I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a rather crazy year. When I wrote this post back in March, I was in New York City and the COVID-19 pandemic was only just starting to take off in the United States. I actually moved my flight home up a day because things were starting to look a little scary, but not in time for me to avoid catching COVID myself. Thankfully, I had a very mild case compared to so many people and have made a full recovery!
At the time, I honestly believed that the lock-down would only last a few weeks and that the world would go back to normal. However, it has now been nine months to the day since I left NYC, and there doesn't really seem to be much evidence that this virus is going away any time soon. With that being said, I figured I would go ahead and release this post for those of you who may live in New York or are visiting in the future because these businesses need your help now more than ever!
I am so grateful that I was able to visit New York earlier this year and find some more amazing restaurants to add to my ever growing list of reasons I love NYC. You can also check out my blog post about my top NYC picks from 2019 here or watch my NYC 2019 vlog here for more of my favorite places in the City that Never Sleeps. Not all of the restaurants listed here are "health restaurants" per se, but they do offer some of my favorite healthy items I have found in the city.
I had been to Bluestone Lane for coffee before, but this trip was the first time I stopped by for lunch, and I am glad I did! They are rightfully famous for their avocado smash with feta and heirloom tomatoes on multigrain toast, but the Rainbow Bowl was just as delicious and packed with lots of seasonal veggies. There are several locations around the city, so it is convenient no matter where you are staying.
I had breakfast at this farm-to-table restaurant several times during my stay in NYC this year, and just about everything I had was delicious, but the sunny side up eggs with the romesco sauce was definitely my favorite! The only thing I had that I wasn't crazy about was the house made maple roasted granola. It was very heavy on the granola with only a little bit of yogurt and was pretty sweet too. The decor in the restaurant is also gorgeous with rustic, modern furniture and many beautiful plants! Best of all, its located only a few blocks off of the park so you can get in a post-breakfast walk.
I know I featured The Smile in my last NYC blog, but I had to mention it again because it is just SO good! I have only ever been for breakfast (I strongly recommend the house-made granola with greek yogurt and the quinoa banana muffin), but the lunch and dinner menus look great too!
As this cleverly named restaurant suggests, this menu is entirely plant-based, and rather delicious if I may say so myself. All of the ingredients come from local, organic farms, and the menu really focuses on eating seasonally. In fact, the menu changes regularly based on what produce the farms have available. So even though they may not be available any more when you make it there, I must say that the Recharge Bowl (roasted Brussels sprouts, squash, braised kale, red quinoa, pomegranates, pepitas, champagne vinaigrette) and the Spicy Kale Cesar Salad (creamy chipotle marinated kale, crispy shallots, avocado, toasted almonds, almond parmesan, croutons) were both incredible! Several vegan and gluten free options are available.
You HAVE to get the Original Tonchin Maguro (tuna sashimi, avocado, cashew, fried garlic, quail egg, pickled radish, sprouts, wasabi, soy sauce, cucumber, lettuce, and seaweed).... It is big enough for two to share as an entree, but I probably could have eaten about five of them on my own and been very happy because it was SO GOOD! The Kale and Grapefruit salad also looked incredible, but I had already over-ordered and therefore was not able to try it this trip (hopefully next time)!
In addition to trying out some great new restaurants, I also lucked out and was able to see see two shows on Broadway right before the theaters were shut down - Moulin Rouge and Tina Turner. These two shows were AMAZING! I saw that both of these shows were recently nominated for several Tony's, which is definitely well-earned! They were hands-down the best Broadway productions I have seen, and even though it's been nine months since I saw it, I am still listening to the Moulin Rouge cast album on repeat every day on my way to and from work!
Once Broadway re-opens (hopefully soon!), please consider going to support the Broadway community because so many of these people have been out of work and struggling since the shut downs in March. I could not recommend these two shows enough! You will laugh, you will cry, and you will leave singing the songs in your head for several days afterwards!
I can't imagine how hard this year has been on all the small business owners and restaurants. I am looking forward to the day we can all dine and celebrate together when this pandemic is behind us! Everyone please stay safe, and stay healthy!
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