This weekend we tried out Salud, the new health food and juice joint on Avenue H that everyone is talking about, and we were pretty impressed. The restaurant has several soups of the day, and we had the sweet potato and kale soup, which was a delicious blend of autumn vegetables. We also tried the Vegetarian Chicken Sandwich with TVP (pictured), which was pre-made earlier in the day. It was a little too plain for our tastes, lacking some zest which could be easily fixed with soy mayonnaise. The Amazin' Grilled Cheese was great. It has soy gouda cheese (casein-free), avocado, tomato, and sprouts on a delicious bread that is brushed with olive oil. I will definitely get that again.Salud is family owned, and the Mexican hot chocolate is their grandmother's recipe. It is not as sweet as the powdered stuff you make at home and it has a hint of cinnamon in it. Best of all, it can be made with soy milk!
And of course, because it is a juice bar and smoothie place, we had to try some of their drinks. Patrick bravely ordered the Gownus Green juice: spinach, kale, parsley, celery, cucumbers, apples and spirulina. It tasted like your standard green juice- a little salty and slightly watery. It is certainly a health boost, but if you really want something tasty, try the Tropic-O-Lada smoothie with pineapple, mango, bananas, coconut flakes, and soy milk. Patrick declared it the best smoothie he has ever had (and the kid has had a lot of smoothies).
The interior is very welcoming and airy, although they could use a few more tables (business was very good when we were there). The customer service was excellent. We spoke with one of the owners who was very friendly and patient with our vegan questions. He was also nice enough to offer everyone samples of their homemade soups. The drink prices are somewhat on the high end, but still comparable to Newkirk Plaza's Bally's EFF, which lacks Salud's charm and efficiency.
Overall, we're pleasantly surprised to have a restaurant that is so accomodating to vegetarians and vegans in an unlikely location. Your move, Cortelyou.
Food: B Drinks: A
Service: A
Value: B
Atmosphere: A
Salud || 1308 Avenue H || 347-295-1191
4 comments:
I've been at Salud once. Don't you agree, that they are a little bit overpriced?
I paid 16 bucks for 2 sandwiches and a small (and I say SMALL) juice.
I had a sandwich with avocado. If I made this sandwich at home, it would have cost me maybe 1.50 or so. At Salud, I paid over 5 bucks.
I've been to Salud, twice, both times for soup. Cream of turkey and Mexican chicken soup. Both were wonderful, and at $3.95 a pint, a definite bargain. These are things I could not create at home. Now that the cold weather is here, I'll be a regular at Salud.
Overpriced? We have to remember their food is all ORGANIC. From shopping at Whole Foods and Natural Frontier, I can assure you buying organic doesn't come cheap. So I can totally understand the price value. I myself stuck with the Salud Signatures. After all, it is a Mexican take on organic. Their homemade Mexican Hot Chocolate was delightfully exquisite. Rich and full of flavor. I was even told how it's prepared, minus a few secret ingredients. They even mentioned that they're thinking of introducing organic tamales! Yum. And they won't be leaving out the Vegans. Eddie, one of the owners was honest enough to tell me that making a tamale vegan might obviously change the flavor or "magic" of what a tamale is, but they're going to try their best to wow us. Now that's a passion for food I can totally respect. I can't wait!
I highly recommend this place!
Glad they're in our neighborhood when they could've easily opened in Billyburg or Park Slope. Kudos for being pioneers! Stick to your pistolas SALUD!
I am so impressed with this blog. I am going to look into the many suggestions for vegan dishes. I am not a vegetarian. However I try to have as many meatless meals as possible. I know meat isn't healthy, so to know of the many restarants in the neighborhood that are vegetarian is wonderful.
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