Chinatown Vegetables, Coconuts and other fresh finds

As I am starting to navigate the foods and supplies of Manhattan for my new cafe, I started in the food mecca…Chinatown. Perplexed by the vegetables, stands of fresh flopping fish and amazing smells (some not so amazing) I was drawn to the lights, the crowds and the buzz that is New York’s Chinatown.

I have been researching areas most Westerners don’t often go. The Hong Kong Supermarket at 157 Hester Street and the other one at 109 East Broadway. As well there is an amazing Thai market where fresh curry pastes, galangal and kaffir lime leaves abound. I never thought I would find these ingredients outside of Chiang Mai and boy was I ever relieved and delighted to find Bangkok Market on a tiny little street called Mosco Street (102 Mosco to be exact) which you get to by following Mulberry all the way down from Canal until you hit the intersection of Worth Street (if you do, you’ve gone too far).

I will be starting a tour of the Foods of New York shortly (probably in the spring) and believe me, this market will be on it. As well there are fabulous other authentic international markets in New York such as a Greek Yogurt factory in the West Village which I have not yet been to, but am dying to visit.

Exciting things abound and great vegetables await my pot. The Greenmarket in union square was just the beginning, but still a home and a favorite. Many of my vegetables will still come from there as well as smaller markets closer to the cafe, the local CSAs, a new service called Urban Organics and the 4th Street Co-op. I will be investigating suppliers as the restaurant grows and checking out who Spring Street Natural and Quartino Organics use. Any tips on suppliers would be much welcomed.

luscious organics cafe

I am excited that I just put my first press release together for my new cafe. www.sobelwellness.com/luscious-organics-cafe.html. I want to share a copy with you all and I’d love if anyone could help me get this into time out or other fun publications that are looking for health oriented restaurant and food options. I am hoping to kick off a lunch and dinner deliver service to wall street analysts (those who still have jobs) and other people in the downtown area that are looking for a healthy alternative to take out Chinese, pizza and sushi.

An enticing new healthy oriented organic café, juice bar and lunchtime take out opportunity has just come onto the downtown New York scene and diners throughout the city looking for an intimate environment that is more similar to a posh loft-like living room than a typical restaurant are invited to sample the unique sights, sounds and tastes of Luscious Organics, a vegetarian organic café and juice bar, conveniently located in the Atmananda Yoga Studio, at 324 Lafayette Street, on the border of SoHo and the Central Village one block south of the world famous Bleecker Street. The space is a downtown gem, an urban oasis for all things healthy and holistic offering classes, workshops and now an incredible new café and juice bar where you can have a juice, enjoy a full meal or order a healthy lunch to pick up or be delivered to your office.

From the moment you enter into the inviting surroundings at the newly re-managed restaurant, the holistic experience begins. Floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, warm inviting lighting and the intimate environment of your living room and beautiful communal table are a beautiful complement to the subdued red-shaded lamps, elegant multi-colored floor to ceiling curtains and dark wood flooring throughout the studio that surround the open kitchen and juice bar just one block from SoHo, New York, NY.

Seated at either the juice bar or a real dining seat at one of Luscious Organics’ dark wood communal tables, accented with highly contemporary, white dishes, flatware and tall vases of fresh lilies, enjoying the scents of fresh herbs and spices wafting from the kitchen, you know you’ve come to the right place to sample the delicious fare of health supportive vegetarian organic cuisine. You don’t even realize after a while that there’s no meat, very little dairy and eggs and that everything coming out of this kitchen is fresh, minimally processed and wholesomely delicious.

The Luscious Organics menu embraces the culinary style of health and the yogic lifestyle. The menu highlights the bold fresh flavors of nearby Chinatown, the union square greenmarkets and other sources of local produce that support community agriculture and local farm eggs characteristic the New York Hudson Valley and surrounding farms in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Savor such dishes as velvety butternut squash soup with local greenmarket pears, heartwarming lentil soup with fresh market root vegetables, lightly stir fried bok choi with black sesame ginger glaze, braised Brussels sprouts, sesame and honey accented Asian cabbage slaw, tarragon infused spinach quiche accented with local farm fresh goats cheese, coconut brown basmati rice, orange walnut quinoa with ginger and orange rind, lime-chili marinated tofu with fresh vegetables and many other delights. Complete your meal with one of the tempting hand-crafted desserts, many of which are gluten free and naturally sweetened without refined sugars prepared fresh daily in the kitchen. Top off your meal with a delicious cup of chef and owner Meredith Sobel’s proprietary “Creative”tea, a mix of teas, fruit flavors, fresh ginger and chai spices that captures the whimsical creative yet inspirational nature of her cooking and her personality. And as Meredith herself, the knowledgeable owner of Luscious Organics greets you with a warm smile, you are immediately captivated by Luscious Organics’ thoughtful, savvy service and the love that is freshly infused into each and every dish.

The relaxed sophistication of the dining room of this café in New York, NY flows into the adjoining yoga studio where you can stop by and take a class. There are classes in the early mornings, midday and many in the early and late evening to accommodate a variety of schedules. Take a class and stay for dinner or pre-order you meal to go and it will be packed and ready for you to take with you upon finishing your class. Our express yoga, chill and lunch service will be kicking off in the New Year and will include an express yoga class and to go lunch which you can enjoy at your desk after class. There are two showers in the studio to accommodate your midday needs.
Luscious Organics is situated off the living room of the Atmananda Yoga Studio in downtown Manhattan in the area of Soho. Luscious Organics is open Monday to Wednesday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Juices and Smoothies available some Thursdays. Dinner is served at approximately 7:30pm-9pm. Selected weekend lunch service will also be available twice a month. A website will be available shortly with detailed weekly hours. Interested guests are encouraged to call 646-209-4519 for a recording of weekly hours or email lusciousorganics@gmail.com. Weekday lunch take out or dine in service is available by order only and all orders must be placed by 10:00am. To order lunch or to make a dinner reservation, please call 646-209-4519 or email lusciousorganics@gmail.com. Complimentary delivery service is available in the downtown area and will be expanded throughout Manhattan shortly. Call for more details. Seamless web service will also be available soon.

About the Atmananda Yoga Studio
Discover a beautiful New York oasis of all things organic, health oriented and focused on connecting your mind to your body. The calming, sophisticated space includes dramatic 14-foot ceilings. For more information or to make a lunch or dinner reservation, please call 646-209-4519 for the café directly or 212-625-1511 for the studio or visit http://www.atmananda.com. The studio and café are located at 324 Lafayette Street, between Houston and Bleecker Streets, on the 7th floor. Take the #6 train to Bleecker Street or the B/D/F or Q trains to Broadway/Lafayette and exit at Lafayette and Houston. Walk one half a block north to 324 Lafayette Street. The café’s website will be up and running soon. For immediate cyber-information, please visit www.sobelwellness.com/luscious-organics-cafe.html.

vegan baking, gluten free cookies and en masse cooking

So I have been experimenting with gluten free baking. What’s the deal with gluten anyway? So many of us are inflamed and on top of it have poor digestion. My body is so attuned to eating that if I go one day eating a non-whole foods diet, I get a bit ill. Most of us however walk around stressed, overworked, underpaid, underloved and our blood is literally boiling, and we don’t even realize it. Eating non-plant based fatty foods from animals that have not been eating a quality diet, or fats that are highly refined as well as excess sugars and foods that turn quickly to sugar once ingested (high glycemic foods) doesn’t help reduce inflammation, it actually increases it. Eating a plant based diet rich in whole unaltered grains (i.e., not ground into a flour and not removing the fiber – whole grain flours are better than non-whole grain – but once a flour you are already starting to lose some of the whole gain goodness). The problem is, sometimes we want something a bit sweet. Inflamed and all. I would love a piping hot bowl of pumpkin soup sweetened with agave, but sometimes I either don’t have the pumpkin on hand or I don’t want to cut them up (thanks to my super heavy vegetable knife, its a bit easier, but sometimes I feel like I need a cleaver or a machete, which the people who run my cafe said we have somewhere, oh boy!).

So instead, I turn to whatever else is available…and then I pay for it. Yesterday I was preparing a miso soup, greens stir fry with bean casserole. Pretty healthy right? I also was planning to sell these gluten free ginger snaps made with sorghum flour and rice flour. I am not sure what sorghum is, but they were pretty good. However, no one wanted dessert and I was stuck with an open bag of cookies. There are all kinds of rules I am learning about selling things that are open and how long they can last, so basically, I can’t sell them. So then I got stuck with them. And they were really good, too good. Often times though these store bought cookies are a) super expensive and b) sugary. I’ve been experimenting to see what I can sell in my cafe. Despite training under a pastry chef, pastry and dessert has never really been my thing. I mean I love to eat it, but its so much more of a science than cooking, which is truly an art.

Many of my cafe and catering clients however love vegan baked items and want them, so I am experimenting with vegan baking. I do a lot of vegan cooking in the cafe, although I am not a vegan and despite 20 years of avoiding eggs, I do love my organic brown eggs, especially when I get them from Traditional Nutrition Guild or the Union Square Farmers market and they are all different colors with the speckles. Its amazing. I still don’t quite understand what makes an egg brown, white or any other color for that matter. I do understand the taste difference between a fresh organic egg and a store bought one. But I am trying other things: egg replacer (I feel like this stuff is unnatural and nothing more than cornstarch, so I am still looking for something more natural), applesauce, honey (some vegans don’t like me to use it). I’d love any feedback from vegans who are as natural as possible and have ideas for me. I can do gluten free baking, but vegan baking has been incredibly difficult. I tried vegan quiche as well and it didn’t quite come out right.

This morning I poached an egg and enjoyed it with curry powder and two slices of gluten free bread made from flax, tapioca flour and cornstarch. I think the fact that its made with corn starch, delta glutalactone (what on earth is that?) bothers me a little…but I am not yet baking bread myself. This is also a yeasted bread. I think a bowl of brown rice or quinoa or whole grain cereal from Bob’s Red Mill is still a better choice for my carb intake. Otherwise that bag of gluten free cookies is going to be calling my name.