Hey, long time, no blog! Let me tell you about a pretty amazing day. My ever so lovely friend Julia and I lived our dream of seeing Regina Spektor live in concert! This was a day we’d both longed for since freshman year of high school, when we’d play Samson on repeat 50 times and dream of having voices as gorgeous and aesthetics as quirky cool and minds as imaginative and deep as our dear sweet Regina. And did I mention this concert was at Radio City?! I mean, come on. Incredible.

Almost as incredible as Regina Spektor was the food we ate that day! Julia and I are always on the hunt for the city’s best hip and trendy food finds, so when Julia suggested by CHLOE. (wow can you tell it’s trendy?! Look at those artsy capitalization choices! That period!), I was all in!

We both ordered the Guac Burger and shared two sides– Avocado Pesto Pasta and Sweet Potato Fries.

The burger was a wonderful combination of black beans, quinoa, and sweet potato. I’m a big fan of veggie burgers, and the tell-tale sign of a good veggie burger in my opinion is the texture, because that’s something that’s really difficult to accomplish– This is especially the case in vegan veggie burgers because eggs can’t be used as a binder! This burger was spot on. It had a little bite to it, but it was also tender on the inside and not too dry or dense at all.

I think that the key here was the sweet potato base; not only was it the binder that held the burger together, but it was a perfect flavor to complement all the other veggies nestled inside! This burger was served on a whole grain bun and topped with guacamole (of course), fresh corn salsa, lettuce, tomato, red onion, creamy chipotle aioli, and crunchy tortilla strips! I loved that even though there was so much going on in this burger, I could really taste all of its bright flavors individually.

It was a good day for the humble sweet potato. It had its shining moment not only in that flavor-packed burger, but also in baked sweet potato fries which we dipped in more chipotle aioli as well as a sweet and tangy beet ketchup! These uncommon condiments were a delightful and addicting companion for our yummy side! Julia gave them two thumbs up!

Then, there was the avocado pesto pasta…This pasta was so creamy and rich, it was hard to believe there was no dairy involved. by CHLOE. has lots of tricks up their sleeve to make the vegan seem non-vegan! The pesto sauce used cashew cream as a substitute for milk, and I promise, you’d never be able to tell the difference. I also really appreciated the choice in pasta shape (the specific shape name is ~radiatore~ if you were wondering); the deep ridges in this squat, circular pasta were ideal for hugging all that yummy avocado pesto. The pasta was topped with lots of fresh basil, grape tomatoes, and almond “parmesan cheese”. I was in love!

by CHLOE. was so trendy! So hip! And so so so delicious. I’ll definitely be back. Maybe a quinoa taco salad or a smoothie bowl brunch next time?

After our meal at by CHLOE., we were stuffed, but has that ever stopped this foodie? Absolutely not! Our next stop was Doughnut Plant! If you recall my often-referenced and ever-expanding NYC foodie bucket list, then you will recognize that Doughnut Plant  is one of those places I’d been dying to try!

We were ironically too stuffed for Doughnut Plant’s signature stuffed doughnuts– these doughnuts are square-shaped, engineered so you get a little bit of filling in every bite! We’ll be back for those for sure. We decided to go for some classic doughnuts instead– carrot cake and mint chocolate.

I actually ordered a matcha green tea doughnut instead of the mint chocolate, but it was close to St. Patrick’s day, so there were so many green doughnuts, I couldn’t blame them for the mix up, and I was satisfied with mint chocolate once I realized what it was!

These doughnuts were exceptional! They are handcrafted in the store each day, and it definitely shows. I also ordered Vietnamese coffee, a strong chicory blend served with condensed milk as a substitute for regular milk or cream! This coffee had a bold, strong flavor, just the way I like it, and the condensed milk made it extra silky and creamy… Yummm…

A successful item checked off my foodie bucket list for sure!

It could not have been a Better day for Us to Eet lots of amazing food! (If you didn’t think there would be Regina Spektor puns at the end of this post, then You Don’t Know Me).
Enjoy! 🙂 Love, The Perky Foodie