Show Me What You Got Shawty...

Part of the awesomeness of NYC is the fact that you never know what you are going to get when it comes to the other riders on the subway...

Luckily for us, we were sweetly serenaded to by a maybe, slightly inebriated passenger. With the nicely wrapped bottle in a beautiful brown paper bag, she belted out to us the lyrical masterpiece of Jay-Z.."show me what you got lil mama, show me what you got pretty lady, show me what you got shawty..."and so it was repeated for the entirety of our subway voyage. Unfortunately for Absola, she was not able to control her uncomfortable laughter. I don't think the artist was disturbed by her hysteria though.


After our free musical performance we needed some food, and there was a vegan joint just around the corner from Washington Park that we decided to opt for. "We at Red Bamboo are dedicated to your health through our commitment to excellent vegetarian cuisine. Red Bamboo focuses on creating unique and authentic vegan and vegetarian meals using the finest soy, gluten, fruit and vegetable products available. Our foods, ranging from Caribbean spiced seitan to Creole Soul Chicken to Thai Summer Rice Rolls, reflect the wisdom of diverse culinary traditions..."

Down a few steps in a long narrow old building, is the home of Red Bamboo. It is a good place for some soul food type lovin' in the belly. Everything is pretty much fried and delicious. Since the restaurant is so small, we had to wait a little while before being seated, luckily there was a nice Priscilla-esq store near by. We were called about 10 minutes later and got to grab a seat in the dark red ambiance lighting, with all exposed brick and bench style seating. The service was great, the food even better and the prices terrific.

B and I split the Almond Coconut "Chicken": Crispy golden soy chicken encrusted with toasted almonds and shaved coconut. Served with a sweet chili dipping sauce…

Also we went for some more chicken ( I love faux chicken) with the Soul Chicken Sandwich:
It was panko breaded soy chicken nuggets with romaine lettuce, tomato, vegan mayo and vidalia dressing served on a roll with your choice of fries or salad…

Abby tried the Asian Dumpling appetizer which consisted of plump steamed spinach dumplings filled with shredded soy protein, carrots, cabbage served over a mixed greens salad and soy-ginger dressing…and Michael went for a Four Cheese Ravioli. Ricotta, romano, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese ravioli smothered in a roasted garlic marinara sauce served with a side of garlic toast…he only ate about half and took the rest back to the hostel..which he then forgot about until the day we left. Not going to chance looking inside that take-out box...

Red Bamboo was a nice unplanned dinner, very filling and you'll definitely not want to eat anything for the entire day before heading here, but worth every deep fried, all vegan bite.