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Editorial Review
Ah, soy—is there anything it can't taste like? After our recent trip to Soy Luck Club on Greenwich Ave., I'm convinced that prepared correctly, you couldn't tell the difference between soy products and their fattier counterparts. I couldn't—even when I was surrounded by it. One second it's a frothy shake, and then it's off to pose as chicken in a salad. Soy is clearly the Leonardo DaVinci of the vegetarian world. Though I'm not sure that DaVinci worked in the medium of tofu, Vivian, the owner of Soy Luck Club, is quite the renaissance woman herself. A Berkeley-schooled architect, she employs her training in design to make some of the most structurally sound salads in New York.
The menu is a nice mix of everything—not entirely vegetarian, but the option to substitute soy chicken and soy cheese should satisfy even the vegan lifestyle. Most of their produce is organic, the sweets are all vegan, and all shakes and lattes are soy based. I've long been a fan of soy milk, but the mix of drinks we sampled were particularly impressive, even to me. The good-sized strawberry soymilk shake ($4.75) was silky, rich, and sweet without being overly indulgent. The mint chocolate hot soy steamer ($3.95) filled the indulgence category. Your taste buds get treated to the equivalent of a warm glass of frothy mint chocolate chip ice cream, but your body will remember that soy milk means half the calories and fat, with no cholesterol.
Sure the drinks were delicious, and I like a nicely seasoned piece of tofu more than most people I know, but that doesn't mean that it always tastes like what it's imitating. I was sure that my carnivorous partners would immediately point out the discrepancies, but no such comments followed. After tasting the protein sampler salad ($10), I was myself fooled. The curried tofu chicken topping tasted like, well, like curried chicken, and excellent curried chicken at that. The tofu salad tasted so much like egg salad, it could fool a chicken. And all salads are offered with the choice of five different organic dressings to boot. The summer salad ($10) was a nice mixture of mesclun greens, avocado, cucumber, apples, cherry tomatoes, and hazelnut slivers. I was most impressed by the vast portion of cucumbers. Is it just me, or do we live in a world where salad makers hoard cucumbers like they were gold? Last I checked, cucumbers were still plentiful, even affordable, and cannot be used as currency. Yet every time I order a salad it comes with a single slice of cucumber. We salute you, Soy Luck Club, for taking a stand against cucumber misers everywhere.
The tofu salad sandwich ($8), made with soy mayo, was topped generously with avocado, and served on thick slices of whole wheat walnut raisin. The filling was delicious and satisfying, but the bread really made the sandwich. Soft, and moist, but far from mushy, and thick enough to keep the soy mayo from making it soggy—perfect. Maybe our favorite was the grilled whole wheat bagel sandwich ($5), layered with tomato slices, fresh basil, and soy cream cheese. This sandwich brought together an eclectic mix of tastes that blended wonderfully. Take a bite, savor the creamy soy spread, but before you swallow, exhale and feel the crisp aroma of basil pick you up in an effervescent wave.
Soy Luck Club offers a terrific menu and some interesting ways to sample. Join their breakfast club ($40 a month), and help yourself to a free breakfast buffet every morning! And if you can't step away from work to eat, there's no need to—just hook up to their free DSL or Wi-Fi connection and have a business lunch. Purchase some Soy Luck Bucks, redeemable without expiration, and get a great value on even better food. If my protein addicted partners couldn't even tell the difference between their soy chicken, soy egg, and the real thing, I defy you to be able to. But taste tests aside, Soy Luck Club certainly might lead you to ponder the all-important philosophical question of which came first—the soy chicken, or the soy egg? Think about it. |
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Restaurant Information
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Organic
Vegetarian Friendly
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Global Fusion
New American
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$$ ($15-$20)
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M-Su: 8am-9:30pm
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Member Reviews -- Sorted by
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Showing: 1 of 3 | | User Rating: Recommended | Food Poisoning at Soy. Posted by AmieS. on 7/5/09 | Before eating at Soy, you should check out their Restaurant Inspection Information from their last inspection. I did after getting food poisoning, and am DISGUSTED. Here is the link http://167.153.150.32/RI/web/detail.do?method=history&restaurantId=41406332
They Scored a 44 (a zero is a perfect score, so a 44 is like a 56% = MAJOR FAILURE).
It is no wonder I got sick after reading violations 4/5/6 and 8. EKK!
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Soy Luck Club
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