cafe blossom

cafe blossom
466 columbus avenue
new york, ny
(212) 875 2600
www.blossomnyc.com/cafeblossom.php/

type of cuisine: organic vegan
culinary excellence: 5
vegan friendliness: 10
the bottom line: overpriced and mediocre

luca and i were on the upper west side last night and in the mood for seitan, so we decided to check out cafe blossom on columbus avenue. i had eaten at their chelsea location back when they opened and remembered it being pretty decent. unfortunately, the quality of the food just doesn't measure up to the prices.

we started off with some of their $7 juices - a pink lady for me and an adam & eve for luca. you really can't go wrong with beet/pineapple/ginger/pear or carrot/apple/ginger juice, but i wish they would have strained it. the bottom inch and a half was just froth.

for our entrees, luca got the lemon peppercorn seitan ($21) and i went for the southern seitan sandwich ($14) with sauteed greens on the side. we were surprised when the food arrived just minutes after we ordered it, leaving us to wonder if everything was pre-prepared and reheated. luca's dish was exceedingly bland. the potatoes had very little flavor and the pile of thin slabs of seitan certainly was not on par with the candle cafe's. my sandwich was also mediocre - like something you might get in a pinch but certainly not seek out. the rosemary focaccia was cold, the fried seitan itself was underwhelming and the greens on the side were too oily and smoky-tasting.

i was also disappointed with the cookie dough shake that we shared for dessert. i liked the idea of little bits of cookie dough to scoop out with a spoon, but it was all thoroughly blended together and had a syrupy sweet taste that was rather cloying.

so despite the friendly service and pleasant decor, i would not recommend cafe blossom when there are so many great vegan options in the city.