Avant Garden

East Village

New York City

Restaurants

Upscale Vegan in Casual East Village Open Kitchen Digs

Avant Garden wine drinks and menu east village

Avant Garden sunchoke toast east village

Cuisine:

New American| Vegan| Vegetarian

Price:

$$$

Features:

Date Night Dine at the Bar Tops in Neighborhood

About Avant Garden

& why it made the Carpe City list

If you are a vegan, you will love it. If you are not, Avant Garden just might change that.
Expect a warm atmosphere, cozy but not cramped, and in our experience, a super-friendly staff.
Most veggie-focused restaurants let us down on the wine option front. Not so with Avant Garden. Their list is solid.
Portions are nice. You will not leave hungry.
Our Carpe City non-vegan, huge meat-eating-taster said she would go back in a heartbeat. (Of course, the strong wine list did not hurt.)
You’ll find another outpost in Brooklyn. It’s also part of the DeRossi empire, which is taking over 6th and 7th Aves with other favorites like Death & Co, Amor Y Amargo, Ladybird and Fire & Water.
Get: Everything we tasted was quite good. Some favorites were the Baby Gem Charred Salad, Sunchoke Toast, Celery Root and a very hearty House Made Spaghetti.
The kitchen is open, so be prepared for some veggie aromas. If you are cool with that, then definitely try to sit at the chef’s counter.
In the warmer months, it would be a good place for solo dining at one of the open window seats for some prime East Village people-watching

Carpe City Trivia

What exactly are sunchokes?

The sunchoke is puzzling to some because of its name and appearance so we are here to tell you a bit more about this flavorful and versatile root vegetable.

Also known as a Jerusalem artichoke, sunchokes are tubular-shaped underground plant stems from the sunflower family. This is where it gets interesting: sunchokes have no relation whatsoever to artichokes or Jerusalem and actually resemble knobby ginger root when picked. The taste can best be described as a crunchy fusion of potatoes and water chestnuts with a nutty and earthy flavor. Since they can be eaten a variety of ways: raw, sliced, sautéed or roasted and are also a source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, we are totally rooting for sunchokes this season.