WEST VILLAGE FOOD GUIDE

Although I've noted a plethora of healthy restaurants in other countries, I realize I have never written a post on all of the glow-friendly restaurants in my own neighborhood. Here's a list of some of my favorite restaurants, cafes, and markets highlighting organic, plant-based foods in and around the West Village.

I should also mention that a long time ago I started to bookmark most of the restaurants I've visited on Yelp. I don't actually review them, I just found that it's an easy way to keep track of things and find the name of that great Indian restaurant I visited four years ago. Secretly I've had this link on my blog since it's inception but never actually told anyone about it. Just go to the very bottom of the blog and it's the Yelp icon in between Instagram and Twitter. You can switch to map view, too, if you're viewing in the Yelp app. I update it very irregularly and inconsistently. 

Restaurants

Jack's Wife Freda: If you ever watch my Insta stories, you know I'm here at least once a week. Yes, it's super trendy and a celebrity/(real) blogger favorite--usually indicative of too much PR and too little thought to the actual food--but it really does live up to the hype. Friendly for carnivores and vegans alike. There's simply no better place for a creative, reasonably-priced, and instagrammable brunch or dinner. The Mediterranean Breakfast with a side of duck bacon is my go-to, alternating with the Eggs Benny. Show up on weekdays, before 11:00 am or after 2:00 pm to save yourself a wait. They serve their brunch menu seven days a week until 4:00 pm, which is genius. Dinner is also amazing and not talked about enough--the peri peri chicken is wonderful. Don't forget the hot sauce. 

Butcher's Daughter: A whole food-minded, vegetarian (mostly vegan, minus eggs) restaurant, with an original location in Nolita. I feel that many old-wave vegetarian restaurants highlight fake meat options that are highly processed with scary ingredients, and at Butcher's Daughter this is absolutely not the case. My favorite meal is dinner here due to the spaghetti squash carbonara, but brunch is also super popular (WAFFLES!). Both locations have outdoor seating.

Cafe Clover: One of my favorite everyday dinner restaurants. The atmosphere is romantic and lovely with a beautiful bar area, perfect for date night. I have never tried anything here I didn't love. They also serve brunch and have outdoor seating. Cafe Clover does an incredible job of creating a delicious local and organic menu that doesn't make the concept seem kitschy or novel. Quite simply, this is the kind of menu that I see being the future of upscale-casual, educated dining in NYC. Good job guys.

Sushi Katseui: NYC seems to have two categories of sushi: Seamless-type joints where you're nervous to see what the actual storefront looks like, and incredibly expensive, Omakase-only experiences that take reservations 60 days out and require spending half of your Christmas bonus (if you're interested in the latter, holler at Sushi Nakazawa). Takeout sushi scares me. Parasites, bottom feeder fish labeled as something entirely different--don't even start to look into this if you don't want to know. So, for a while I found it difficult to satisfy my cravings without the whole bells and whistles production of an authentic sushi restaurant. Which is shame, because sushi done right is an incredibly healthy, satisfying dinner option (omega-3's!). Enter Sushi Katseui. An outpost from Brooklyn, dinner omakase is $57 and lunch is $24. The interior is the stark but chic, and the fish is fresh and perfectly prepared.

Nix: The best upscale vegetarian restaurant I know of, with a Michelin star to back it up. The menu is small plate style, with plenty of opportunity to try a variety of different dishes. The perfect place to take your carnivorous friend/boyfriend/husband who insists they can't enjoy a meal without meat. Make sure you try a few dips with veggies to start. The rest of the menu changes quite frequently, but the egg salad, cauliflower tempura and warm avocado are all amazing. The drink menu is particularly great and there is a full menu for vegans.

Cafes and "Fast" Food

Chalait: My favorite matcha bar. Their original location was on Christopher Street, and when it closed and moved to the Chelsea Market a few years ago, I cried (a ten block walk and navigating hordes of tourists for my morning matcha, no thanks). Unbeknownst to me they've opened two more locations since then, one of which is on West Houston Street that I found out about only last month. I guess they forgot to include me in the press release. Anyway, I'm not mad because the drink menu is even more magical with the addition of potions like ashwagandha and turmeric, and all of my favorite toasts are still there. I order this on Postmates too because I'm lazy as f*ck before noon. Team egg salad. 

Springbone Kitchen: Why don't more people talk about this place? A cute little shop on West 3rd that highlights to-go broth and paleo options. The turmeric cauliflower Mexican style chicken bowl is my favorite. One of my Postmates go-to's. 

by Chloe: You've probably already heard of this adorable vegan fast food spot, so I'll spare the details. It's another regular on my Postmates rotation (the line is always super long, okay?) and has a creative menu full of burger and salad options. My favorite is the Niscoise salad, which you can grab at the to-go fridge and doesn't seem to be anyone else's favorite. That's fine, more for me. I wouldn't say everything on the menu is necessarily "healthy", but that's not really the point. The desserts are great too, with a separate outpost for sweets next door.

Van Leeuwen: Okay, this is not a healthy option. However, it is an absolutely phenomenal cult favorite and offers a full list of vegan flavors and usually a Paleo one, too. I have a new favorite all the time, notably the vegan chocolate chip cookie dough and the turmeric palm sugar cookie. Unfortunately, the West 10th location is a few short blocks from my apartment and I somehow end up here at least once a week in the summertime. On second thought, don't go here. I don't want to be held responsible.

Markets

LifeThyme Market: My neighborhood grocery store. It's tiny and adorable with downtown-sized aisles, but has everything I need plus some great finds. The produce is 100% organic and the salad bar and hot prepared food section have a ton of options. I love picking up dinner here when Jeremy is away, or to grab some sides or a salad to add to leftovers at home. The Bollywood burger is delicious and keeps well for lunch the next day--my coworkers are always jealous when I crack one out. 

Integral Yoga Natural Foods and Apothecary: A 100% organic, 100% legit market that has been open since the 1970's. The apothecary has free diet and nutrition counseling from a licensed nutritional therapist on Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30pm (like, what? Can you already tell how amazing this place is?). It's as reasonably priced as you can find in this neighborhood, and they encourage buying bulk with an extensive selection. The beauty section is wonderful and a great way to skip the chaos of the Whole Foods beauty shop. They also have a great deli and juice bar. 

Clover Grocery: I'll start by saying this is not an actual grocery store, more of a very well-curated, expensive general store with superfoods, a great beauty section, and other random items. I read somewhere that it's as if "Gwenyth Paltrow were a bodega," which is an accurate description. However, I always find something innovative and fun here and I absolutely love the little cafe station in the back. They carry Moon Juice dusts and will add them to your coffee and matcha, along with any other fun ingredients on the shelves.