Where should I eat in NYC?

[wildflower]

What restaurants would you recommend in NYC? Pure Food, Bonobo's, Quintessence? I have read comments about these on this site but would like current recommendations. Are there others? Thanks.

[Glossary]

Bonobos is good hearty raw food with a cafe atmosphere. Quintessence is where to go for gourmet textures and flavors, it's a must for the NYC raw tour.

[vegankristen]

Caravan of dreams is amazing! They have a split menu--vegan & raw vegan.

I also loved Quintessence. Be sure to get the raw cacao hazelnut pie. The Fofu Scrambler (brunch) is amazing as well.

Hope you have fun!

Kristen

[RawYogini]

Pure Food & Wines is probably the most upscale and expensive but a great treat once in a awhile. They also have a takeout shop around the corner from the restaurant. I LOVE their ice creams! I just had raspberry cacao yesterday and it was so good. The lasagna and ravioli are yummy too.

Caravan is awesome. I usually go there when I just want a BIG salad and good raw soup. The bruschetta and nachos are great appetizers.

Bonobos is the least expensive. I love the nori rolls, the spaghetti with your choice of sauce, the yellow peppper coconut soup and the carob or coconut balls.

Quintessence is good but for some reason this is the place I go to the least. I think because it seems to be the most "processed?" Like it's trying to hard to transform SAD dishes into raw versions? Hmmm, not really sure why. I DO go there but it's been hit or miss lately.

Whole Foods in Union Square and Chelsea have some raw dishes too.

[pfc]

I'd second the vote for Pure Food & Wine. They're food is amazing. It is expensive, but worth the experience. I've spent a pretty penny a couple of times in the take-out side getting rosemary crackers and 'cocoa crispies' (it is sooooo amazing...I eat it like cereal with banana mild, it's such a treat!!) Just note that most of their chocolate desserts use cocoa powder, cooked cocoa powder, so if you're strictly as close to 100% as possible, avoid the 'chocolate' stuff. My two fav dishes there are the Thai Coconut Noodles and the mexican 'bean' burito dish. I also LOVE their sushi...then make the rice from jicama. YUM!!!!
I've only eaten at Bonobo once, and enjoyed it. I can't eat at Quintessence, the food is too complicated and I don't feel well afterward. The food is good though, if you haven't been raw for that long, or aren't accustomed to eating too simply you'd probably enjoy it.
I like Caravan of Dreams a lot. The nachos are great, and I often get the raw sandwich dish (it's under the sandwich section of the menu), which is raw 'bread' spread with either pesto or pate. I like their pate's a lot. It's always too filling and I have to take some home.
Wherever you go, ENJOY!!!! But, I wouldn't miss an opportunity to go to Pure Food and Wine!

[wildflower]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions - I decided on the take out side of Pure Food and Wine - 'Pure juice and take away' and it was so fun. I had the lasagna and the vanilla mint chip ice cream (how do they make that, would love the recipe). Also bought the rosemary crackers that were outstanding. It is such a quaint place. I wish I could have gone daily - I was visiting in Princeton, NJ and got to the city only once. It was a wonderful feeling to get such delicious food and know it was raw - how lucky all of you are to be so close to great food. I am lucky in my area to get a salad bar that doesn't have preservatives. Thanks for all the info.

[adiasmc]

If you liked the recipes at Pure Food and Wine, the owners actually have written a book with a lot of their recipies in it. It is a nice book, bueatiful pics, and good recipies. It's called Raw Food/Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. I have it, it's good. Like someone mentioned earlier, however, they are not super strict and use things like cocoa powder which some people don't see as truly raw, so it depends on how strict you are personally.

[StrawberryFields]

The book Raw Food/Real World is actually what introduced me to raw and got me to try it. It is a beautiful book to look at and the recipes for smoothies are delicious. Haven't tried the more complicated ones, as I don't have a dehydrator yet, but I soon will. This is a great book, because these two are gourmet cooks, who ate every kind of meat and then went raw overnight! They are very inspiring if you have never given this lifestyle a thought before. I have never had the pleasure of going to one of their restaurants, but I'll be in NYC at the end of the month and I certainly plan a trip to Pure Food and Wine!