I heart NY

I have been back from NYC for a few days now and have only just been able to get my head together enough to write about it.

I had written myself a list of places to eat when we got to the Big Apple but, with much sadness, I can report that neither of us had much of an appetite. I can say that I did some stand out meals:

First night - spinach and goats cheese salad at Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway. One of the most simple meals ever: a bowl of spinach leaves tossed in olive oil, a small amount of creamy goats cheese, a sprinkling of caramelised walnut halves and 4 thin slices of pear. Fantastic flavours, wonderfully light and nutritious. All served with entertainment too, this diner is staffed by Broadway wannabe's who sing throughout the evening as though it's an ongoing audition (well you never know who's in the audience!)

The one thing that I love about America is that you can get pizza by the slice. Being pretty much restricted to margheritas at least I am not spoilt for choice! The thinnest of thin slices are to be had in NYC, no wonder their pizza parlours are so popular.

Rogue Bar and Restaurant deserves a special mention. They are very veggie friendly and provide great service. The food was absolutely delicious (I had nachos for starter followed by their veggie burger) and their menu is sure to have something for the majority of people. Despite being a sports bar this is no dive, it's clean and airy and a delightful space to eat - but men are likely to get distracted by the many TVs showing a wide variety of sports!

Da Nico in the heart of Little Italy provides a fairly limited menu for vegetarians but I had the most delicious grilled vegetable panini ever. They have a delightful outdoor patio area which is so airy you'd hardly imagine you're in the middle of a bustling metropolis. Each meal is followed by lumps of fried doughnut dough which is sprinkled with icing sugar - very moreish!

We had to leave NYC in a bit of a rush as our flight was cancelled, such a disappointment! I'd been hoping to try out a couple more hotspots on our last day but this wasn't an option. Our final meal was a bit of a rush-and-go affair, we went to the first place we saw and were thankful that there was a vegetarian option! It was an absolute pleasure however to have our final meal at Rickshaw Dumpling Bar on Lexington Avenue. I had the vegetarian bento box - 4 edamame dumplings with white rice and a tub of Asian greens. Everything was delicious, the food was incredibly reasonably priced and the staff were friendly. I hated having to decline a loyalty card! Thank you Rickshaw!

And that's pretty much it for my NYC food adventure. Not as adventurous as I may have liked but with all of the sightseeing it was always going to be difficult to fit all of the food in (you don't know where you're going to see until you get there!) I heart you New York - I'll be back!

Eating out in London

I absolutely love trying new places to eat when I'm visiting London for a day but sometimes I find it's better for planning purposes to think ahead. For this reason I have some 'go to' places across central London where I know that I, and anyone travelling with me, will be happy to eat. This weekend my 'go to' was Tibits on Heddon Street. Heddon Street is a small pedestrian area full of eateries just off of Regents Street. What makes Tibits so different is that it's an exclusively vegetarian buffet where you help yourself to anything from the giant "food boat" and pay by the weight of your plate (plus a bread roll which comes with every plate). This may sound weird but if you apply logic when loading up your plate it's pretty easy to see if your plate will be a cheaper meal or more expensive one. As for the food itself: celery salad sits alongside beluga lentil salad, onion rings alongside Asian glass noodle salad, potato wedges alongside Moroccan spiced carrots. Such is the variety of things they offer you may not get the same thing every day and the menu changes with the seasons. The staff are friendly, even on manically busy days like yesterday, and the restaurant is clean and stylish.

In the name of research I even tried out the sticky toffee pudding and traditional cheesecake - both absolutely scrummy!

Tibits also operate a loyalty card scheme by which you get a free glass of fresh juice when you buy your 6th meal. I got my free glass yesterday!

I also took the opportunity to visit the Real Food Festival. This festival takes place on weekends behind the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank. I wasn't sure what to expect but what I found was a diverse range of stalls offering hot food to enjoy there and cakes, breads, cheeses and meats to take home. Riverford Organic was there selling fresh veg and promoting their veg box scheme and John Quilter the food busker was doing his thing in front of a tv camera (hopefully I'll find out when that's being broadcast). I got some baklava from an Lebanese stall as well as some gorgeous spring greens and sanguinello oranges from Riverford. I look forward to my next London trip where I hope to find some new recommendations!