Hetty McKinnon's Very Vegetarian Guide to New York City
Excellent meat-free dim sum, fresh tofu, and the one restaurant she will wait in line for.
Hello! And welcome to an already ridiculous start to the year. I cannot stop thinking about this start up out of Greenland that is shipping icebergs of arctic ice to cocktail bars in Dubai. In the year 2024? Where climate change is very real and very present?Just how tap is fine (hehe), ice made from local filtered water is also fine. I’d argue with some fun equipment like molds and additions like flowers, citrus or fresh herbs, it’s very possible to make elite level ice (have they not watched IceTok?) that doesn’t take a cargo ship 19 days of travel to deliver.
Speaking of other ridiculous things: One of my favorite methods of procrastination is to browse flight calendars on Delta’s website to see if I come across a random deal. Last night I came across the opposite of a deal. In what world should a Delta One ticket from LAX to London cost this much (and it’s not even direct)?!
Luckily flights to NYC are nowhere nearly as spendy, and today’s guide, from my pal Hetty McKinnon, is a great excuse to get back to the east coast as soon as possible.
Hetty, one of my favorite Aussies, is a total force to be reckoned with. She has written multiple, beautiful cookbooks, including my favorite one to gift people, To Asia, With Love, and her most recent book, Tenderheart, is a beast, filled with hundreds of great, vegetable-forward recipes and lots of really lovely writing. She also has a stellar newsletter, To Vegetables, With Love, where she drops highly cookable recipes regularly. You can also find many her recipes in the New York Times. What I love most about Hetty’s style is that everything is vegetarian, but not in a preachy or boring or pious sort of way. The recipes are fun! Filled with flavor! Lots of great global ingredients and techniques! They’ll make eating fiber the best part of your day! Hetty is currently a Brooklyn resident, though I keep trying to convince her to move out to the West Coast. For now I will have to settle for this great list of Hetty’s favorite spots in NYC (that are all extremely vegetarian friendly).
HETTY MCKINNON’S VERY VEGETARIAN GUIDE TO NYC
MáLà Project
I think about The Mala Project more than I should. I am also conspiring on ways I can end up near one of their locations (midtown, East Village, Greenpoint) because I am absolutely obsessed with their Mala dry pot. I make my own dry pot of taro, lotus root, king oyster mushroom, cauliflower, tofu skin and potato noodles. The ingredients are tossed in a deeply flavorful sauce made of 24 herbs and spices that is simmered for hours and hours. It’s just so satisfying to eat.
Ghenet
My family loves Ethiopian food which happens to be great for vegetarians and vegans. Ghenet makes a fantastic range of vegetarian stews (I usually order a range of them), perfect for scooping up with injera.
Yin Ji Chang Fen
This always feels like my little secret. Everyone loves Joe’s Steamed Rice Rolls (and I do too) but Yin Ji Chang Fen on Bayard Street In Chinatown is a little bit more low key and charming. They serve a few vegetarian rice rolls on the menu (corn, egg, fried dough) but I always order the mushroom and black truffle rice roll. A great low key place that is not at all touristy.
Dim Sum Palace
This is a new-ish find for me. Dim sum can be challenging for vegetarians but Dim Sum Palace (I go to the one in Chinatown but there are also locations in midtown and East Village) has about 6 different vegetarian dumplings and you can even order the vegetarian platter which gives you a taste of all of them.
BCD Tofu House
This has been one of my very favorite restaurants in NYC since we moved here. This is where I became obsessed with soon tofu. I always go for the mushroom soon tofu. The veg hot stone bibimbap is good too.
Phayul
Phayul indulges my obsession with potatoes! I really love momos and their fried potato momos are very memorable. I also like the cucumber salad and the Alu Sip Sip (sautéed shredded potato).
Fong On
My tofu dreams come true here. They make fresh tofu in house - they offer Dou Fu Fa (Tofu Pudding) which you can get sweet with brown sugar syrup, or savory (my fave!) which is topped with salty things like pickled radish, fried shallots, sesame oil, scallions etc. They also offer excellent sweet rice cakes which are so nostalgic for me.
Via Carota
While I usually have zero patience for lines, the vegetable dishes at Via Carota are a standout. Their towering Insalata Verde is famous of course, but there are other vegetables sides that also shine - the mushrooms with smoked scamorza, the garlicky broccoli rabe, the fennel, the carrots and the raw artichoke crudo are all spectacular. I wash this all done with cacio e pepe tonnarelli.
Congee Village
I still love Congee Village for solid cantonese food. There isn’t a lot of vegetarian dishes on the menu but they do have a “healthy congee” which is a true meat-free jook which is really good. They do a proper HK style chow mein which is crispy on the bottom with saucy topping, sautéed snow pea leaf or ong choy (depending upon what is in season), pan-fried bean curd, and my FAVORITE noodle dish of pan-fried e-fu noodle with shiitake mushrooms.
Bạn Bè
This list is not complete with mentioning Ban Be, my friend Doris Ho-Kane’s Vietnamese bakery. Her cookies are famed, but there’s also her veg banh mi featuring homemade bread rolls and seitan (above and beyond!!), her pandan palm syrup seltzer and pandan waffles which I dream about. Her And if I’m really lucky, she will have my favourite cake available - Bánh Bò Nướng (Pandan Honeycomb Cake) available.
SHOPS I LOVE
Books Are Magic
Well I am addicted to books and I’m always excited to pick up a new title, so find me at Books Are Magic getting lost in the aisles.
Kinka
Next to books, my other great love is plants and my friend EunYoung Sebazco’s plant store Kinka is a haven in the East Village. EunYoung is a horticulturalist so you know her plant advice is the best. There’s also a Mala Project and H Mart close by.
Would love to hear about your favorite vegetarian-friendly spots in NYC in the comments below. I will be back next week with another personal guide (for paid subscribers) so make sure you sign up here. Will also probably start reviewing fancy international waters — just none from an iceberg off the coast of Greenland. Hope you eat some delicious things this week.
Love this list. Superiority Burger is one of my faves
Thank you for these. I live here and have only heard of a few of them. Updating my list!