Eating Not Eating: Chickpea & Olive

EATING NOT EATING:
CHICKPEA & OLIVE

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Vegans rejoice! From her last installment about Souvlaki, WNW Member #2245 Lauren Hom shares her most recent chalkboard creation and culinary review, this time for Chickpea & Olive. A pop up restaurant that travels all over New York, Chickpea & Olive holds it down every weekend in Williamsburg at Smoragsburg where Lauren caught them. With food this good, we're almost convinced that we don't need beef in our burger. 

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Chickpea & Olive is a pop-up vegan restaurant located at Smorgasburg every Saturday and Sunday in Brooklyn. Founded by Danielle Riccardi and Daniel Strong, Chickpea & Olive aims to recreate soul-comforting food with a healthy twist. They source organic and local ingredients and work with amazing New York City bakeries, artisans, and growers. Serving up hearty homemade beet burgers and vegan sandwiches slathered in homemade sauces and melted cheese, Chickpea & Olive could amaze even your most carnivorous friend.

Last Saturday I stopped by Smorgasburg in Williamsburg to lunch at Chickpea & Olive. I was happy to find Dan and Danielle blasting hip hop while grilling up sandwiches for a long line of hungry Smorgasburg-ers. I treated myself to not one, but TWO (calories don't count on the weekend, okay?) of their homemade beet burgers and a coconut Arnold Palmer (half tangy, fresh-squeezed lemonade and half roasted, buttery coconut black tea, as recommended by Danielle herself). I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the best thing you'll drink all summer.

First up was the most decadent sounding item on the menu: the Bacon Cheddar Ranch burger. Served on a pillowy soft bun, this handmade beet patty was topped with cheddar, hickory smoked eggplant bacon, bread and butter pickles, heirloom tomatoes and green leaf lettuce. Oh wait, there's more? You betcha. On top of all that was a generous drizzle of their fresh herb ranch sauce. The star of the sandwich was the eggplant bacon: paper thin slices of eggplant, seasoned, smoked and roasted to perfection. Needless to say, I polished it off in five minutes.

The next sandwich was equally as exciting: the Calexico burger. It had the same tasty beet patty as the previous burger, but this time it was topped with cheddar, avocado, pickled red onions, pickled jalapeños, heirloom tomatoes, green leaf lettuce and chipotle aioli. Talk about a kick! Each bite was delightful: heat from the jalapeños, tanginess from the pickled onions, and richness from the fresh avocado slices. If you're not busy this weekend, head on over to Smorgasburg and bite into one of these delicious burgers. If you are busy this weekend, cancel all of your plans. You're welcome in advance.

Chickpea & Olive: 90 Kent Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11249

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EATING NOT EATING: LAUREN HOM

EATING NOT EATING: LAUREN HOM

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If you weren't hungry before, you will be now. With our members writing reviews of their favorite TV shows, why not add restaurants to the mix? WNW Member #2245 Lauren Hom was, of course, the natural choice to be our resident food critic. Courtesy of her Will Letter for Lunch project, Lauren has become a professional foodie, drawing - and eating - her way through New York City. As an illustrator, Lauren offers her lettering skills to restaurants in exchange for food, producing the stuff of Pinterest dreams. To kick off Eating Not Eating, a series on restaurants that inspire us, Lauren gives us the low-down on a Lower East side Greek spot that has us salivating for spanakopita and souvlaki. 

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Nestled near the Essex Street Market, Souvlaki GR serves everything Greek from buttery, flaky spanakopita (phyllo dough stuffed with feta and spiced spinach) to glasses of fine liquors you can usually only find on the other side of the world. With it’s white walls, blue windows and doors, and authentic Greek food, Souvlaki GR truly is a little taste of Mykonos in the Lower East Side. 

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Since I eat mostly vegetarian and decided to pass on the lamb chops I lettered, the kind folks at Souvlaki GR whipped me up a spread of their best Greek veggie options: Kolokithokeftedes (zucchini croquettes with carrots, scallions and mint with a side of tzatziki sauce, a spread of delicious homemade dips: spicy feta, roasted eggplant, and garlic potato), tangy Revidosalata salads with chickpeas, feta, red onions, tomato, and cucumber, and grilled veggie souvlaki pita wraps. Oh, and of course, a glass of white wine. It's not like it was 2pm or anything...

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This meal was so tasty and hearty that I almost forgot it didn't have any meat. The zucchini fritters were hot, crispy, and perfect with a dollop of creamy yogurt sauce on top. All of the homemade dips were good, but the standout one was definitely the spicy feta; a tart, rich, and zesty spread that was borderline addicting on top of chewy pita bread. The salad was recommended by the owner herself, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. There had to be at least a cup of chickpeas on top of the salad, making it one of the most satisfying ones I've ever had. And of course, I couldn't leave Souvlaki GR without trying the dish they're named after: souvlaki (anything Greek, grilled, and on a skewer)! I had a mixed vegetable souvlaki inside a pita. Sweet grilled vegetables, crispy french fries, and creamy tzatziki sauce all wrapped up inside of a warm pita? Yes please.

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Soulvaki GR: 116 Stanton St, New York, NY. 10am-11pm. 

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