Review of Jungle Cafe, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
996 Manhattan Ave (corner of Huron, look for the great graffiti/mural across Huron St)
$10.49 Sundays: All You Can Eat Vegetarian Buffet
$2 coffee
(Already this place is ahead of the pack in terms of affordability and health!)
If you are like me, and think that going to the Hot Bar at Whole foods is a healthy (but expensive) treat, I've finally found the guilt free cure!!
It's a simple concept really, and although they seem to indicate they will have a "real" menu with different dishes that you can order, this buffet seems to work like magic. Both my pocket book and my body will be happy when I become a regular. Simple. Healthy, non allergy triggering food, communal style tables.
Below are the details:
Coffee
$2, 2 kinds, Regular, plus one with cinnamon cloves & cardamom. Made Turkish way, strong, but good! Brown sugar and Half & half, organic whole milk and soy (in the bigger container, of course)
They'll serve you a mug, but I prefer to get a to-go cup, so I can go home with a cup
I'll admit, I've been known to go to Starbucks in this neighborhood, both because I want to take coffee with me. And because it's generally CHEAPER!! When I explained my strategy, the waitress seemed fine with it. Maybe they haven't been jaded like the rest of the neighborhood, where coffee is treated like gold and every refill is jealously guarded and charged for. I come from a land (Boston) where coffee, no matter how good or bad it is, is offered with unlimited free refills.
For the record, I had 2 1/2 large coffees. Total.
Water
Ultra-filtered, served once you sit down, unlike the usual "Brooklyn Style", where they give you an unmarked wine bottle of water and leave you alone. It gives the waitress a chance to interact with the guest and make sure they are happy. Throughout, if I wanted anything other than water, I had to initiate it. The staff was always making sure everyone was happy, but not pushing themselves on anyone.
Music
Talking Heads "Home" totally!! Plus the rest of the albums straight through, loved it!
At some point it switched to The Cars , "All I Want Is You", and it took me a minute to register that David Byrne and Ric Ocasek . . . were not the same guy. "Uh Oh, It's Magic!" None of the iPod shuffle thing; it was fun to sit through all the songs from albums, especially the ones I didn't recognize.
Seating
Picnic tables, comfortable for families with small kids or strollers, at the table next to me, there was a family with a less than year old baby & the mom nursed it under a scarf. I didn't notice for a while, but it didn't surprise me. The whole low key vibe of the place
encouraging people to sit down with strangers and chat. (I like to sit by myself, and walk into a place that's not too crowded. But I usually end up asking other people what they are having, especially if they gush to the waitress about how much they like it!!
Atmosphere:
The staff was highly approachable, I started talking to one of the staff, who straightened out a bench that someone had not fully pulled out. Her roommate is getting a Masters in Feng Shui, who had yet to visit. I think she'll approve. With floor length windows looking at the corner of Manhaatan and
There's a huge, beautiful mural that takes up most of one wall, with windows and Edison Lights (which seem to be required by Brooklyn hipster law)
Except for the stainless steel kitchen, everything seems to be about natural wood, nice green stain on the lower walls. Even after being open for a month, they still seem to retain newly opened energy. The staff was friendly (but not too much), one was wearing carrot juice colored pants. Did I mention they do juices and smoothies?
Arrived 11:15am on a Sunday morning, and it was quiet, but there were already a few people there. 2 families with kids and a couple. By 12:25, it was twice as crowded, a group at every table and getting more & more crowded.
The Buffet:
Beet salad (my favorite!!!)
Seaweed & a protein (seitan, I think)
Celery root & Citrus Salad-bursting with flavor!!
Hummus-very creamy texture, (more like Tahini, but it was labeled "Hummus" so I'll take their word for it)
Scrambled Tofu brings me back to memories of eating at the Volunteer Tent at the Falcon Ridge Folk Music Festival, this version was MUCH tastier (no offense to FRF)!!
Guacamole with sundried tomatoes
Bay leaf in the bean stew, so I know it is good!!
Also unadulterated items like sprouts, salad greens and fresh berries!
I don't know how/if they are making money on this All You Can Eat Buffet thing. Everything looked fresh and was always well stocked. They offer the buffet during the week too, and it's dine in or take out. The $10.49 seems like a deal, regardless, especially since it's 11am to 4pm. For those of you who think that Veg food doesn't fill you up, come here & try that theory. I was full for the rest of the day.
Mock Items:
My general pet peeve with Vegetarian Cuisine is that there are a variety of mock items, which are meant to give off a "but this is just as good", and they generally suffer by comparison.
There was a "traditional fare" section, of Eggplant Parmigiana, mashed potatoes & mushrooms. The Eggplant Parm- eggplant not overcooked or soggy, generally wonderful, especially because they kept the skin on! The tomato sauce was yummy. The shredded "cheese" that they used is my only quibble. I'm assuming it was probably the dairy-free kind that doesn't melt. It didn't. I would've preferred a dish of eggplant and tomato sauce, without any pretensions towards something else. (Maybe it works for others?)
Another offering was Soy Wings. The texture was chicken-ish, but closer to crabmeat (which is fine), sculpted into the shape of a breaded chicken leg. Another benefit of Veg items is that you don't have to wrestle with bones, but these wings were wrapped around an internal stick. It's probably the convention and actually tasted very good, so don't mind me. Consider this a warning when you bite into it!
Allergy Concerns:
Gluten items are well noted, they had 2 while I was there: soy wings and pancakes. Enough to cover the bases for others, and minor enough to easily skip over without a sense that you are missing much.
They also offered a peanut sauce on the buffet, clearly indicating that it was made with peanuts. There was also a large sign at the front of the buffet about the concerns and dangers surrounding food allergies, even when exposed to very small amounts. This is my new go-to place for all my friends with food allegies; I suspect even Simply Ming's Blue Ginger Restaurant would approve.
Community Note:
Other than the decor and vegetarianism, there is no overt messaging of any particular spiritual practice. I had to actively ask who the owners were and was told it was run by a group. Further on in the conversation, I was told the organization is called Golden Drum, located in Greenpoint. I was expecting a connection to a yoga-type studio, but the group seems to be focused on Indigenous Peoples and events involve drumming and "sound baths".
"In 2010 Maestro Manuel and a number of his students opened Golden Drum as a space for sacred traditions in New York City. Founded to give voice to the worldview of Native Americans, indigenous peoples and the esoteric schools, Golden Drum features living representatives and students of these great traditions."
http://www.goldendrum.org/about/maestro-manuel-rufino/
Parents Note:
Even the bathrooms were nicely decorated. Pictures below include something I had never seen before. In addition to the Koala Kare changing table, there is an additional chair to strap in your other kid while you are changing the baby. Never realized how dangerous a bathroom can be for a mobile toddler!!
