If Manhattan seems overwhelming, visit this little vegetarian oasis. It's open to the street, providing a charming low-key feel, and you don't have to worry if you'll be confronting attitudinal staff, the kind about which someone in a Calvin Trillin book once remarked "This isn't a play about a restaurant; it's a restaurant." Everyone is always extremely friendly and welcomes you to a neighborhood hangout. It's the kind of place which has regulars. I'm even sort of one, since it's the only restaurant I've been twice in my two most recent trips to New York. That wasn't entirely intentional (the second time I was looking for Kate's Joint but didn't want to wander all the way to Avenue B and 4th), but I was happy to end up there, nevertheless. The extensive menu is all veggie-vegan and includes classics like meatloaf, diner-type sandwiches, and Tex-Mex items. There's even something called 'crab fakes,' which is on my list for a future visit. I can imagine crab cakes made with imitation crab like a California roll, but since this place is totally veggie there must also be non-animal-based crab, and that seems so wacky I should try it. Eponymous curly fries are a must, and I enjoyed both the popular sloppy joe and the Philly cheesesteak. Oddly, though, I thought the higher quality of the fake steak, which was thick and chewy unlike much faux meat, held back the cheesesteak from the greasy spoon glory that one finds at, say, Metro in San Francisco. Prices are Manatthan-esque but many of the portions are fairly large. Recommended as a kind of home-away-from-home in the midst of the city for vegetarians.
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