New York State of Finds

I’m from New York. I love New York. I left though in 1999 and moved to the west coast of Florida. It wasn’t you, it was me. Fall is my favorite season in NY and I wax nostalgic every year thinking about apple picking, cider and falling leaves. I try and get back at least once a year and this year happened to be on the cusp of autumn so I pretended it was full blown fall and tried to pack in as much fall fun as I could in the 3 days I was there. I wish I had gotten into the city, but I grew up about 15 miles from there in the suburbs and that’s where I stayed.

My main goal was to visit vegan donut Mecca Peaceful Provisions in Peekskill. After seeing their legendary rainbow donut online a few years back I had to get there at all costs. Italian rainbow cookies are a holiday tradition in NY and I’ve been eating them all my life. To have a vegan donut version is mind blowing. Sadly, they were not making them the day I was set to be there, but I know one day I will capture this elusive unicorn of a donut.

Their shop is located inside a brewery in Peekskill right along the Hudson River. You can smell the waft of sugar in the air as soon as you enter and you know you’re in for a treat.

In my opinion, the whole world should be powered by vegan donuts. I’m glad I had contacted them to put some donuts aside for me as their amazing cookie dough filled creation was already sold out for the day. They seem to sell out of most things by lunch time so I suggest getting there early.

We bought six donuts in all and the one I thought I would like the least wound up being my favorite of all. It was a vegan croissant type donut with a chai sugar coating and it was phenomenal.

Peaceful Provisions uses local Brooklyn Buttah which I wish I could have smuggled a block of home in my suitcase. We also got the above mentioned cookie dough funfetti filled donut, a strawberry and chocolate sprinkle (benchmarks to measure any donut place by) and a peach concoction filled with cream and peach jam. A final taste of summer even though I was in a Fall NY state of mind.

For those wondering, Peekskill is in northern Westchester county NY but worth the trip. They also sell their donuts in NYC so you might find them at Orchard Grocer

They have a lovely patio outside where you can enjoy your donuts and quite a few people were doing just that. If you’re thinking of going, donut hesitate!

After reading about Bareburger and that half of their menu is vegan, I knew I had to make a trip there. There are a number of restaurants in the tri-state area and we just happened to be near one around lunch time so off we went. It was a perfect afternoon so we sat by an open area at the front to enjoy the cool breeze and had 2 prospective customers ask us if the food was good. I explained it was our first time as well but had heard good things. At first I was confused because the menu had only meat items listed until I realized the back side was 100% vegan!

There’s a full list or burgers, fries and shakes like you would find at a traditional diner but one caught my eye that had a Justforall vegan egg on it. I knew I had to try it. The buns are a vegan brioche style and soft and delicious. We also got an order of loaded waffle fries and a peanut butter shake. I was disappointed that the shake had no whipped cream or sprinkles as advertised as I was looking for the perfect Instagram shot, but he explained they were out of it. Still, it was tasty and served with environmentally friendly paper straws.

I was stuffed after eating it all and the burger was really good with the addition of the egg. If you want a good burger experience I suggest you visit if you find yourself near this chain.

I’ve been to only one Wegmen’s before years ago in Pennsylvania. Their stores are huge. They usually make the top of the list of best supermarkets in the USA and for good reason. They have everything and I was not disappointed by their vegan offerings. There were a lot of products there that I had not seen at other retailers. They also had their own line of vegan meats but unfortunately I had no way to cook them or bring them home.

If you’re lucky enough to live near one, congrats. I’d be broke though from buying everything in sight.

Sixteen Handles is a yogurt chain that I’ve only seen in the New York area. When I heard they  had a pumpkin spice cashew-based yogurt with pumpkin cookie dough pieces from Do New York City, I was in! There’s one near the town I grew up in, so even though I was stuffed from our Bareburger lunch, I found room for a small serving. It was so good, and I could have easily eaten more. If there’s one near you, I suggest a visit!

Used to be you could only get good vegan options in NYC, but now it’s expanding to every corner and town in NY state and I can only see that trend continuing. Next on my travel list is Asheville, NC in October which is another vegan hotspot on the USA. Until then, safe vegan travels everyone!