Vegetarian Places

Since last was all about burgers, I decided to change it up a little and do vegetarian places. I went to Maoz and Zen Palate, both located in Union Square.



Zen Palate (4): The decor if this restaurant is cool. It has a spiritual essence about it with neutral earth tones and plants. In order to get to the bathroom, you have to walk across a bridge that overlooks the restaurant, which was interesting. The food was a little expensive for my taste. Any entree is at at least 15 dollars. There are interesting drinks to choose from like carrot juice and wheat grass shots, but no alcohol. I ordered the "Wheel of Dharma" which was very good. It was fried shitaki mushrooms with mashed sweet potatoes under a sweet and sour onion sauce. I know it doesn't sound too appealing, but it was actually very good. The mushrooms had a lot of flavor, and were complemented well by the sweet potatoes. The sauce was good, it has chopped pieces of onions and herbs and went well with the mushrooms because without it, the mushrooms were very dry. I wouldn't say it was worth 15 dollars, and dont recommend this place if you are trying to save money. Overall, I give it a 4.




Maoz (4)
Maoz is a tiny place known mainly for its falafels. The service is very fast, and the falafels are very good. They are reasonably priced as well. Including a water, I only paid 7 dollars. I ordered a Maoz with hummus, which is basically a falafel with hummus. There is a self service bar in which you can choose from different vegetables to put on the falafel. I chose a number of different vegetables like cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, and all of them were fresh and very good. The falafel comes in a small box that you can conveniently carry and eat out of without making a mess. The one thing I hate about falafels is how messy they tend to be, but these weren't so bad. There is no space to eat, only a small table in the back with seating for 3 people. But you can always eat in union square park which is right across the street. This place was delicious, fast and not expensive, so I give it a 5.