Vegetarian Trip to NYC

Day 32 -- A Mouth-Watering Trip to New York -- New York, New York by Frank Sinatra

Was fortunate to take a trip out to New York City this weekend. It was the perfect opportunity to treat my inner-vegetarian foodie. My number one priority when traveling besides seeing the sights is filling my belly with the best food that the area has to offer. As most of you know, New York is the place to check out for any food obsessed individual out there.

Before heading out, I mapped out a few budget-friendly places that I wanted to try out. So if you find yourself in the Big Apple soon, check out a few of these vegetarian spots. (Rating Scale: One tofu cube being the lowest and 5 tofu cubes being the highest).

Spice in East Village

Some colleagues took me over here, praising it for its affordable Thai cuisine. Spice is certainly one of those stereotypical she-she NYC restaurants, where they could sucker you into paying for cupped air. Though, the interior is on the swanky side; the food is actually quite affordable. (But a bit on the pricey side for lunch. Average menu item is around 12 bucks).

You get a free appetizer with your lunch here; so make sure to mention that to your server. For an app, I ordered the vegetable steamed dumplings. There was nothing remarkable about them, but were somewhat worth the calories.

For an entree, I believe I ordered the drunken spicy noodles with Tofu. This dish proved that this Thai restaurant deserves its real estate space in the Village. The noodles were uniquely shaped like grilled calamari or something. The tofu was perfectly prepared and took in the great, spicy sauce.

Spice gets 3 out of 5 tofu cubes.

Taqueria el Fogon in Buswick Brooklyn, NY

This small Taqueria definitely doesn't see its share of tourists, being hidden in an industrial and less than picturesque neighborhood in Brooklyn. But that's what makes this restaurant so charming. The servers don't understand a word of English, but generally get what you're saying with a few hand motions and points to the menu.

I ordered a vegetarian burrito with a side of green salsa. Not to quote Rachel Ray, but this place was yum-o and dirt cheap! I got a water and a burrito, the size of my head, for around 7 bucks. I really didn't notice that any meat was missing from this dish. My friend sat in awe as I housed the burrito in about 5 minutes.

4 out of 5 tofu cubes

Le Barricou in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC

This charming, French restaurant sits in Brooklyn's hipster neighborhood, Williamsburg. Walking into this place was like stepping into a scene out of a Roaring 20s film. The interior was completely comforting and historic of those prohibition days.

Not gonna lie, I had a major challenge of will power with the primarily seafood dish menu. Seafood is like my kryptonite. So if you feel like cheating one day, check out the mussels and sea-friendly dishes. Don't stress, I fought my temptations off and stuck to a vegetarian dish. I grabbed the vegetable risotto, which was quite delicious. According to the server, Le Barricou uses seasonal items in this dish, so mushrooms were the main component.

Everything down from the complimentary olives to the excellent service, makes this place a must-stop for vegetarians or not. Also, the prices were very affordable. My dish was only 12 bucks.

4 out of 5 tofu cubes (bad veggie options, but that's not why you go here).

Fan of NYC? Post a comment on some vegetarian-friendly places I should check out!