Yes, the hot food can be pretty brown. But the salad bar is green and fresh as can be!

After six years hidden in the basement of the Equitable Building at 120 Broadway, Little Lad’s Basket is being kicked out. Their last definite day in the current location will be next Thursday, August 11.

They are very serious about reopening elsewhere as soon as they can, but given the cutthroat vagaries of the NYC real estate and restaurant markets, who knows when that might be. So go eat there this week! I hope they have the “Crafty” mac and cheese and unlimited guacamole when you go!!

In addition to being awesome in it’s own right, Little Lad’s is by far the best option for vegan food in the Financial District (fighting for second place we have Sam’s and Alan’s falafel carts, Chipotle, and Hale & Hearty; not much). Little Lad’s is planning to stay in the neighborhood, where their customers already know and love them. (Those waiting for affordable, quality vegan food in Midtown will have to keep on waiting.)

If you’re unfamiliar with LLB, it’s a vegan lunch and breakfast spot, offering both à la carte options and an all-you-can eat buffet. The buffet is the main attraction, with lunch at $6.50 (including tax) and breakfast for about $4 (feel free to comment with the actual price; I haven’t been for breakfast since the latest price rise and Little Lads’s website is out of date.) For breakfast, you get potatoes, scramble, oatmeal, bagels, toast, “buttah” spread, and fruit. For lunch, expect a couple of soups, a great salad bar, a hot table full of brown comfort food, and fresh fruit with granola and “sweet cream” for dessert. Plus, free wifi.

Part of the magic of Little Lad’s is how hard it is to find and how bizarre their space is. For about a year there’s been a small sign in the lobby. But before that, the descent was something of a leap of faith–could there really be a vegan restaurant down there? And once you’ve descended that majestic marble staircase, the restaurant occupies a rambling warren of subterranean galleries, equally charming and surreal. Obviously it will be a good thing if their new space is easier to find, and maybe has some daylight, but I doubt I’m the only one who will miss the current spot.

It’s a Seventh Day Adventist establishment, and in addition to no animal products, they serve no chocolate, no coffee (breakfast customers beware!), no baking powder, no baking soda, and no fermented items (including vinegar, but they still make awesome salad dressings). While the checkout area has materials advocating eating fewer (and ending subsidies for) animal products, I’ve never noticed any proselytizing on behalf of Seventh Day Adventism.

For a bit more background and a sense of exactly how hard-working and tireless owner Larry Fleming and his staff and family are, I recommend this New York Observer article.

I had a brief chat with Larry today. When I asked if he had anything he wanted me to include in this post, his emphatic response was: “Refuse to be served garbage.” Amen! And big thanks to Little Lad’s for making it so much easier to follow this great advice. Let’s hope they reopen really soon.

There’s more daily deal services than you can shake a stick at these days (Groupon, Living Social, Scoutmob, KGB Deals, Tippr, BuyWithMe, etc.). It’s not uncommon for them to offer deals for vegan-friendly restaurants or “green” businesses. And while they push a lot of crap, I’ve been happy to snap up Groupons for cheaper food at Maoz Vegetarian, Terri, Pure Food and Wine, Cocoa V, and Foodswings over the last year or so.

Anyway, there’s a new kid on the block, MindBodyGreen. For now, they’re NYC only, but they’re planning to launch in other cities. To quote them, “MindBodyGreen New York brings its members great deals on the best healthy and green experiences in New York. If we like the yoga classes at a studio, the organic products at a spa, or the eco-chic clothing at a boutique, our members will too! Living healthier and greener just got easier – and at a great price.”

If that sounds good to you, go sign up. You can tell their heart is in the right place because their graphic design is terrible. If you’re just a cheap food-eating person like me, you might want to join, too–two of the deals they’ve got up right now are for Gustorganics and Vegan Divas cookies.

Of course, remember your three “R”s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I’m pretty sure most of what you’ll get via MindBodyGreen won’t help you with any of these. But maybe it will help you spend less money on greener things than you would otherwise spend it on.

Hard to beat this deal: Candle Cafe seitan with two sides for just $7.99 at the Whole Foods Market in Chelsea

So, you invested with Uncle Bernie and Auntie Ruth, but you still crave the delectable seitan chimichurri at Candle Cafe and Candle 79. But even if no one madoff with your hard earned dough, now, of course, is not the best time to spend $8 or $9 on an appetizer.

Don’t fret however! When $8 or $9 is your budget for a meal rather than just a bite, you can still enjoy Candle’s citrus-marinated seitan skewers!

In the prepared foods section of the Whole Foods Market in Chelsea, you can get a vegetarian plate with a main dish and two sides for just $7.99 (or $8.66 with tax included). Candle’s seitan will qualify as a main and you can choose two from at least half a dozen other vegan side dishes like white asparagus with wild mushrooms, roasted butternut squash with cranberries, and garlic broccoli rabe to complete your meal.

Unfortunately, this deal is only available at the Whole Foods Market in Chelsea (the deal is $10.99 at other locations) and this location does not have seating. And one more catch, they don’t have the seitan every day, but you can call the store’s friendly customer service staff to check on availability before you head over.

It’s no secret that it takes more than a few pretty pennies to live in NYC. SuperVegan Penny Strategist serves as a playbook to help all you starving vegans/cheap bastards get by with a satisfied stomach as part of our non-court ordered community service. Check out some past SuperVegan Penny Strategist features.

Pukk: Chic and Cheap

You’re budget conscious but don’t want to sacrifice chic for cheap – Vegetarian Dim Sum House’s crumminess just won’t cut it for lunch this time around. So, how about an East Village Thai restaurant with a stylish green, gold and white quasi-minimalist atmosphere?

Whether you have to impress a cheap date (yes, that craigslist date you’re meeting for the first time) or hold a business meeting to discuss your next freelance/entrepreneurial project that will be your big break, Pukk’s three-course lunch specials make perfect sense for your wallet and palate.

For just $6, you get a brothy vegetable soup with choices of an appetizer like crispy tofu with sweet chili sauce and a Thai summer roll served with tamarind sauce, and an entree like the pad see-ew duck (seitan with broad rice noodles and chinese broccoli in a sweet and savory sauce) and Massaman curry veggies (sweet potato, onion, and veggies in a peanut curry sauce).

Portions can be small, so order a rice dish to fill yourself up better, or splurge by ordering an extra lunch special or a full-size entree. And yes, their prices are also very reasonable for dinner – entrees average $8-$10.

It’s no secret that it takes more than a few pretty pennies to live in NYC. SuperVegan Penny Strategist serves as a playbook to help all you starving vegans/cheap bastards get by with a satisfied stomach as part of our non-court ordered community service. Check out some past SuperVegan Penny Strategist features.

Saigon’s $4 vegan lemongrass chicken banh mi Vietnamese sandwich.

This is a sandwich that makes those $2.50 falafels you get seem like a total rip-off.

Across from Wild Ginger in Manhattan on the border of Chinatown and Nolita, Saigon serves famous Vietnamese sandwiches called banh mi in four varieties for $3 to $4.50: lemongrass chicken, curry chicken, house special vegetarian, and plain veggies. (Make sure to say “no mayo” for the ones that come with mayo.)

Each large sandwich makes a full lunch or a light supper and is served warm and made with crusty french bread, delightfully pickled veggies, and a long spear of cool cucumber. The best option is the $4 lemongrass chicken (and say yes when they ask if you want it spicy; you will thank me) – made of grilled firm tofu marinated in a sweet and savory lemongrass sauce. Yum.

It’s no secret that it takes more than a few pretty pennies to live in NYC. SuperVegan Penny Strategist serves as a playbook to help all you starving vegans/cheap bastards get by with a satisfied stomach as part of our non-court ordered community service. Check out some past SuperVegan Penny Strategist features.

Make sure to try the massive paper dosa at Madras Mahal.

The competition amongst the many Indian and vegetarian restaurants in Curry Hill can be fierce (damn you, Christian Siriano!!) – either you’re in or you’re out.

For a simple restaurant like Madras Mahal which has seen better days and been overshadowed by new comers like Tiffin Wallah (which offers better atmosphere at around the same price point), the best way to get customers walking into your doors and spending money is of course to offer deals – really, really good deals.

Through Restaurant.com, Madras Mahal offers a hard-to-resist deal for diners to purchase $25 gift certificates for just $10. The certificates are valid for dinner with a minimum purchase of $35, so it’s like getting 40% off your meal! Since Madras Mahal entrees average only about $9 and everything else is priced pretty reasonably, the $15 worth of additional free food that you get with your certificate allows you to eat a full meal and splurge while being on a budget. Additional details and purchasing info are available at Restaurant.com.

It’s no secret that it takes more than a few pretty pennies to live in NYC. SuperVegan Penny Strategist serves as a playbook to help all you starving vegans/cheap bastards get by with a satisfied stomach as part of our non-court ordered community service. Check out some past SuperVegan Penny Strategist features.

All this for just $3.99. Photo by: jrydin

It’s no secret that it takes more than a few pretty pennies to live in NYC. SuperVegan is debuting a regular feature – the SuperVegan Penny Strategist – to serve as a playbook to help all you starving vegans/cheap bastards get by with a satisfied stomach as part of our non-court ordered community service. Maybe now you’ll have enough money for a room in (“East”) Williamsburg that will actually fit your twin size bed. Perhaps even with a window. Regrettably, we still can’t get you laid.

The stock market may be a mess, but Wall Street types can still score a good deal with the no frills weekday vegan lunch buffet at Little Lad’s Basket. Located on the lower level of an unassuming office building at 120 Broadway, off Pine Street, this Seventh Day Adventist-owned joint offers simple, homey cuisine that offers the best dining out deal in New York City.

For just $3.99, you get a plate and a bowl to fill up with your picks from its hot bar, salad bar, dessert station, and soup pots. Options change daily, so every visit is a surprise! Some examples of past offerings include: shepherd’s pie, veggie meat chilli, lentil stew, mashed sweet potatoes, casseroles, and chocolate pudding.

For best food selection, arrive by 1:30pm. Little Lad’s Basket is closed on weekends and public holidays. For details, directions, and more info and to leave a review, visit the restaurant’s page in our vegan restaurant directory!