A vegan feast

Vegetarian, vegan, locavore… The tutti legumi wave has invaded New York! Inundated with options, you might hardly know where to start. Faced with babas-bobos stereotypes, we have to admit that the 100% vegetables formula is a priori not our gastronomic ideal. So when a vegan restaurant (no meat, no fish, nor any by-products of animal origin) was suggested, we hesitated. But you know what ? We are glad we overcame all our prejudices as Avant Garden is THE discovery that will shake your month of June.

Right away, we were seduced by this East Village restaurant’s industrial facade and its large glass walls. Inside, a massive bar and an open kitchen. We liked the rough charm of the brick walls and the cooking utensils displayed on hanging shelves. A rustic-chic atmosphere in this warm setting paying a special tribute to wood.

In the kitchen, the chef plays at fooling your palate. The cubed beet salad looks astonishingly like a tuna tartare. The faux ceviche of paper-thin Maitake mushrooms definitely shares some attributes with a scallop dish – in the mouth, the same freshness and very similar flavors. You cannot feel guilty ordering from this all-green menu: carrot-harissa toast; farro risotto dotted with butternut squash and flavored with sage leaves; fennel hummus chaperoned by orange with savory notes of black sesame and cashews. Avant Garden is unquestionably detox but they somehow succeed in making you forget that there is no meat on the menu. And we promise, you won’t even miss it! To wash it all down, a short wine list or a seasonal juice selection (we do love their champagne version).

Now you’ve officially infiltrated the vegan microcosm. Rest assured: you are not going to convert into a vegan Ayatollah. But we promise you an explosive culinary experience that will make you change your mind about vegan restaurants!

 

Avant Garden
130 E 7th Street, East Village
646-922-7948