lifeofapickyfoodie

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Long Island Vegan

I ended up in an insta exchange last night lamenting the poor quality and variety of vegan/vegetarian options on Long Island. As someone who attended undergrad in Ithaca and then lived in LA for three years, I have been super lucky to live in extremely veg friendly climates (even though I live and die by meat, I can still appreciate a scrumptious and filling veg meal!) Additionally, since I don’t eat cheese, I often order vegan options to stay away from dairy. I think the first time I ever felt fully satisfied and excited by a vegetarian meal was at FEED in Venice on Abbot Kinney - #RIP :( , and since then my palate has been shifted to accept alternative types of proteins...sometimes.

Now that I’m back here, thanks to Yelp and Instagram and Google and Zagat (#gangsallhere), I’ve been able to track down some of the best vegetarian friendly restaurants on LI. Being from here, it’s nice to rediscover my homeland through a new lens (a lot of what I’ve been doing these days when I’m not bedridden from missing LA so much). The following are either places I’ve been to, have the largest variety on their menus, or were raved about on blogs/yelp/etc. Any additions / other recs / comments / disagreements are WELCOME!

1) Organically Yours in Northport: Their vegan butternut squash ravioli is off the charts. It’s adorable, has a lil patio, is a market / cafe combo, and I mean, is there anywhere on LI cuter than Northport?

2) The Witches Brew in Hempstead: I have the softest spot in my heart for this place. I grew up here. They are known for desserts, but added a surprisingly great vegan lunch/dinner menu a few years back. Israeli / Med influenced.

3) 3 Brothers Vegan in Copiague 

4) Tiger Lily Cafe in Port Jefferson

5) Bee Organic in Great Neck: This is my hood, so I’m biased, but what a great addition to GN. Although they are not known for service (plan on 20 min here, minimum, even if you’re taking food to go), everything is super fresh and delicious.

6) Food For Thought in Garden City

7) Long Island Super Bowls in Sayville

8) Organic Krush in Woodbury

9) Organic Corner in Massapequa

#Long Island #LI Eats #Nassau County #Suffolk County #Vegetarian #Vegan

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Spartina on Melrose is the best and only newcomer in my hood that I could ever want 💞💕🌟 thanks for fulfilling all my homemade pasta (absolutely NAILED IT with this garganelli) with chicken thigh Marsala ragu dreams that I never knew I always needed ❤️ I'm a huge short rib ragu snob and now I'm just craving chicken! (for those #lactoseintolerant or #dairyallergy nerds out there, they can make pretty much everything without dairy. They were SO accommodating 🙏🏽)

#lactoseintolerant #dairyallergy

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Literally #blessedaf to have the ability to go outside and pick blood oranges and lemons from my fruit trees and make this insanely delicious and gorgeous frozen treat 💕 -- look at that natural color!!!! (especially whilst trying to kick this flu cold cough hybrids butt!) (at Fairfax)

#blessedaf

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Some #Mondayspiration for y'all. This was a few days ago but oh how I wish it was right now! ps - if you haven't ever had @fonuts on your tastebuds, you're wrong about everything. (My favorite is the strawberry buttermilk but pictured are the raspberry and vanilla latte at the beautiful lovely @kitchenmousela in #HighlandPark) (at Kitchen Mouse Cafe & Catering)

#highlandpark #mondayspiration

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Sundays are for making your belly, heart, and brain happy 💕 (I mean so are every other day of your life but there's something magical about Sunday - and even more magical when Monday is a national holiday 🎉) (at Backyard Bowls)

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

One of my favorite guilt free breakfasts in LA. @gravitecafe kills it and their bowls are v affordable (aka this wasn't $17) (at Gravité Café)

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Oh my lord. @thekroft in the @packingdistrict in #Anaheim has made magic this holiday season. I was all set to order the Chicken Pot Fries (a chicken pot pie esque Poutine - kill me now) and saw a small, unassuming sign with the words "Ask About Our Holiday Specials." They weren't promoting this but something deep in my soul knew what was waiting for me. A THANKSGIVING POUTINE 😭😭😭 #turkey #friedonions #stuffing #cranberry #gravy #greens #FRIES. The only thing missing was #sweetpotato which we supplemented with the epic #sweetpotatopie from @georgiassoul. I rlly hope this never leaves their menu because omg. And ps - it was THAT good. They didn't skimp on the turkey which was 🙌🏽 (at Anaheim Packing District)

#turkey #gravy #greens #fries #stuffing #anaheim #sweetpotato #cranberry #sweetpotatopie #friedonions

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Best business cards in the game @eatatpot 👏🏽 (the gorgeous greenhouse ambiance doesn't hurt your case, either!) (at Commissary)

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

I meaaaaannnn...... I still haven't gotten over the fact that this exists. A perfect - PERFECT - churro shaped like two discs with horchata latte ice cream smushed in the middle? This is real heaven guys. They could've fucked it up but both the churro and ice cream are 💯 quality. I love u @churroboroughla (at Churro Borough)

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

The Mexican chocolate pie at The Pie Hole in DTLA is offensively rich and delicious. I'm not one for whipped cream - ever - as a reminder, I hate anything white and creamy - but this balanced the richness and density of the chocolate so well. Also, anytime you see vanilla bean specks, I'm game. (at The Pie Hole - Los Angeles)

#the pie hole #los angeles #laeats #la eats #dtla #arts district #pie #mexican hot chocolate

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

The grain bowl from Superba Food and Bread on Lincoln Ave in Venice. I mean, EVERYTHING at superba, who am I kidding. This was my first grain bowl and I'll never look back. (at Superba Food & Bread)

#grain bowl #fried egg #kale #cashews #superba #superba food and bread #venice eats #venice la #los angeles #venice beach #lincoln ave #la eater #la eats #eater la

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

How every morning should start. Free Range food truck and Coffee Commissary 💕 (at Free Range)

#free range #food truck #free range food truck #biscuit #scrambled eggs #avocado #brunch #la brunch #los angeles #fairfax ave #fairfax district #coffee #cafe latte #coffee commissary

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Throwback to #NOLA last year when this Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding (yes, that's a real thing that exists at Boucherie) entered my mouth and at some point left my body but never left my heart 💗💗💗🙈 lol but seriously, yes it was as good as it should be. (at Boucherie)

#nola #breadpudding #krispykreme #boucherie #new orleans #louisians #new orleans eats #nola eats #dessert #nola dessert #donuts #bread pudding #krispy kreme bread pudding

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

You learn so much about yourself and your taste buds when you learn to cook. An enormous part of falling in love with vegetables and things our earth provides us with had to do with me deciding if I was ever gonna spend time making myself dinner in college, I was going to love the outcome. (Moving to LA and having access to the best produce in the world didn't hurt). For someone who has specific tastes (aka picky AF), there's no freedom like expressing yourself in the kitchen, AND only using fresh, real, minimal, healthy ingredients (white rice is the one habit I can't kick so 😒 #middleeasternblood)

This is just some pan fried salmon with crushed ginger and garlic and salt rubbed in. Some baked brussels and butternut squash at around 300 for 30 mins (I always buy frozen because it's SO much easier, so if you want them crunchier bake for 30 and then broil for 10 at 400).

#middleeasternblood #rice #salmon #ginger #garlic #brussels sprouts #butternut squash #squash #autumn eats #autumn cooking #clean eats #my kitchen

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

The Urban Oven at Yamashiro Farmers Market last summer. It's so hard to find a really fucking good quality margherita thin crust pizza in the us and this is for sure one of the best I've had. Or maybe it was the view from this farmers market that takes place on summer evenings at one of LA's best overlooks; I can't be sure. (at The Urban Oven)

#farmersmarket #yamashiro #yamashiro farmers market #los angeles #amazing view #view #night market #food trucks #restaurant

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

It's amazing how enormously the texture of a cup or mug can change the way something tastes. This super dark latte from Toms Roasting Co on Abbot Kinney is served in a clay cup that I just want to drink everything out of for the rest of my life. It actually enhances the beans. Also, this is the low key cutest backyard in LA - bring your laptop and a book (and your 🐶!) and maybe buy a pair of really cute glasses (at TOMS Flagship Store)

#abbotkinney #toms #toms roasting co #toms flagship #venice beach #venice la #venice ca #venice #abbot kinney #coffee #third wave coffee #clay cup #clay #backyard #la eats

[lifeofapickyfoodie]

Omg you guys I knowww Milo and Olive is known for their bread and pizza and garlic knots and anything with #breadbreadbread, but when gnocchi with short rib ragu is on the specials board and these baes can do it without #cheese I'm not NOT ordering it. Yo. This gnocchi was really out of hand. Melt in your mouth potato heaven. Can't wait to go back and try the absolutely psychotic garlic knot that has +/- 10 garlic cloves and half a cup of olive oil inside of it. (at Milo and Olive)

#cheese #breadbreadbread #milo and olive #santa monica #wilshire #santa monica eats #bread #pasta #short rib #gnocci #garlic knots #la eats #samo