and smacked his lips many, many times, so i'm pretty sure he loved it.

the only real problem with taco chulo is waitstaff. the service was very good in the beginning, but quickly went downhill. our waitress completely forgot about our order of chips and salsa, so it didn't come out until after the tacos. kind of awkward. it also took a very long time for us to get our check, which is one of my serious pet peeves. i don't mind if the food is slow to come out, but i get antsy if the check takes a long time.

as annoying as the service was, i really don't think it would prevent me from coming back for another conejo taco! delicious. i'd like to go back and try the other vegan taco soon if any other SPFs are interested!

spicy tortilla soup

a while ago, i decided that it would be fun/beneficial to try being vegan for a month. i needed to wait until the holidays were over so that i didn't have to forego such treats as greek salads from greek isle, delicious sandwiches from wildflower cafe, and p's mom's homemade white cheddar mac & cheese. well, we just got back last night and i had my first vegan meal: spicy tortilla soup. i took it pretty much directly from this recipe, except my grocery store did not have vegetable broth so i had to use a broth/water mix. i also omitted the toppings, but i can totally imagine the soup being a little better with them.

here are some pictures:



the first time i've ever had the opportunity to use my immersion blender!



all done!