House of Vegetarian and Ferrara
Jim Crocker, game and comics retailer extraordinaire, is forever being overlooked at game industry buffets and functions, sending up the forlorn cry of "Is there a vegetarian option?" in the meat-centric hubs of Las Vegas or Columbus or Indianapolis. As former vegetarians ourselves, Chris and I are sympathetic to his plight. (Ask Pramas sometime about the french fry sandwiches from the European vegan punk rock tour...)
Upon learning that Jim was going to be at NYCC, Chris had wanted to take him out to Vegetarian Paradise and I was heartily in favor as I'd eaten there before myself and was quite impressed with their mock meat dishes. If I'd had the access of ability to create mock duck or pork dishes like those, I might have kept to a more vegetarian lifestyle myself all these years. Anyway, Steve, Jim, Chris and I walked down to Mott Street with House of Vegetarian in mind as a back-up in case VP was no longer there, which ended up being the case.
House of Vegetarian didn't let us down. I've read some pretty savage reviews online of HoV and all I can say is they weren't eating what I was eating. The "pork" and peanuts house special was amazing, the orange "beef" and broccoli was out of this world. We also had a realistic approximation of General Tso's "chicken" and a dish of soft tofu and crispy noodles that I've forgotten the name of but enjoyed completely. When the portions were set in front of us we worried that we'd ordered too much but couldn't stop picking and nibbling even after we were "done" until eventually we ate it all.
After dinner Jim wondered aloud if there might be a dessert option nearby and Chris willingly steered us toward Little Italy, where we stumbled into Ferrara and succumbed to the clarion call of pastries. Ferrara claims to be the oldest espresso bar in America, established in 1892. I had an eclaire and tiramisu martini that were to die for, while the guys engaged in other sorts of creamy and/or chocolate decadence. Despite being completely sated by House of Vegetarian, it was impossible to resist the assortments Ferrara presented. Excellent, excellent stuff. Open late and highly recommended.
Upon learning that Jim was going to be at NYCC, Chris had wanted to take him out to Vegetarian Paradise and I was heartily in favor as I'd eaten there before myself and was quite impressed with their mock meat dishes. If I'd had the access of ability to create mock duck or pork dishes like those, I might have kept to a more vegetarian lifestyle myself all these years. Anyway, Steve, Jim, Chris and I walked down to Mott Street with House of Vegetarian in mind as a back-up in case VP was no longer there, which ended up being the case.
House of Vegetarian didn't let us down. I've read some pretty savage reviews online of HoV and all I can say is they weren't eating what I was eating. The "pork" and peanuts house special was amazing, the orange "beef" and broccoli was out of this world. We also had a realistic approximation of General Tso's "chicken" and a dish of soft tofu and crispy noodles that I've forgotten the name of but enjoyed completely. When the portions were set in front of us we worried that we'd ordered too much but couldn't stop picking and nibbling even after we were "done" until eventually we ate it all.
After dinner Jim wondered aloud if there might be a dessert option nearby and Chris willingly steered us toward Little Italy, where we stumbled into Ferrara and succumbed to the clarion call of pastries. Ferrara claims to be the oldest espresso bar in America, established in 1892. I had an eclaire and tiramisu martini that were to die for, while the guys engaged in other sorts of creamy and/or chocolate decadence. Despite being completely sated by House of Vegetarian, it was impossible to resist the assortments Ferrara presented. Excellent, excellent stuff. Open late and highly recommended.
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