If my friend M were a man, the story of how we met would be the stuff of rom-com legend. A few years ago, a few days before Christmas, the two of us were strangers who just happening to be waiting for the same train at Penn Station. As we waited and rolled our eyes at the ridiculously long line, we got to chatting and ended up sitting together once we boarded our train and were on our way to central Pennsylvania. We were both going home to visit our parents for the holidays and found that we had lots of things that we could talk about and that we were really good travel buddies. We chatted the entire way to Harrisburg and then parted with a hug and a promise to keep in touch.
After that Christmas, I went back to Boston and M returned to her home at the time of South Africa, and we sort of lost touch except for the occasional facebook comment. This past summer though, we realized that we were both living in New York and decided that we should reconnect, and I'm so glad that we did, as M is seriously one of the warmest, nicest people that I have ever met.
One day last week, we both had the afternoon off, so we set a lunch date. She proposed a place called Westville, in the East Village, so we met there and grabbed a table outside to enjoy the unseasonable warm day.
I went for brussel sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, zucchini with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, and beets with goat cheese.
The brussel sprouts and the kale were a bit tough for our tastes, but everything else was divine, and my favorite choice was the beets, hands-down. I wish that more restaurants offered a veggie sampler dish like this. When you have a plate full of vibrant color and veggies done right, they can taste as good and be as satisfying as any meat dish.
As M and I were catching up and finishing our veggies, she innocently brought up the fact that she knew of a great little ice cream shop that was just a few blocks away. Feeling very virtuous in our choice of lunch, we reasoned that dessert couldn't hurt, so we strolled over to Blythe Anne's (formerly Lula's Sweet Apothecary, which in my humble opinion, was a much better name). A tiny blink-and-you'll miss-it place, Blythe Anne's serves vegan ice cream made from cashew milk and changes its flavor offerings daily.
M is vegan and while I'm not, I'm always up for trying vegan options while remaining skeptical that they'll taste as good as their non-vegan equivalents. Blythe Anne's was a nice surprise for me, though, in that the ice cream was amazingly flavorful and I honestly couldn't tell by the taste that it was vegan.
I went for the caramel ginger cookie hard ice cream with brownie bits on top.
Upon tasting it, I thought I had made the right decision in that the ice cream tasted exactly like a ginger cookie with caramel and the brownie bits were gooey and chocolatey and wonderful. However, then I tasted the cake batter soft serve that M had ordered.
This blew mine right out of the park. It was probably the best and most authentic-tasting cake batter ice cream that I've ever had. I will definitely be making a return trip just for that flavor. Maybe I'll even order it in a sundae. Oooh the possibilities.
But before I get carried away with ice cream fantasizing, I do feel the need to set the record straight. With the majority of my posts, I'm sure it seems that I mostly eat really indulgent, rich and caloric foods. I want to dissolve that illusion right now though, and let you know that I do strive to strike a balance and eat really healthfully when I'm not having a treat. I get a lot of "how do you eat all that stuff and not gain weight?" or "I could never eat like that." But honestly, you can ---just not all the time. I don't want to convey the message that you can indulge at every meal and not eat things that are good for your body. A blog is often a "greatest hits" page in the life of its writer and shouldn't be taken as a mirror of everyday life. You really shouldn't eat cake every day, but having it every now and then is fine and one of the joys of life. Give your body what it needs for fuel, but also what it wants, in healthy moderation. Have that bowl of ice cream for dessert if you're craving it, but load up on your nutrient-filled veggies first.
A life without veggies won't be a long one, and a life without ice cream (or cupcakes or potato chips for that matter) isn't a fun one, so don't deny yourself or feel guilty about those indulgences, as long as they're occasional and tempered by frequent healthier choices.
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