Animal and Appetite Friendly

I eat meat. Poultry, pork, fish, lamb. I’m placing my order for filet mignon as my entrée at a friend’s wedding in June. But, when some friends gathered together to celebrate this weekend at Blossom, an organic vegan restaurant situated in Chelsea, I found myself surprisingly eager to partake in the intriguing menu offerings consisting of gourmet, meat-free cuisine. To kick off the festivities, we ordered appetizers to share: impressively rich ravioli with cashew cream, golden black-eyed pea cakes served with chipotle aioli, and seitan skewers. Since I aim to be an ever-evolving food enthusiast, prior to meeting at Blossom I had to research quite a few of the unfamiliar menu items. Seitan, I learned, is wheat gluten often used in Japanese and Chinese cuisines as a meat substitute. The skewered seitan at Blossom visually resembled pork, and tasted remarkably much like meat. Crisp, fresh and crunchy jicama slaw accompanied the skewers. I discovered Tempeh is a soy product analogous to tofu only firmer in texture (served at Blossom in a stew). Quinoa is an unusually complete protein grain (served spicy on Blossom’s menu). Continuing our expedition into gourmet organic vegan fare, we ordered a couple of bottles of organic wine and selected our entrees. I settled on the zucchini linguini. This dish, prepared raw as indicated on the menu, includes Portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, vegan parmesan tossed together in a refreshing almond pesto. The deceptively indulgent flavors combined elegantly with the crunch of the cool, fresh ribbons of zucchini. One friend ordered the seitan and wild mushroom stroganoff: porcini, shiitake and Portobello mushrooms with seitan in a succulent stroganoff sauce served over whole wheat fettuccine. Another ordered the phyllo roulade: phyllo dough encasing French lentils and root vegetables, served over a bed of carrot cream sauce. Finally, Blossom treated the table to a silky plate of chocolate ganache. Prices range from $18-$22 an entrée, indeed worth every dollar spent at this delightful, animal-friendly dining establishment.

Blossom Vegan Restaurant

187 9^th Avenue (between 21^st and 22^nd Streets)

New York, New York 10011

212-627-1144