What could be better than an intimate Friday night dinner at a great vegan restaurant with your non-vegan spouse who loved the food? For me, the answer is absolutely nothing!! This describes my wonderful experience last night at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, V-Note Wine Bar & Vegan Bistro, located on the upper east side of Manhattan (1522 First Avenue between E.79th & E.80th Streets). FYI, V-Note is from the same creators of the amazing vegan restaurants “Blossom” and “Cafe Blossom.” I suggest that you keep on the lookout for Blossom’s growing empire which is, apparently, opening up various vegan eateries, including a bakery, throughout NYC. Yeah!!!
I can only describe V-Note’s atmosphere as relaxed, elegant and inviting. The waitstaff was beyond pleasant and attentive. We were immediately brought a drinks menu and I was quite impressed with the vast selection of vegan and organic wine and beers. My husband, Jeff, wanted to try the Tortoise Creek “La Verger” Viognier from France (a fruity white wine) with peach, pear and honeysuckle. We ordered a full bottle which was lovely. We then began to examine the food menu.
We decided to share three starters: the Eggplant Parmigiano (layers of baked eggplant & cheese topped with parsnip strips in cashew cream), the Black-Eyed Pea Cake (crispy cake of Yukon Gold potatoes & black-eyed peas) and the Mushroom Phyllo Cigars (porcini & tempeh filled phyllo, cashew cream, slivered almonds & pomegranate seeds). While we were waiting for the appetizers to arrive, I had to control my blogger’s impulse to take photos of the food plates delivered to the people at the table next to me. Their food looked so good!! I think they ordered the vegetable plates which looked colorful and yummy!! I have to stop being so nosy!!!
When the starters arrived, I began taking endless snapshots of the food and Jeff was getting irritated because he was dying to dig in to the Eggplant Parmigiano. When he finally asked me if he could eat yet, I put the camera down hoping that I got a few decent shots for my blog post. In any event, he went wild over the Eggplant Parmigiano and we both loved the Black-Eyed Pea Cake and Mushroom Phyllo Cigars which I have had many times before during my previous visits to the restaurant. Please note that, in the past, I have also really enjoyed the Roasted Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Gnocchi as a starter dish.
As an entree, Jeff ordered the Pasta Bolognese (a spinach fettucini in a seitan bolognese sauce topped with oyster mushrooms & broccoli rabe) and I ordered the Pistachio & Pepper Dusted Tofu (served over a roasted root vegetable filled crepe, lemon truffle emulsion, topped with frisee salad in a red beet vinaigrette). We shared both dishes which were tasty and quite excellent!!! May I also suggest the Mushroom Lentil Ravioli and the Crispy Pinenut & Basil Seitan which I have also enjoyed as entrees during my prior visits to V-Note!!
I forced Jeff to squeeze in dessert so that I could have more to blog about. I’m glad I did because the Chocolate Ganache With Peanut Butter Center And Soy Ice Cream was delectable, as was the Drunken Fruit Parfait (layers of brandy infused peach & mango, pecan oat crumble, port infused black & blueberries, topped with vanilla cream!!). The Dark Chocolate Fondue For Two with fresh fruit, pretzels and housemade cookies for dipping also looked enticing. I will definitely give it a try on my next visit to V-Note. Let me add that there was an interesting selection of shakes on the dessert menu, all made with soy milk, including Butterfinger, Creamsicle & Frappe (espresso, vanilla & chocolate ice cream) shakes.
I highly recommend V-Note Wine Bar & Vegan Bistro for vegans and non-vegans alike wishing to have a wonderful plant-based meal in an elegant, relaxed and inviting space!!
