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A.T.M. Vegan Deli

If you have a worldly palate and know where to look, New York City is full of vegan cuisine that’ll hit the spot, from metal plates of Nepali thali to Ethiopian spiced vegetables and legumes served over injera. That being said, sampling the cuisines that the city usually means that you’ll spend a lot of time in the subway or on a bus. If you’d rather try a wide range of food in one place, then swing by Smorgasburg to try all of the vegan options. 

Smorgasburg, a play on the Swedish word “smörgåsbord,” meaning a buffet of bites to eat, is the self-proclaimed “largest open-air food market in America.” And, that claim tracks. The New York Metropolitan-area event brings together just about 70 vendors and attracts thousands of diners willing to brave lining up for food in the NYC summer heat and humidity. It’s also where a lot of foods, like the raindrop cake (which was popular in Japan first), ramen burgers, and spaghetti donuts went “viral.” 

Smorgasburg takes place from April 3 to October 30 in a few locations in NYC, but not every vendor attends all of the days, so take note if you’re seeking one particular option. 

Special shoutouts to Smorgasburg Los Angeles, which has its own plant-based gems such as dairy-free mac and cheese from Avocadamama; VegNews Veggie Award-winning tacos from Cena Vegan; and rainbow-colored, Philadelphia-style water ice from Happy Ice. 

As of this year, Miami, Florida, also has its own Smorgasburg where you can find vegan vendors like Lucky You! Burger and Isabel’s plant-based comfort food.

With so many vendors, there are plenty of plant-based bites at Smorgasburg to tempt your taste buds. Here’s what you should check out.

A.T.M. Vegan Deli

This stand serves true NYC bodega deli classics, only without animal products. Their “tofu over easy” breakfast sandwich and the chopped cheese that could fool meat-eaters are must-tries. The shroom jerky, chewy and salty without being too much, is handmade in small batches in their Brooklyn kitchen. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park on Sundays or at their brick-and-mortar in Brooklyn

Here, you’ll find Jamaican-inspired tacos and more, made by the mother-daughter team, Jataun and Shelly Flash. Just a few of their plant-based options include vegan jerk chicken tacos, vegan jerk chicken quesadillas, and jerk cheese nachos. Don’t skip the “Hold the Rum” punch, a refreshing blend of pineapple juice, orange juice, maraschino cherries, and lime. It’s going to be a hot summer. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park

Chef and founder Lyana Blount started her business of making vegan Puerto Rican comfort food in the middle of the pandemic. Swing by the stand for mofongo, empanadas, or a crispy oyster mushroom burger. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park and Smorgasburg Jersey City

Vegan-friendly food stand Nadas (short for empanadas) has caught the attention of the local food scene with its gluten-free, Colombian-style rainbow empanadas. Carlos Santos, who’s the son of Port Chester, NY-based restaurateur Olga Santos, founded Nadas in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The staple vegan empanada fillings are black beans and sweet peppers or plant-based chorizo.  Find them at: Smorgasburg World Trade Center (Earlier this year, they announced an upcoming permanent location in the West Village.)

Kinoko makes temaki, aka the hand roll sushi because it’s meant to be eaten with your hands. The rolls are $7 a pop, not a bad price at all for an outdoor food fair in NYC. The vegan temaki options include jackfruit “snow crab” with spicy cucumbers and pan-fried oyster mushrooms with yuzu mayo. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park and Smorgasburg Williamsburg

Cake in a jar is great because it’s transportable. Bring a mini cooler so you can stash Cake Jars’ decadent Vegan Cookies & Cream option while you sample all of the plant-based food that you need to eat immediately.  Find them at: Smorgasburg Jersey City on Saturdays

We love a vegan barbecue spot, and at Monk’s Meats, you’ll find seitan that’s cooked using traditional barbecue techniques. The housemade vegan ribs, made with sugarcane to simulate bones, are smoked low and slow and then slathered in tangy, sticky sauce. Or, you can get crispy seitan chicken wings served with creamy vegan potato salad and sliced pickles. Find them at: Smorgasburg World Trade Center and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

If you’ve never heard of momos, now’s the time to fall in love with these Nepalese-in-origin dumplings, which look like little satchels of chewy dough. Fomo Momo specializes in momos inspired by North Indian street cuisine. The vegan options include the steamed or fried vegetable momos and the Indo-Chinese fusion Schezwan momos. Find them at: Smorgasburg Jersey City and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

Inspired by Hawaiian shaved ice and Taiwanese baobing, Frubae makes its frozen dessert by shaving hunks of frozen fruit blocks with a hand-cranked machine.  Find them at: Smorgasburg Williamsburg and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

This Smorgasburg resident brings a modern spin to the Indonesian rice bowl, courtesy of founder Ratih Wulandari Del Valle. It begins with a bed of jasmine, nasi uduk (savory coconut rice), or salad. For the vegan protein option, there’s Beyond Meat, and then it’s topped off with a sauce and served with pickled cabbage, fried shallots, scallions, and sambal. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park

There’s one vegan option at Mao’s Bao, a stand that specializes in shengjian bao, a type of pan-fried dumpling from Shanghai. They’re crispy on the bottom and chewy on top and made with doughs that are color-coordinated to the filling. The green one is filled with ground Impossible Foods meat. Find them at: Smorgasburg World Trade Center, Smorgasburg Jersey City, and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

Chef Nick Di Bona’s small-batch ice cream company, Bona Bona, stands out because of its crown of brûléed meringue. Thankfully, there are two vegan flavors: banana peanut butter and coconut sorbet. The vegan meringue topping is made from aquafaba instead of eggs. Find them at: All of the Smorgasburgs. (Nice!)

Jamaican-Mexican tacos with a flavorful plant-based option. The vegan tacos are made with curry cauliflower and chickpeas, pickled coleslaw, and mango chutney. There’s also homemade mint lemonade—perfect for beating the NYC summer heat. Find them at: Smorgasburg Prospect Park

Grab the vegan duck bánh mì from Mama’s Cupboard, a Thai-Vietnamese food stall that you shouldn’t miss. The popular sub-esque sandwich features an airy Vietnamese baguette stuffed with meatless duck, pickled carrot and daikon, purple cabbage, jalapeño, cilantro, and spicy mayo. Find them at: Smorgasburg Jersey City and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

Get your Venezualan food fix at Váyalo! Cocina. First up, try the La Vegana Tropical, a gluten-free arepa stuffed with dairy-free cheese, coleslaw, and fried sweet plantains. Pick up a Sweet Negritas—a corn empanada stuffed with sweet plantains and black beans—and yucca fries, too. Don’t forget a drink: the papelón con limón is a tart, sweet drink made from limeade and brown sugar. Find them at: Smorgasburg World Trade Center and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

You really can’t ever go wrong with steamed buns stuffed with vibrant flavors and pleasing textures and that’s what you’ll get at C Bao. They have two vegan options: vegetable tofu and vegan fish.  Find them at: Smorgasburg Jersey City and Smorgasburg Prospect Park

For more vegan guides to New York City, check out these articles: I Found the Best Vegan Food in NYC’s Most Diverse Neighborhood Uptown Veg Has Been Feeding Harlem for 30 Years The Best Places for Vegan Ethiopian Food in NYC

Kat Smith is a Queens, NY-based freelance writer and editor who loves cooking and discovering local vegan hidden gems.

JUST LAUNCHED! Vote in the 2022 Best Vegan Ice Cream in America Awards.

JUST LAUNCHED! Vote in the 2022 Best Vegan Ice Cream in America Awards.

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