A / Vienna: Yamm at Universitätsring 10

A / Domäne Wachau

A / Vienna: Tian - Michelin starred

USA / NYC: Candle 79

USA / Ft. Lauderdale: Sublime


USA / San Francisco: Millenium


D / Berlin: Lucky Leek


GB / London: Manna


F / Paris: Le Grenier de Notre Dame

New York City: World Capital for Vegetarian Cuisine, by Erwin Lengauer.

The following article - here as a PDF - is written in research cooperation for an academic food and wine culture project at University of Vienna. There you find also the internationally largest research area on "Vegetarianism in Humanities and Social Sciences", see http://foodethics.univie.ac.at/vegetarianstudiesnet/  Original the text was published in the magazine of the VEBU, the leading German vegetarian society. Translated in July 2013 by Professor Gary Steiner. Additional  around twenty translations into several  languages will be done in cooperation with members of the European Vegetarian Union and IVI Asia-Pacific. Special thanks go to our main supporters, the TIAN, the first Vienna Haute Cuisine Vegetarian Restaurants recommended and Wine-Culture.net coordinated by the Vienna Veggie Wine Club.

 Please visit also the list of the selected restaurants at our official NYC page

Broadway, Wall Street, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, 9/11 -- New York City, a world-famous city that awakens many associations. Is New York City the world's capital for vegetarian cuisine? Until now only vegetarians who love to travel and certain aficionados have thought of the city in this connection.           

With its more than eight million inhabitants, the Big Apple stretches across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx, covering almost 300 square miles. That makes New York around the size of Berlin. This article focuses on the island of Manhattan, which is over thirteen miles long and over two miles across at its widest point.

Manhattan: Mecca for Lovers of International Vegetarian Cuisine

              Manhattan is not just New York City's center of economic power--with the Financial District and the New York Stock Exchange, which is the world's largest securities exchange--but also, with its internationally renowned theatres, museums, and galleries, New York's cultural center. The most interesting of the city's more than 100 vegetarian restaurants are to be found in Manhattan, and some are located in Brooklyn. Trade publications consider this to be the world's most fascinating Mecca for lovers of international vegetarian cuisine. So it only makes sense that New York City was the focus of the University of Vienna's interdisciplinary food ethics project "Food and Wine Culture in Vegetarian Gastronomy." But before you embark upon a culinary and cultural tour of discovery in this jungle of a city, you need to become thoroughly informed. The Most Important Tour Books               There is no question that the Vegan Guide to New York City is the foundational text. This tour book, revised annually and now in its nineteenth edition, offers more than 100 reviews edited by three dedicated vegan food lovers under the direction of the historian Rynn Berry. Also recommended are two restaurant guides: the Michelin Guide NYC and Gayot.com, the online version of what started out as France's Gault Millau. Based in part on reviews published in New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Time Out, the following discussion presents more than thirty especially noteworthy vegetarian restaurants. New York City: A Culinary Expedition             It is very useful to have a laminated map of the city such as a Marco Polo City Map, as well as a comprehensive city guide such as Lonely Planet or one published by the Michael Müller Verlag. These will provide you with everything you need as you explore restaurants in the southern part of Manhattan below Canal Street, in Tribeca, Chinatown, and the Financial District. After viewing the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street, let yourself be tempted by the vegan Dim Sum House and Buddha Bodai in nearby Chinatown. Once you have enjoyed their offerings, be sure to cross one of the world's most famous bridges--the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River--and make a detour through the borough of the same name. Brooklyn does not have any truly haute cuisine vegetarian restaurants; but it does have Bliss, which is on Gayot.com's top ten. In Brooklyn you can hang out at more than twenty mostly vegan restaurants and cafes, all of which offer a casual atmosphere. For those who love South American cuisine, Rockin' Raw offers raw food and V-Spot cooked dishes. If you like Asian food, Wild Ginger has two locations in Brooklyn. Sun in Bloom has a vegan gourmet kitchen. But let's direct our gastronomic tour back to Manhattan, where things get really interesting in the East Village. Here you will find two of only six vegetarian restaurants recommended by the Michelin Guide New York City: Kajitsu, an expensive vegan Japanese restaurant, and the very small but wonderful Dirt Candy. Those who prefer to indulge their vegan senses in rustic ambience rather than in a designer food experience should visit Angelika Kitchen or sample the Latin American offerings at Caravan of Dreams. There is more vegan cuisine to be found at Lan Cafe, with its Vietnamese dishes, and the raw restaurant Quintessence. Greenwich Village, situated to the west, has the feel of a quaint village, with winding streets that contrast with the imposing skyscrapers that populate the rest of Manhattan. Here you would do well to start with the Japanese-themed restaurant Gobo, recommended by the Michelin Guide New York City. Sample more Asian offerings at Red Bamboo. Conclude with Soy & Sake and the full bar at Cafe Blossom. Your efforts will be amply rewarded if you start your exploration of Midtown West and Chelsea with a name we have already encountered: Blossom. But here it is Blossom Dining, home base for the family of vegan restaurants established by animal rights advocates Ronen and Pamela Seri and touted by the Michelin Guide New York City. If you are planning a stay in New York, it is worth your while to make a reservation for a Friday night at the Natural Gourmet Institute and enjoy the elite vegan cuisine prepared by its students. Conclude your evening with a pleasant stroll along the High Line, or wander around nearby Times Square, which you can reach via subway. In Midtown East, whose main tourist attraction is the Empire State Building, are two restaurants that receive much-deserved praise from the Michelin Guide New York City: the vegan Korean restaurant Hangawi and Pure Food and Wine, with its international menu of designer raw dishes. Hangawi is renowned not only for its spicy kimchi, its grilled todok root, and its zen bibimbap, but also for its policy of requiring guests to remove their shoes before being seated. It is easier to find a seat at the vegan Korean restaurant Franchia, located in a part of town where you will find an entire array of vegetarian Indian restaurants; bear in mind that Indian restaurants that serve neither meat nor fish are not easy to locate. Here you can wander happily from restaurants such as Bhojan, Saravana Bhavan, and Tiffin Wallah to Chennai Garden, Madras Mahal, Pongal, and Vatan. Central Park stretches from 59th to 109th Street. On the Upper West Side, where the American Museum of Natural History is located, is another outpost of Cafe Blossom. Not far away is the reasonably-priced Cafe Viva, which claims to be the only Italian vegetarian restaurant in the USA. For those who know fine dining, the large and elegant Candle Cafe West on Broadway is a landmark. For visitors to New York, the Upper East Side is a jewel in more than one respect. There you will find the Museum Mile, which boasts the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The perfect complement to a tour of these cultural delights is a night of fine dining. Candle 79 offers international vegan cuisine and the highest level of service. This restaurant's high quality is the product of years of effort invested by Bart Potenza and his partner Joy Pierson. They laid the groundwork for this restaurant at the nearby Candle Cafe. The V-Note, an offshoot of Blossom, is considered by many to be second only to Candle Cafe as the most pleasant vegan wine bistro in New York City. A Few Additional Practical Tips:             The Vegetarian Food Festival takes place annually at the beginning of March, and at the end of March you can take part in the Veggie Pride Parade. And if you would like to attend one of the many vegetarian get-togethers in New York City, it is always a good idea to sign up in advance since these events (for groups ranging from 20 to 200 people) sell out quickly.  Author: Erwin Lengauer from the University of Vienna; with research specialization in Bioethics and Food Ethics. (2013.07.26)        


Meet the VegGastronomy.net Team at Vienna Veggie Wine Club





A / Vienna: YAMM


A / Vienna: Hollerei


USA / Seattle: Cafe Flora


GB / London: The Gate


designed and powered by Abaton