We stayed in the famous Waldorf Astoria, as we managed to grab a bargain in the January sales.
After checking in, the first stop, was a walk round Times Square and to the Rockefeller before heading out for tea at a Japanese place- you chose a main, and then two sides to go with it. I went for Tofu, rice and stir fried vegetables. Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures, but it was one of my favourite meals of the holiday- and at $13 (including a refillable drink) I thought it was good value.
The next morning, we decided to head to a cafe that was quite close to our hotel, I had a bagel with avocado and lime, seems an odd combination but it worked and was my favourite breakfast of the trip and will be recreating it at home!
Alongside it I got a strawberry apple juice that tasted amazing- I couldn't find it anywhere else throughout the whole trip.
I was surprised at how many vegan things were readily available in an average place, I couldn't believe my eyes when I came across Sweet and Sara products in the local Duane reade, which is a kind of drug store come TESCO express type place in New York. Sweet and Sara produce vegan marshmallows (normal marshmallows contain gelatine, so aren't suitable for vegetarians), you can get them in the UK but they can cost £6 for a small box. Although they didn't sell marshmallows, they sold Sweet and Sara smores and rice crispy squares.
I wasn't a fan of the smore, it's basically a wagon wheel, but I loved the rice crispy square as did The Boy, which is unusual as he avoids vegan products like the plague!
In addition, at JFK whilst waiting for the plane home I spotted a load of vegan meals in one of the shops, they had boxes of Thai and Shanghai dumplings, various noodle dishes and a Bento box containing Thai dumplings, vegan chicken style pieces and rice. I decided to take a Bento box back with me to eat during the journey from Heathrow to Bolton.
The dumplings were the nicest part, I didn't eat much of the rice as I got a bit worried about getting food poisoning (and it was a bit meh). The vegan chicken pieces were strange, the manufacturers had obviously tried hard to get the texture of meat as it was really chewy, so chewy that the texture reminded me more of beef than chicken. As someone who disliked the chewiness of meat during my carnivorous days I wasn't too fond of it.
Overall New York was a nice surprise food wise, it was a lot more vegan and vegetarian friendly than I suspect, and what's more everything wasn't covered in cheese! And they seem to have a more positive approach to veggies than I expected. Next to come are Grand Central and the East Village.
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