QUANTUM LEAP
226 Thompson St., New York, NY
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Menu: https://www.quantumleapnyc.com/menu/
Suitable for: Vegetarians, vegans, omnivores.
Down in the heart of Greenwich Village, a vegetarian-friendly mainstay beckons amid delis, Chinese restaurants and record shops. It says it right on the sign: “Quantum Leap – Vegetarian – Fish.” Now, the fish we’ll leave be, but the vegetarian? You can count me right on in for that.
As we walked up to Quantum Leap and perused the outdoor menu, a slight mist began to fall. It was just the sign we needed to take the plunge and walk into the homey dining room, and I’m so glad we did. It felt more like walking into someone’s cozy home than into a stuffy restaurant, and the servers immediately welcomed us and made us feel right at home.
Over bottles of beer, we perused the menu and were immediately fans of what we saw. All stripes of veg-friendly fare were here, from the strict vegan variety to the vegetarian style. From the more healthy side of the veg-centric spectrum to the strictly comfort food side, the menu has it all down pat.
Let’s get one thing straight right away: I’m a sucker for a Philly steak. So when my eye landed on Quantum Leap’s cheesy Philly steak panini, I knew it was for me. (Tell the server you want it veganized and it’ll come with dairy-free cheese.) As a panini, it wasn’t quite as messy as your traditional cheese steak sandwich, which in this case was a bonus since we were going to be heading right back out on a walking tour of the Village and had no time for nonsense. But the flavors were all there – the savory, meaty veggie-steak blended beautifully with the cheesy goodness, and the peppers and onions added heft. I’d order it again tomorrow.
LeeLee, meanwhile, is a sucker for anything pasta, and the chik’n parmesan that was featured as a special left him no choice but to order it. He went with the regular-cheese version but surely that could be modified for a dairy-free variety, and either way, he ate every morsel. The sauce + pasta + protein combination was definitely more than his usual lunch consists of, but he soldiered on and enjoyed every bite.
We could’ve had dessert, but it was lunchtime, and let’s face it: We were already eating our way through the five boroughs. Best to hold off. But we’ll be back to try a sweet in short order! Quantum Leap definitely deserves multiple visits.
:)