Manhattan’s Best Kept Secret

Village restaurants are notoriously famous for their open-mindedness, as well as being less top-notch, but considerably some of the best compared to restaurants located 50 blocks north. Because of this, restaurants in the village are arguably some of the best in the city, with no exception to the well-kept secret vegetarian restaurant Red Bamboo on West 4th between 6th Ave and Mercer Place. Quality, extremely relaxed, with excellent, yet garnished cuisine and variety of choices to choose from, Red Bamboo is indeed one of Manhattan’s best kept secret restaurant.

“Vegan is the way to go here at the Red Bamboo” is the restaurant’s slogan. Located only a few blocks west of the NYU buildings, Washington Square Park, as well as being on the corner of 6th Avenue, it is easily missed. Especially if one notices all the people wandering around, the loud television depicting piercings, and on Saturday night when the Village becomes party central. However, the restaurant never fails to be too overly crowded. With the longest wait-list reported was two hours.

The restaurant, from the outside, favors a very small cramped basement. When you walk down the ancient Roman inspired steps to the glass doors, especially at night, one is greeted with about five people waiting ahead. The minute anyone walks into the store, the overly friendly, excited and very relaxed host greets you.

The theme of Red Bamboo has a heavy Asian influence: bonsai trees on nearly every corner with tables. Cream coloured walls, with blood-red hinges. A large money tree at the entrance, and two small harem inspired candles on every table. The room’s light barely bright gives the place a very medium, cool relaxed feel. However, sometimes it is hard to read with that light. The seating consists of small square wooden tables and a long in wall bench, that eventually curves to become the wall of the kitchen and on the opposite side of the table are one or two small wooden chairs.

If one has to wait, it can be frustrating because you have to wait outside; however, if one is seated soon they are served swiftly. As you sit down, you are immediately served cool refreshing water, which get refilled throughout your stay there. The choices are all soy food, so it’s the perfect vegan appropriate restaurant. The appetizers include, four piece “Cajun Fried Shrimp” for $5.99 to the infamous, yet pretty standard plain vegetable soup or French fries for $4.00.

Meal choices are any regular meat entrées, which would be served at other restaurants, like chicken sandwich and fries, except here, it’s all soy. If the laid back host figures out that one is a carnivore, he politely reminds them that there isn’t any meat in the building, “except for the people who live on the second floor.”

At the Red Bamboo, most of the chicken meals are $7.99 to $14.99. This also applies to the steak and seafood dishes. Most sandwich meals are combined with either French fries or brown rice (which is the only vegan eatable carb.) The other meal dishes include ox tail soup with a helping of either dumplings or brown-rice, and ribs, smothered in vegan barbeque sauce.The portions are rather medium-sized (replicating a hint off Viennese and French meal sizes).

All desserts are soy products, no lactose dairy, and absolutely no trans-fat. But choices do include the Chef’s special of the day, or regular enlarged cheese cake servings, brownies, or cookies. Most small-branded restaurants in Manhattan serve smaller desserts with their medium servings, so if you are big on huge desserts, this is most definitely the place to be, as well as if you are a fan of medium (not large or over-sized) milkshakes. The choices include vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, or regular soy milk, topped with a professional garnish of organic whipped cream and cherries.

This is absolutely a must try restaurant, even if you eat meat, because the “meat” here is considerably realistic to the average meats meat-eaters eat, so they wouldn’t know the difference, except that the “meat” taste good. The food is cooked to perfection based on the patrons choosing and because of the restaurant’s standards. Nothing comes undone, or overcooked. No food is too fried or too oily, like some restaurants have habits of committing. It is most definitely a place to be if you feel the need to “escape” the average city restaurants, and to experience a completely new restaurant feel.