Results tagged vegan from David Lebovitz

Two trends have swept across Paris over the past few years, which, paradoxically, are somewhat at odds with each other. Who would have predicted a decade ago that hamburgers and vegetarianism would both be buzzwords on the Paris food scene? One of the good things about the burger movement is that instead of the wan, overpriced (€15 and up) burgers that had been served in Paris cafés, people have seen that a good hamburger made with freshly ground beef of good quality, handmade buns, isn’t just industrial, fast-food fare.

(A third trend in Paris has been la cuisine mexicaine, or Mexican food, with a homemade tortilla shop on the way. ¡Ay, caramba!)

But when made with quality ingredients, it’s a treat worthy of the adulation it gets on its home turf. It’s like comparing the canned cassoulet made with hot dogs to the incomparable real cassoulet of the Southwest, or the rubbery supermarket camemberts to a sublime, oozingly ripe Camembert du Normandie.

Continue Reading East Side Burgers: Vegetarian Burgers in Paris…

The first place I had on my list of places to go in New York City was BabycakesNYC. Ever since I saw the video of the staff having a blast, I was transfixed on going there to participate in the fun and frolic.

Babycakes NYC is owned by Erin McKenna, and features vegan desserts made without gluten or refined sugar. There’s also treats for people who keep kosher, and those on soy, egg, and casein-free regimes. Not all desserts fit into those categories, but for people on various diets, this place is a godsend. When a few people I mentioned it to said to me, “Gluten-free? No sugar? Is the stuff any good?”

If you’re wrinkling your nose, if Salted Butter Caramel Doughnuts dripping with caramel syrup and Chocolate Cake, moist from sweet agave nectar don’t sound appealing to you (like they do to me), then fine. More for the rest of us.

Continue Reading Babycakes NYC…

I was thinking of having “If you change the ingredients in a recipe, results will vary” tattooed on my forehead, but there wasn’t enough room. (Although if my hairline keeps receding at this rapid pace, it may happen sooner than you think.) When I used to teach classes, folks were always wanting to tinker with recipes, especially ice cream, replacing the cream with what-have-you. Or to replace the sugar with something else. I’m not sure why, because I spend an inordinate amount of my life developing and testing recipes to get them just right.

Unless I’ve personally tested it, it’s pretty hard to give my nod of approval and tell what will and what won’t work in recipes, especially when it comes to swapping out sweeteners and dairy products since their counterparts behave quite differently than one might think. Ice cream, of course, depends on cream to give it that particular texture and flavor. But I do like and use non-dairy alternatives at home on occasion and saw no reason why I couldn’t churn up a batch of ice cream without a drop of dairy.

Continue Reading Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream…

With summer in full swing, I’ve noticed some interesting ice cream and sorbet recipes popping up around the web. Here’s a few scoops that are keeping people cool this summer…

Plum Sorbet (Simply Recipes)

Homemade Ice Cream Drumsticks (Baking Bites)

Vegan ice cream (Vegan Ice Cream)

Pineapple Ginger Sorbet (Mark Bittman)

Spaghetti Ice Cream

Granny Smith Lemon Grass Sorbet (delicious:days)

Semolina Halva with Turkish Ice Cream (Café Fernando)

Rose Strawberry Sorbet (Vegan Visitor)

Blackberry Lemon Verbena Sorbet (LynnyLu)

Vegan Basil Ice Cream (Couscous Kitchen)

Coconut Avocado Ice Cream (Perfect Pantry)

Brown Butter Ice Cream (Michael Laiskonis)

Pistachio Gelato (Chocolate & Zucchini)

Chocolate Sorbet (Smitten Kitchen)

Homemade Fudgicles (Serious Eats)

Brownie Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (Food Beam)

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream (dl)

Golden Raspberry and White Peach Sorbet (Chocolate Gourmand)

Related posts:

Ice Cream Making Tips

More Scoopers…

They’re Scoop-endous!

This guest entry is from my friend Gideon Ben-Ami, who graciously stepped in and wrote this post about vegetarian dining options in Paris…david

UPDATE 2012: Since this was written, the dining scene has changed and I’ve added some new vegetarian restaurants (and vegan) that have come on to the scene since this post was written. You’ll find them further down the page… -dl

A you can imagine, being a vegetarian in Paris can be a challenge. During my 5 years in Paris I’ve witnessed many die hard veggies succumbing to the sins of the flesh. The usual excuse is that it’s just too hard (or the temptations too great) in the self-proclaimed food capital of the world. “I never ate meat till I tried the duck,” one friend told me while another announced, “Technically I’m still a vegetarian, though sometimes I do eat steak.”

If you’re dining at a neighborhood bistro, you’ll probably get by okay if you eat fish. But if you’re vegan, then you might need to smuggle in a nut cutlet or two under your raincoat as you’ll soon get tired of munching on side salads. Unlike many other European capitals, restaurants here don’t necessarily have a vegetarian option on the menu.

Paris does, however, have its fair share of vegetarian restaurants.
Are they any good?

Continue Reading Vegetarian Restaurants in Paris…