bottomless cup of wine anyone?

Sacred Chow (Vegan)

February 21st, 2009

http://gorgingtheapple.com/

At first I was hesitant to go to Sacred Chow. Something about having a pun for a name, a meditating cartoon cow for a logo, and talk about a “whispering hour” on their website turned me off. But, I finally went, and I liked it.

Sacred Chow is pretty cheap, small, adorably decorated, and 100% vegan. You can tell from the crowd of students, the price, the incredibly good music selection, cheap booze options, and the laid back vibe that it is close to New York University in Greenwich Village. My waiter was laid back too… In other words, you wont be getting out of here in record time. But you wont feel rushed either! I felt as if I could have sat there all day drinking tea and they wouldn’t have minded.

Like I said, it is small. You probably don’t want to come here in group larger than 4. (But I over-heard the waiter tell some folks that Sacred Chow has accommodated groups of 30.) So if you're going to Sacred Chow with more than four folks, it's probably a good idea to call first.

The menu is organized in an unusual way. The first part is made up of Tapas that are divided into a Protein Rich ($5.75 each) section and a Complex Carb ($5.25 each) section. You can order three of them for $15. The second part of the menu is the Heroes section. –Pretty much just a bunch of tasty sounding sandwiches that cost around $10. I decided to get three tapas for $15: Grilled Western Tofu, Orange Blackstrap BBQ Seitan, and a special brussel sprouts dish. The food came fast, and they were all nicely presented and quite tasty. Most importantly, I felt like it was a whole hell of a lot of food for $15. I had half of it for lunch and half of it for dinner.

From 11 – 4 on the weekends they have a brunch menu with stuff like Banana Bread French Toast, waffles, biscuits with gravy, and tofu scramble. When I was here during brunch hours it did get a bit crowded and there was only one guy working the floor. It was fine though.

Sacred Chow is also very celiac friendly. I would say about half of their tapas and half of their desserts are gluten free and wheat free and are labeled as such. Two of the entrees on the brunch menu are gluten free as well. I happened to be sitting next to a NYU freshman that had just become a vegan and found out a few weeks later that she has a gluten intolerance. She seemed happy with her choices on the menu. –It was her parents that had come to visit that seemed disgruntled… “So you can’t eat bread OR butter?!”

They are also pretty serious about being eco-vegan and taking part of the slow food movement. I overheard the waiter telling a woman that they make their own vegan mozzarella because having it shipped in was the opposite of what they were trying to do there. You can read what they have to say about it here.

So yah. I like it here. Who wants to meet up with me here one Sunday, split some tapas and drink their $10 bottomless cup of wine anyone?
Oh, and it’s kosher. ^_^

In my humble opinion…Sacred Chow rating (out of 5):Price: $$ ($5 - $15)

Atmosphere: 4 Food: 4 Service: 3

Recommended: The tofu was amazingly cooked. I would get something with tofu in it. Not so recommended:Order the tapas carefully. I heard it can be a hit or miss. Ask you waiter or waitress what recommend. If I were in Manhattan for just 3 days, would this be a place I insist on going? Yah

Comments:
ericaFebruary 21st, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I’ve been wanting to go to Sacred Chow for a while now, and I, too, have been slightly hesitant, but your review has made up my mind! I can’t wait to try it out.

Smith MichaelsFebruary 21st, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Let’s go here next time I visit! Sacred Chow sounds so good and cheap. And I love tofu.