Dinner and Dessert: Counter and Lula's

Last night I (Suzy) had dinner with my friend, Sarah, at Counter in the East Village. I might say that it was the best meal of the month so far--sorry, Brandt, that you missed it. We feasted on large plates of perfectly cooked and seasoned seasonal vegetables, including Spaghetti Squash Spaghettini, a heavenly cauliflower salad (no, I never thought cauliflower would be described as heavenly, but trust me or try it), and a white bean "hummus" that would make its chickpea namesake cower in inferiority. All this was washed down with a delicious bottle of red wine from their extensive wine list. We also saw some great looking flatbreads and panini sandwiches, as well as cheese platters for any of you dairy lovers, come out of the kitchen.

After dinner, we walked a couple blocks to Lula, where after tasting about 10 of their made fresh daily flavors, I decided to purchase 2 pints: Blueberry and Peanut Butter Fudge. Made from cashews (don't ask me how they make ice cream out of nuts), this was not just "good for vegan". This ice cream was just GOOD. Some of the best I've had in a long time. Even the resident skeptic in this vegan month thought so. I was just proud to have left some to Brandt after a long cab ride home.

PeaceFood Cafe

Friends, Sarah and Jo, and I (Suzy) went to Peacefood Cafe last night--an UWS vegan restaurant. Although they offer a strictly vegan menu, PF is (and I can say this having gone prior to this experiment) omnivore-friendly, meaning that it doesn't have that outrageous and unappetizing "health-food store" smell and doesn't leave meat-eaters with a sense that they had a makeshift dinner of side items.

I recommend going with friends like mine, who love to share food, so you can try a little bit of everything--the chickpea fries get my highest rating. Be sure to grab some of the bakery items to go--Brandt benefited from this, and particularly enjoyed the Magic Cookies. While not the "magic" some of you might be envisioning, they were definitely delicious.