It’s basically beach season, so we might as well attempt to eat some healthy meals here and there. No secret here but Souen on 13th Street/Union Square is a little spot where you can pack in your greens and vitamins easily. It’s a macrobiotic restaurants which means it’s organic, dairy free and doesn’t use meat or any preservatives. The Asian flavors combined with an array of vegetable options make for great brown rice bowls. You can choose from a Macro Plate with steamed greens, vegetables, hijiki seaweed, beans; Broccoli Tofu with carrot onion and crushed tofu in a carrot sauce; Squash Tofu with onion, carrot, nappa green, broccoli, snow pea, miso tahini sauce. Basically this side of the menu is very earthy and hearty. The Vegetable Curry has the most variety of veggies and is paired with mild curry, turmeric, ginger root sauce. These sauces may look heavy but remember they aren’t made with any cream and just with the natural produce on this planet. It’s not too sweet and just the right amount of dressing to make sautéed vegetables pop. These plates are dreamy for a vegetarian or a carnivore; however, they do offer scallops and salmon as extras. Take my advice and stick to the vegetarian ways in this situation.
I also don’t know how or what they do with this squash. It’s so dense, hearty and soft all at the same time. You might want to stroll in here just to order a side of this for your lunch. Top it with some tahini and you’ve got yourself a gem and something craveable. I’d be interested to try their homemade corn bread which is gluten free and served with apple or tahini butter. FYI all of the menu is gluten free with the exception of seitan, soba, udon, baked tofu and anything fried. Souen is fast, always a table available, pretty affordable ($15 is the most expensive entree) and would most likely make outstanding delivery. They also have sushi lunch specials with an inside out roll with carrot, cucumber, and snow pea sprout with sesame seeds for $9 plus your choice of two items including: bean of the day, miso soup, hijiki seaweed, steamed greens, cabbage salad, steamed tofu, brown rice, etc. One little bonus at the East Village location is their edamame hummus. Maybe it’s a specialty item here, but whatever it is it’s unreal. Souen is that place you go to or pick-up from when your just like “eh, I need something good and I need something now.” It’s always satisfying and it’s always there for you.
