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Step 1
Grab a bite at the casual and very affordable 100% organically-certified Gusto Grilled Organics, which supports small and local farms. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner,their menu changes daily (as to what's available), but you can always find delicious pizzas, empanadas, and Argentina-style steak sandwiches (going organic, after all, does not necessarily mean giving up meat.) Their espresso coffee is particularly good, as well as the homemade Dulce De Leche Ice Cream.
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Step 2
Head to Soho for the seasonal menus at Spring Street Natural Restaurant (62 Spring Street, 212-966-0290). They believe in serving the most minimally-processed food possible. They use organic whole wheat flours in just about everything, from their pie crusts to their breads made right in-house, as well as free-range, hormone-free chickens. Their Spring/Summer menu recently features plantain-crusted Mahi-Mahi with roasted tomatillo-avocado salsa, risotto Latino and sugar snaps and a grilled grass-fed hanger steak with red onion jam, roasted red potatoes and watercress-blue cheese salad. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and also a Saturday and Sunday Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (try the grilled swordfish on toasted onion ciabatta bread, with a roasted garlic mayonnaise and hand-cut French fries.)
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Step 3
Consider going "Raw". Try Pure Food + Wine. Elegant and upscale, Pure Food + Wine is all about creativity, and avoids using refined sugars, soy, wheat and dairy. They specialize in Raw Food, which means none of the ingredients, when cooked at all, are prepared above 118 degrees which claims to preserve the natural enzymes of a food. So what's left to eat? Start with the creamy Cauliflower Samosas with a Banana-Tamarind Sauce and finished in a mango chutney-garam masala and fresh mint, or the Rosemary Infused Butternut Squash Soup laced with spiced pecans, dates and miso. For the main course, try the Lapsang Smoked Portabello Mushroom with Caper Potato Salad with a side of Hawthorne Valley ruby kraut done in a wildflower honey mustard, or Zucchini Roma Tomato Lasagna in a basil-pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce and pignoli ricotta. There's even desserts: Tirmisu, Sorbets, Cakes and the "Classic Sundae," all prepared to the Raw ideal, of course. Check out their 5 course tasting menu for special occasions.
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Step 4
Go to GOBO for its "Food for the Five Senses" (2 locations: one in the West Village at 401 6th Avenue, 212-255-3242; and the Upper East Side at 1426 3rd Avenue, 212-288-5099.) A comfortable and warm setting, GOBO has an Organic Juice Bar which has organic teas, Bubble tea, sodas, wines and some delicious smoothies such as the Ms. Daisy (made with strawberry, banana and blackberries) and the Tropical Mystic (kumquat, passion fruit and ice) with boosters you can add like ginseng and wheat grass. They have lunch specials (the Malaysian curry stew with pickled shredded papaya and coconut rice is particularly good) and a dinner menu featuring Quick Bites (try the five spice tofu rolls with mango puree), Small Plates (shitake caps in mashed sweet potatoes & raisins is different) and Large Plates (think green tea noodle with vegan bolognese sauce) as well as salads and soups.
