organic food on 23rd st

About 10 days ago, before I left for a week-long trip, I was in Manhattan for some business and came across a recently opened vegetarian restaurant called Terri. Up until recently and still a bit ongoing, the number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the city has been a number easily countable on both hands. However, with the opening of this restaurant (just a few blocks from the cafeteria-style Bonobo's), I began to feel that there is hope for a healthier lifestyle and diet, and that this is catching on more and more with the mainstream public.

Although Terri calls itself Organic Vegetarian, nearly all the menu items are vegan, but it is not so scary as a newcomer may think. It has the usual Manhattan lunch offerings, including sandwiches, wraps, smoothies, salads as well as ever-elusive vegan desserts. I was happy with the spinach salad I purchased, and even happier with their chocolate brownie, which was too full of choclatey goodness to finish in one sitting. On another day, I would love to return and sample some more menu items, and since it is near the 23rd St. F train stop it is convenient even for someone coming from Queens.

going down to metro(politan)

Although I've lived in Forest Hills for several years, not having a car has placed me into the I-only-go-where-I-can-walk-in-10-minutes-or-take-a-subway category. Which means I hardly ever venture off Queens Boulevard or off the subway lines which seamlessly take me into Manhattan or along Queens without having to walk much in the north-south direction.

However, recently I have been hearing more and more about the fantastic restaurants along Metropolitan Avenue, including Wafa's (with great vegan I hear), Dee's, and Nick's (the Bistro, not to be confused with Nick's Pizza).

So my fiance and I decided to set out on Mother's Day, at 7pm, to search out the best of Metropolitan Avenue. Special day that it was, Wafas was closed, and Dees was booked all night. (I guess that's what we get for procrastinating.) We were fortunate, however, to find our way into Nick's Bistro and pick a few items off the menu.

It was quite clean inside, appearing recently renovated, and our server quickly pointed out the vegetarian and vegan options on the menu. Some pita chips and hummus were brought out first, and they caught our attention with the fresh flavor that was so tasty that the plate was clean before we knew it. We ordered a pasta and also a vegetable platter, accompanied by "veggie chips". All were, again, fresh and full of flavor, to a degree that not all restaurants can boast of. Although we arrived hungry, we were full midway through the meal so we had no room for dessert. When it became evident that all the desserts were not vegan, the server surprised us with a small fruit plate to finish the meal.

As we were dining, I saw a glimpse of other salads, which also looked delicious. In the end, we left Nick's with happy stomachs and a new appreciation for the southern side of Forest Hills. It will be no great effort for us to venture back to Metropolitan to have another meal at Nick's Bistro.