Vegetarian's Paradise 2

144 W 4th St

New York, NY

http://www.vp2-nyc.com/

I love this place. Well, I really just love the Crispy Soul Chicken--It's amazing! I've been here a couple times and I always get Soul Chicken. It's almost always crowded around dinner time and the fact that its tiny doesnt help.

I love that I have a spot to satisfy my chicken cravings. I've never had any of the other meat substitutes but I assume theyre just as good as the chicken.

Asian vibe decorations...though there's not really much to decorate because the restaurant is tiny. I hate when they seat me directly next to another table because its sort of like you're having dinner with the other people too. I like my space when eating.

Food 15. I really love the soul chicken, I havent had enough of the other options to give a higher rating. They're spinach dumplings are gross.

Decor 10. It's too small. It could be worse but I'm not a fan of sitting close to other people while eating dinner.

Service 14. Average service. Not awful just not good enough.

Overall, averaged to 13 but I'll give them a 15, because I'm addicted to the soul chicken! Affordable. I believe they give fortune cookies with the checks. This is a regular place for me, there's definately a lot of other stuff I want to try.

P.F. Changs UPDATE

The Shops at Riverside, Suite 50

Hackensack, NJ 07601

http://www.pfchangs.com/

We're friends with the chef. Hi Courtney! He's awesome.

Consulting Jess on Tofu.

Mai Tai. Yes, that is a real plant in the drink. The Pineapple inside was yum, the drink not so much my taste.

Dinner! I forgot to take pictures of our appetizers. We ordered the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Calamari and Crab Wontons--which Courtney happen to send another order to our table. I didnt like the crab wontons, actually noone at the table did. The consistency of the crab was gross. The salt and pepper calamari was pretty good.

Jess ordered the Ma Po Tofu, it was red when I ordered it. It still tasted good to me.

Crispy Honey Shrimp. mmmmmm. Not the best picture, I know, but those shrimp are sooooooo good. I'm not even into honey flavored stuff.

Mongolion Beef. Naomi's fav.

OMG. Vegetable Fried Rice sooooooo good.

DESSERT TIME!

Enter GREAT WALL OF CHOCOLATE.

It looks better than it taste. It's good. It just builds up expectations that can't be filled.

Nez wanted it all! lol.

Banana Spring Rolls, not the best picture. MY FAVORITE DESSERT @ Changs. Top 5 Favorite Desserts of all time.

and the damage is done...btw. Dessert was on Courtney. I know, you're mad. lol.

Until next time P.F. Changs...

Sofritos

400 East 57th Street

New York, NY 10022

The first time I heard of Sofritos was while watching an episode of something on Mun2, and Don Omar deemed it as his favorite restaurant. woopie. I have to admit, I really did want to go to this place but as usual, I thought it was just a celebrity endorsed wastebasket. Finally, NOT A CHAIN RESTAURANT!

My cousin made reservations for Wednesday night around 9 p.m. It was pretty crowded considering it was a Wednesday night, but again, this is NYC. I will never find a quiet and/or empty restaurant.

The waiters are typical Puerto Rican gentlemen--pulling out the seat, putting napkins on our laps, and expecting us to pay the check. lol. KIDDING! I can't hate on my own kind. Any who, they really were courteous and charismatic. I think there was a live DJ because the music was on point! With an all white themed dining decor, light changing bar, and walls drawn on by De la Vega himself, I must say the decor is pretty exceptional.

Ok. So they sell Mojitos by the pitcher. AWESOME! We ordered a pitcher of pineapple Mojito, which was amazing. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of Mojitos because I'm not into minty flavor, but this was great. I think I loved it so much because of the real pineapple chunks in it.

Food wise, the best thing was the appetizer. It was a huge plate that had a bit of everything--Chicharron de Pollo, Tostones Montaditos, Carne Frita, Calamares Frito, Chicharron de Camarones, Empanadas. As you know I don't eat meat but I did have the shrimp, calamari and Tostones, they were muy bueno.

For my entree I ordered the Camarones Frito (crispy fried shrimp) con Yuca Fries. If I ranked yuca fries, these would rank in the top three best Yuca fries of all time. Naomi and Nez ordered the Churraco (skirt steak) con monfongo (they both got sick afterwards so that raises an eyebrow). I tried their monfongo, another food I'm usually not fond of outside of Puerto Rico, but it was pretty good. Jessica had the Filet Mignon, classy, she loved it.

We didn't have dessert, we were all stuffed and the Mojitos were satisfying.

{Reminder. Ratings based on a 1-20 scale, 1 being awful, 20 being the beeeeest.}

Food 15. I enjoyed the appetizer and Mojitos the most. My shrimp were regular, nothing special. Skirt Steak sickness? Overall, we all felt pretty regular about the food, with the exception of the appetizer.

Decor 18. Loved that the walls were done by De La Vega. Can you get anymore Puerto Rican?

Service 19. Great wait staff, friendly hostess, courteous coat check, and they were all dressed neat.

It was kind of expensive, but we did get a lot of food, I think it worked out to somewhere between 50-55 per person including tip.

Overall, I give Sofritos a 17. I think I'm being a bit generous, but it was good.

I would eat at Sofritos again, but I cant see myself becoming a regular. I would definitely go for the Mojitos and appetizers, there isn't much on the menu I can have as a vegetarian (pescetarian for the anal retentive's out there). Its a once in a while kind of restaurant that you feel you have to visit just to see if its changed. It seems like its a cool night spot for drinks.

We didn't get anything special with the checks...some classic Puerto Rican candy would've been nice.