Whether you live in New York City or are a visitor, it is crucial to
be able to find good dairy free food to eat. If you’re visiting, eating
out is probably the area of greatest importance, while if you live here
(and especially if you’ve just moved here), finding markets and other
food stores that carry your favorite dairy free products will be your
focus.
On this page, I will focus on Manhattan, the place most people think
of when they say “New York City.” In a second page, I will talk about
the so-called outer boroughs, namely Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and
the Bronx.
1. Restaurants.
The safest easiest way to eat dairy free is to go vegan, and Manhattan
has some of the best vegan restaurants anywhere (including some that
specialize in incredible raw food offerings). Beyond that, Asian
cuisines, like Chinese, Japanese and Thai, are pretty easy to negotiate
your way through. And for those who are a little more daring, and
willing to work with their server and chef, many mainstream restaurants
are very accommodating of those with food allergies nowadays.
Vegan and Raw Food Restaurants. While there are
still those who prefer to speak of vegans as easy fodder for jokes, the
truth is that, thinking big picture, the future of our planet is in
plant-based food, while focusing more narrowly, we would all probably be
healthier if we went vegan at least some of the time. And Manhattan
has some of the best vegan restaurants anywhere. Here are some I have
visited and written about:
Terri Vegan Café.
I keep going back to Terri for vegan sandwiches, mint iced tea and
yummy chocolate (also vegan) cupcakes. My wife loves the green juice.
Maoz Vegetarian Restaurant. Falafels and whatnot. Very much a Gen Y hangout.
Pure Food & Wine.
There’s raw food, and then there’s Pure Food & Wine. And it’s not
just amazing raw food, there’s also wine (maybe it’s just me, but I
always think of raw food as being kind of a teetotaler healthy thing).
And amazing desserts.
Blossom du Jour.
Vegan sandwiches, wraps and other café-type offerings, and vegan
desserts. Several locations. I had my first taste of a kale/peanut
butter shake there, and you know what? It didn’t suck.
Asian Restaurants. Food from Asian cuisines rarely
includes dairy, the exception being those dishes that are made to
accommodate American tastes (like the Boston roll served at sushi
restaurants that includes cream cheese, and some dishes at the more
high-end Asian fusion restaurants that are meant to be richer and more
flavorful by adding some butter). There are so many restaurants in
Manhattan serving Chinese food and sushi that it is hard to keep up with
them. The same could be said of those serving hummus, falafel and
other Middle Eastern delights. Here are some that I have particularly
enjoyed:
Morimoto’s.
Like most people, we’ve been fans of Chef Morimoto from Iron Chef for
many years. So we were thrilled to visit his restaurant during
Restaurant Week of the winter of 2014. And we had a great culinary
experience – great sake, great food.
Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle & Dumpling.
Many of the best Chinese restaurants in New York City are in, duh,
Chinatown, and many of those are off-the-beaten-path, hole-in-the-wall
joints like this one. Their bag of frozen dumplings to take away is a
great bargain, and to eat in, the soups are rich and hearty.
Thai Market. Good Thai food in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine area.
Spice Market.
Exotic locale, you might even say romantic. Very good Asian fusion
food. A place we always try to hit during Restaurant Week.
Golden Unicorn Restaurant.
A temple to Dim Sum. Saturday is the day to be there. Don’t be
worried about the long waiting list (it moves quickly), but get there
early, to be safe.
Alfanoose.
A go-to in the Financial District for Middle Eastern food at a great
price. Grilled cauliflower is a big hit with us. And lots of great
combos, both vegan and with meat.
Banh Mi Zon.
We love banh mi sandwiches, and this is the place we go for them. In
the East Village, my favorite NYC neighborhood for food.
Biang! Restaurant. Hand-ripped noodles, wow! With lamb and cumin. Not exactly what you expect of Chinese food, but this is worth checking out.
Cherry Restaurant.
Imaginative Japanese food, sushi and beyond, in a steakhouse
atmosphere. Great sake selection, delivered by the Sake Ninja himself.
No. 1 Little House. Downtown Chinese. A popular spot for weekday take out.
More on New York City Asian restaurants.
Accommodating Mainstream Restaurants. When you walk
into a restaurant, it can be a bit scary to try to get a meal you’re
going to enjoy that will also be definitely free of any dairy. The good
news is that restaurants are getting clued in to the fact that
accommodating food allergies is a good thing to do. So most places
nowadays are not going to flinch when you tell them about your allergy.
If anything, you may not be able to get your first choice of dish, but
if you work with your server and chef, you will probably find something
you will enjoy eating. I have had so much good fortune eating out in
Manhattan dairy free, and here are some of my favorites:
Cafe d’Alsace.
One of my favorite restaurants in NYC, with Alsatian specialties like
choucroute garnie (sauerkraut stewed with ham and sausages).
North End Grill.
Chef Floyd Cardoz is another person we encountered on tv (in this case,
Top Chef on Bravo), and with this restaurant being not far from home,
we had to check it out. It is a beautiful place, with all the details
attended to, especially the food.
El Paso Restaurant.
We don’t often find ourselves in Spanish Harlem, but we would make a
special trip there just to eat this restaurant’s hearty Mexican food,
and take in the delightful Dia de los Muertos decor.
Underground Pizza.
A pie half with cheese and half without? No problem (I add my own
Daiya to my cheeseless half when I get it home, and put it under the
broiler for a minute).
Fishtail by David Burke. Love the taco trio. And lots of other great fish/seafood options. Keep meaning to go for the oyster special.
Bar Six. Looks just like a Parisian bistro. The menu is French meets Moroccan.
Brasserie Ruhlmann. Art Deco décor, classic brasserie menu, top-notch service. One of the best restaurants in Rockefeller Center.
2. Desserts.
Frankly, desserts are the most challenging part of any meal when it
comes to eating dairy free. Whether frozen desserts or baked goods,
dairy can be lurking in even the most benign-looking confection. That
being said, in Manhattan, there are some pretty awesome options.
2a. Dairy Free Ice Cream in Manhattan.
We lament the demise of our beloved Stogo, an ice cream parlor that
sold only dairy free ice cream, and some of the best I’ve ever tasted.
However, life goes on. Newer purveyors of dairy free frozen desserts
like
Alchemy Creamery show us that the future is bright. My current favorite in this regard is
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream. Not only do they have several vegan/dairy free flavors that are awesome (the best being the dark chocolate, made with
Michel Cluizel chocolate), but they also have a vegan sundae that rocks.
2b. Dairy Free Bakeries in New York City.
Lifethyme
has been my go-to for dairy free baked goods for more than 20 years.
Cookies, cupcakes, cakes, all wonderful, mostly pretty straightforward
(some made from raw ingredients only), behind a glass case in the rear
of the store. And they list the ingredients, so if there is some other
ingredient you are avoiding in addition to dairy, you can look out for
that.
Atlas Café is a more recent favorite. They get Tuesday deliveries from the amazing
Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (who supplies desserts to other Manhattan restaurants such as vegan soul restaurant
Red Bamboo in the NYU area). The cakes and pies at Atlas Cafe are a little more elaborate and fancy than what Lifethyme sells.
Blossom
and Peacefood are two other establishments that I have frequented in
recent years. I’ve only been to Peacefood on the Upper Westside a
couple of times, and I would say that it is rather pricey – but then
again, vegan bakeries usually are, right? Blossom has several locations
– they are vegan cafes, and while some have just a smattering of
desserts, the one on 23rd street in Chelsea (which is the main location)
has a very nice selection.
For those willing to travel outside of Manhattan, I highly recommend checking out
Dun-Well Doughnuts
in Bushwick, Brooklyn. If you are allergic to hipsters, you might get a
rash going there, but ignore the itching and feast on their amazing
doughnuts.
2c. Chocolate/Sweet Shops with Outstanding Dairy Free Options in New York City.
At the moment, I only have one entry to add to this list:
L.A. Burdick
on East 20th Street in the Flatiron district. But they are awesome.
For one thing, they offer hot chocolate made with almond milk. Intense
dark hot chocolate, the kind that leaves you feeling a little bit
buzzed.
3. Supermarkets.
It is so excellent to hear about new products that are coming out that
are dairy free, but then the trick is to find places I can buy them!
And being a habitual ingredient list reader, I am always checking out
products, whether they are new or the same old thing. It is sometimes
infuriating and sometimes head-scratching as to the things that have
dairy in them, but hopefully as time goes by more and more products will
be switching over to being dairy free. I recently learned about an
additional resource,
Snack Safely,
that partners with manufacturers to provide up-to-date information on
what is really safe – unfortunately, their focus is strictly peanut
allergy.
I have not focused on supermarkets specifically in my posts very
much, but that is on my list of things to do. I have written about the
changing face of the dairy aisle
in my Financial District neighborhood markets (i.e., there is a lot of
nondairy stuff in the dairy aisle!). Stay tuned for more on the dairy
free options in New York City’s supermarkets!
I will be updating this list periodically, so please keep checking
back, and if you have suggestions, I am happy to hear them. Thanks as
always!
