Another new vegan-friendly favorite restaurant we were introduced to in New York was Cafe Tibet in Ditmas/Flatbush (also known as Top Cafe Tibet), a small, unassuming space just above the Q train and next to the Cortelyou stop.
Though it’s far from totally vegetarian or vegan, the restaurant features what all vegans seek in ‘exotic’, non-American cuisine—a menu with a bevy of items labeled ‘vegan’ and staff that know what that term means.
The service is…let’s say not overtly or intentionally mediocre, they more come off with a friendly indifference, which might rub some the wrong way. We were pleased enough though with that end of things, especially given that the food was so good at such a great price.
We sat on the patio with friends, enjoying the return to über-urban dining as the train and coin-operated kiddy horse out front took turns punctuating our conversation for us and ordered what was likely way too much food.
Favorite among the offerings were the not-so-traditionally named Rock + Roll Fried Noodles with Tofu (pictured above), crispy pan fried noodles with teriyaki + fresh vegetables; the Veg Momos (not pictured), traditional Tibetan vegan dumplings filled with potato, cabbage, carrot, and green peas with a touch of sesame oil and black pepper; Tsel-Baklap (below), empanada-like vegetable patties with roughly the same filling as the dumplings; Thenthuk (also below), a traditional nomadic Tibetan soup with hand-pulled wheat noodles, vegetables, and tofu; and Tingmo, delectably filling steamed Tibetan twisted bread that’s only just not dough anymore.
Definitely worth stopping by for lunch or dinner and even planning a trip out to if, like us, you’d never had vegan-friendly Tibetan food.
Cafe Tibet is located at 1510 Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn, cash only, and open every day from noon to 1030PM.
