On Monday, I finished class at 11:30am and went along with a friend in search of a cheap eat. What we found was an Ayurveda café, an Indian restaurant that focuses on a type of eating that is based off of the Indian traditional medicine Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic cuisine is based on three components: sattva (fruits, vegetables), rajas(sugar, yeast, garlic), and tamas (poultry, meat, fish, fried foods).
We sat down and were surprised by the style of serving: the restaurant presented us with a plate of what they deemed to fit all three categories.
Served with brown rice was a bowl of lentils, potatoes slow cooked in a tomato spiced sauce, mushroom chutney, yogurt, salad, and a fried potato. All the spices worked together beautifully and the portions were JUST RIGHT!
My friend and I left with happy stomachs, and a better sense of the different types of Indian cuisine.
The next day, I went to a more american style café on the upper west side after class with an old high school friend.
She described it as a place that served up a mean cup o' joe and a quiet gem of a roof terrace.
I quickly grabbed my bag and walked along Broadway towards 72nd street.
For New York City, this place had spacious seating and a huge selection of healthy salads, sandwiches, and juices, all within a reasonable price range!
We happily settled ourselves down in the shade and chatted the time away. Soon enough, the speaker shouted our names and we got our food.
I got a tall cup of beet, apple, orange, and carrot juice with my lentil, sweet potato, and granola salad. It was one of my healthy days!
My friend got a delicious salmon caesar salad and each of our meals came with a little chocolate, which I found adorable.
Horses and rickshaw drivers were working hard, towing about the hordes of tourists.
As I passed by this beautiful doorway, I knew I was on the upper east side (Gossip Girl anyone?)
After my super healthy lunch, I decided it was okay to indulge in Ladurée, one of my favorite Parisian bakeries, that specializes in making Macarons. Their window displays are always epic!
I left with five different flavors and continued on my walk back to my Dad's office.
Unfortunately the rain caught up with me!
TADAA! The five flavors: pistachio (green), venezualan chocolate (brown), raspberry (pink), rosewater (white), and icy mint (blue).
I'm also a sucker for packaging and marveled at the beautiful sign.
My second favorite was the rosewater one, again with a subtle floral taste and not overwhelmingly sweet.
If you're in the city anytime soon, make sure to pay them a visit on Madison Ave between 71st and 72nd street.
Wednesday was a long day for me...class and then three hours of lab and I was left a tired mess. I took the subway to 72nd and found a Le Pain Quotidien and took refuge from a sudden thunderstorm.
I settled in with my computer and got to work on the physics homework. I don't often go to Le Pain but so far I've never been disappointed. The ambience was perfect and I could concentrate with the background hum of happy diners.
I chose a six vegetable quiche that was gluten free (made with gf buckwheat flour)and vegan.
It was one of the most satisfying gf, vegan meals I've ever had and could even compete with the other lunches I've had so far.
When it said six vegetable quiche, I did not expect that it would be a six layered vegetable quiche!
It disappeared rather quickly.
Soon, NYC will be having its restaurant week so look forward to the blog getting inundated with food from some of the best restaurants in the city for a stealer price.
Hope everyone's soaking up some sun and making yummy food with all the yummy produce of the summer!
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