NYCReview
photo credit: Vegan Hood
Vegan Hood
Included In
It turns out, there are a variety of things you can deep fry, reduce to a gravy, or transform into a creamy bowl of carbs that have nothing to do with meat or dairy. Harlem’s Vegan Hood cooks soul food while making one big compromise—no animal products—and no others when it comes to flavor. Their food will make you sing its praises up and down Frederick Douglass Blvd.
We’re not ashamed to admit that we mostly eat fried chicken to get as much crunchy, salty chicken skin into our mouths as we can. The fried chicken at Vegan Hood has marvelous, expertly seasoned skin, but the pea protein faux chick’n underneath doesn’t taste like an afterthought. It only gets better from there. The super-cheesy mac and cheese is nice and gooey with some smoky spice to it, and the greens are brimming with flavor. They’ve nailed these soul food classics, but we’re most impressed with the oxtail. The faux meat has a velvety and chewy texture in all the right places, and it comes covered in gravy that we’d happily eat alone with their rice and gungo peas.
Our favorite time to come by is weekend brunch, when you can drink some poptails (cocktails with popsicles sticking out of them) in a cheerful space covered in foliage and flowers. “Vegan” doesn’t need to mean you’re the sort of person who wakes up at 6am and eats a raw food diet. Sometimes, you just want some pea protein dunked in a deep fryer.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Vegan Hood
Chix’n & Waffles
Mac & Cheese
photo credit: Vegan Hood
Flatbush
photo credit: Vegan Hood
Mami's Empanadas
photo credit: Vegan Hood
Golden Oreo & Chocolate Oreo Pudding