Spread Love & Eat — Restaurant in New York

My friend Pinar and I recently found this gem in Brooklyn during a birthday weekend in the city. The owner, Rony, turned out to be the true jewel of our entire four-day vacation. We visited twice--once for dinner and once for a late breakfast/early lunch--so we tried many items. Rony is a Haitian American veteran and symbolizes what makes our country great when it's truly realized and accepted.

Now, on to the food...

During our first visit, we tried the Toona Salad, the vegan steak with steamed rice and green beans, and the plantains. During the second visit, three days later, we ordered the chickpea curry, apple oats, and the tofu scramble wrap. You can tell by the pictures how delightfully everything is presented, and the flavor was a hundredfold as good. I'm not vegan or vegetarian like my friend, who has been vegan for many years, but I wasn't missing anything. I've loved mushrooms and tofu my whole meat-eating life, and when correctly marinated and prepared, both are textural marvels, ranging from delicate and custardy to deep-fried and crunchy. Their unmatched flavor-absorbing powers make mushrooms and tofu a blank canvas waiting for the artist to make their mark. Rony Theodore is such an artist; he created all of these wonderful flavors and recipes. I can see why, as we enjoyed our meals, there were people constantly picking up to-go orders. He never missed a beat acknowledging their presence and keeping the customers engaged during our entire visit, both times. The staff is friendly and top-notch; you can tell they feel appreciated and part of the family. The chickpeas in the Toona Salad provide a low-glycemic protein option that I couldn't have imagined before trying it. Growing up military, I've had my fair share of tuna sandwiches, and I'm happy to have the chickpea version from now on. The plantains and their special sauce weren't sweet or glazed like I've had in the past, and I appreciate being able to enjoy them lightly fried without any extra sugar; like Rony, they're sweet enough as they come. The chickpea curry was super flavorful, and the texture was perfection. The green beans were sautéed flawlessly both times and flavored with garlic, as they should be. I only had a bite of the apples and oats before Pinar polished off the entire bowl in under four minutes--seriously... I'm mad about it.

Did you only need a great latte? Don't miss out on the God-tier espresso machine and burr grinder; the staff is trained to make amazing macchiatos along with several other espresso- or coffee-based beverages. Also worth mentioning are the various coconut waters in the fridge towards the back of the restaurant. I've never been a fan of coconut water, but I bought a case of the bottled version because it's really like having someone hand you a coconut with a straw during an island getaway. Hearing the Haitian language spoken by Rony to his staff gave me some smooth-brain feelings; it's such a beautiful language. I'm fairly certain Brooklyn has a plethora of Caribbean-themed restaurants, but with respect to the others, this one stands out well above anything I've tried before. You can tell this establishment appeals to a healthier crowd, being located directly across from a large gym. Everyone is friendly inside and out, and all of the locally made artwork will keep your attention as you wait for your meal. Stop by on your next trip to Brooklyn and do yourself a favor: spread the love and eat healthy. You won't miss the calories or the cholesterol, and you might make a friend for...

VEGANS AND VEGATARIANS BEWARE: THIS RESTAURANT IS NOT A 100% VEGAN RESTAURANT! This is a restaurant with vegan options on it's menu. There are REAL CHICKEN, SALMON and SHRIMP dishes on their menu but they are not really listed as real meat items. Also, MOST OF THE HOT DRINKS HAVE REAL MILK IN THEM. If you're vegan or vegetarian and decide to eat here, READ THE MENU CAREFULLY. There is no vegan section on the menu. Everything is piled in together on the menu. Real meat dishes are listed along with vegan dishes and some of the real meat dishes are not leven abeled as such. They have only 5 salads on their whole menu and NONE OF THE SALADS are vegan. The Brekke Vegan Salad on their menu has Feta Chese in it but it is not listed as vegan feta cheese. The other 4 salads have either Ceasar Dressing, Shrimp Salmon or chicken in them. NOT VEGAN!! There are only 5 Tacos on the menu and 4 of them are DEFINITELY NOT VEGAN. 1 of the is pssibly vegan if you trust that the Chili Lime Sauce is vegan but, it is not listed as vegan so... The menu is about 65% vegan. READ, READ, READ EVERYTHING. Owner, It is very deceiving to call yourself a "Hatian Vegan Restaurant" when you are not a 100% vegan restaurant. You are a restaurant with VEGAN OPTIONS. Please correct that. Correct your website and your menu too. Place the vegan options in a section on the menu labeled vegan options on your menu. I wasted money ordering a dish from here thinking the dish is vegan. I am glad that My eyes and my nose don't deceive me and I reasearched the whole menu then I threw it away and did not eat it. I originally ordered a dish from your menu maned 'SLE Salmon Rice Vegetable" Got it home, looked at it and was surprised to see REAL SALMON! I am VEGAN. I THOUGHT this was a 100% VEGAN RESTAURANT? That is how you sell yourself isn't it? Well, I looked at another Salmon item (Salmon Taco) on your menu and it says "Wild Caught Salmon." But, the "SLE Salmon Rice" Plate was not that descriptive. FIX YOUR MENU. PUT THE VEGAN STUFF UNDER A VEGAN HEADING! FIX YOUR WEBSITE! YOU ARE NOT A 100% VEGAN RESTAURANT! It's ILLEGAL to call yourself a "vegan restaturnat" but also sell non-vegan stuff in the restaurant. I am issuing a fair warning. PLEASE CORRECT YOUR ADVERTISING NOW. Complaints may need to be filed with the FTC, State Consumer Protection Agency and the Health Department if these changes are not made NOW. You are being deceptive, misleading, false advertising and consumer fraud and you will get FINED. Make the corrections now before someone with real allergies files a lawsuit...

This place has good food. But their attitude and portions are not worth your money. I was a regular customer here but eventually the prices seemed to go up and the portions dropped. My husband had to call and complain to see if we could get our order redone or be refunded for it. The professionalism was not there. The owner insinuated that we were lying because “his cooks” would never do anything wrong. I don’t see what we possibly could’ve gained out of lying about the food after I drove 20 mins home and was comfy in my pjs ready to eat. We spent $56 for 3 plates of food. The chicken sandwich w/ sweet potato fries. The chicken was non existent in the bread. It literally looked like they gave us a nugget. They put exactly 12 shoestring sweet potato fries. For literally almost $20. The shrimp tacos was more sauce than anything else. I saw a video of shrimp tacos on their page and I was shocked to see what I received. The shrimp is literally the size of the shrimp from the cup noodle. We also had the pasta which was the only thing worth the money. On top of the owner swearing his cooks would never do anything wrong my husband went all the way back to the restaurant with the food to prove we didn’t touch anything, they didn’t want to even look in the bag. The lady at the cash register started to talk crap about my husband in creole not knowing that he understood the language. When I pay my money I expect quality if this issue was handled properly I wouldn’t be writing this review. But because of how poorly they responded please be wise when ordering from here. As for me this was...