Breakfast: Gary and I had plans to meet friends at the new PS Kitchen for dinner so I wanted to make sure I got my greens in early. Gary had a bowl of oats and went off to class at HB Studio. I had the last of my jars of Sludgies, with Kale and Collard Stems, Celery, Carrots, Banana, Chia Seeds and Water. I chewed it all morning.
Lunch: We had a late lunch with a big Kale Salad, Carrot and Celery Crudités, a Tahini and Almond Yogurt Dip and Marinated Tempeh and the marinated Carrot/Onion/Celery mixture that had cooked with the Tempeh.
We made our own Salads. I added Shiitake Mushrooms to mine.
Dinner: And now for the Dinner Spectacular! We met Linda Long at PS Kitchen. This restaurant, owned by Craig Cochran and Jeff LaPadula just opened last week on 48th Street at 8th Ave. The theater district has been missing a vegan restaurant for a long time and now it’s here! Linda introduced us and right away I asked to take a picture with them. Here we are! We exchanged cards and I told them I’d be contacting them soon to chat with me on It’s All About Food to hear their stories.
Linda’s dear friend Paula was our host for the evening. She lives in Kuwait and was here on a visit. She had invited two other friends, Michael and Abdul who joined us.
The restaurant has a full liquor license and they will be able to start serving cocktails, beer and wine any day now. Meanwhile, they have some lovely Mocktails and we tried all of them! I had the War of the Roses, with Yuzu, Rose Lavender and Ginger. It’s beautiful with delicious flavors. And the water was good too! The bottle had a sprig of mint in it. I am going to do that at home with our homemade, distilled water.
We began with Appetizers. Here is the Watermelon Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, House Feta and Mint Purée.
The Crispy Artichoke was my favorite served with preserved Lemon Emulsion.
Gary loved the Fennel Tartine with caramelized Fennel, Cashew Crème and Orange Suprême.
The Maitake Steamed Bao consists of Glazed Mushrooms in a Bao Bun, served with Radish, Kimchi and Onion. The contrasting flavors are very exciting when eaten together.
We also had the Carrots Appetizer which consisted of Purple, White and Orange Carrots that were glazed, roasted, sautéed and cumin puréed.
I knew right away what to order for my main dish. I got the Ginger Rice Congee with sautéed Oyster Mushrooms, Spinach and Crispy Yuba. We all got to taste each others dishes and fortunately for me, I loved this dish best.
Michael and Abdulla both ordered the Orzo Alfredo which came with a Broccoli Purée and a Sun Dried Tomato-Chili Paste.
Paula ordered the P.S. Burger, a Beyond Burger with Queso and Thousand Island Dressing. Everyone was diving in to all the food so I snapped photos a bit too quickly. For better photos of these dishes go to the PS Kitchen Facebook Page!
Linda had the Stuffed Pepper with Beyond Burger, stuffed Piquillo, Paprikash Sauce and Russet Potatoes. I have written about the Beyond Burger before and I will confess that I don’t like it. It tastes too processed to me, even smothered in the fine sauces.
My classic Italian boy, Gary went for the Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce, Capers and Basil.
We shared three desserts: Strawberry Short Cake with Almond Biscuit, Strawberry Cream, Almond Cream and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote.
And Chocolate, Raspberries consisted of a gorgeous plate of Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry-Kalamansi Purée; and the Cookie Plate with Affogato (the coffee-based dessert consisting of a scoop of ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso.)
Afterwards we met Chef Gary Barawidan and Sous Chef Christina and thanked them profusely!
Evening: When we got home we relaxed with my homemade blend of Chamomile/Lemon/Ginger/Peppermint tea and Gary made some Air Pop.