Peace, Love, and Happiness….Vegan Style

When most people think vegan, they picture dreadlocks, thin women, lots of applesauce, and piles of nuts overflowing from shelves in bohemian apartments. When I think vegan, I think of religious Hindus, but maybe that’s because I’ve been in India too long. No longer do we have to envision these profoundly weird mental images, but we can experience vegan food with a degree of normalcy.

I stumbled upon peacefood café on the way back from an evening of comedy with my friend Tim. Wandering up Amsterdam Ave after an evening of Thai food, I was drawn to this brightly lit haven along the restaurant strip. The place is extremely modern and cleanly designed—large glass windows, nature hues cover the walls, and bright white tiles make for a trendy spot for conscious eating. Checking out the menu on the front door wasn’t enough; I had to hit it up inside and take a look at what they had to offer.

I should have known that there is no way of avoiding a crazy boho hippie crowd at any vegan restaurant. The girl at the counter, who couldn’t have been older than 18, smiled at me with this semi-creepy hunger-driven daze asking what I’d like. I asked her what cupcakes she recommended seeing as how there were three kinds in the glass display case. She looked at me confused, as if the word “favorite” was not in her vocabulary. Looking back and forth between the glass case and my inquisitive face, she finally said, “we’ll, I mean, they’re all awesome.” Thanks. Very helpful.

In situations like these, I make pragmatic decisions. How am I going to find out which one is my favorite? Aha! Buy all three kinds. Screw the calories! Screw health consciousness! I’m eating vegan! Who cares?

The girl packed up all three cupcakes in recycled pressed paper and handed them to me. I asked for a bag. “We don’t have bags.” Oh right, I forgot. Everything is environment conscious in vegan restaurants. She then proceeded to take my credit card, swipe it, sneeze into her hands which conveniently held my credit card, and then handed it back to me. Lovely.

Despite the weird, possibly drug-induced, service person, peacefood produces lovely cupcakes. I tried the lemon vanilla cupcakes that tasted very almondy. The nutty flavor from the almond base did not overpower the citrus flavor of the icing or the cake. It was lightly refreshing and for some reason, I felt healthier eating it. The chocolate ganache cupcake was sort of a mimic of a german chocolate cake because it had coconut and nutty bits in the icing. I could taste the applesauce base in these badboys. Not my favorite. Apple, chocolate, and coconut are hard to coordinate. Better luck next time. Finally, I tried the passionate fruit cupcakes which were simply magical. I sailed away on a vegan grass boat to Polynesia. There was a simple vanilla frosting, but the fruity flavor from the cake totally took over my tastebuds…in a good way. If you are in the mood for a hippie retreat with many more dairy and meat free foods, hit up peacefood café on Amersteram Ave. between 82nd and 83rd.
http://www.peacefoodcafe.com/PeacefoodCafeMenu.pdf