College midterms are full of papers, tests, group projects and, if you’re like me, countless painstaking drawing and painting assignments. Now that they’re over though, I feel comfortable enough to reflect on them without any of the immediately impending stress. Usually I’m the kind of person who considers myself good at staying on top of my diet. Moving out of my home and living on my own in the city starting at seventeen I have found it important to make sure to balance my food and make sure that I’m eating enough of the right things. Still, when midterms roll around I always find myself falling back into some old, less healthy habits. Thus, I’m glad that I recently had the opportunity to visit Beatnic, a vegan restaurant in the West Village that offers deliciously healthy food. The inside was super spacious, and gave us a good view of the streets outside. I don’t live close to the West Village, but my friend, Adrienne, does and she pointed out some shops and told me some stories about it while we ate.
Catching up with friends after weeks of stressing out over work is nice, and getting food with them is even better. The first item we ordered came highly recommended, and is definitely one of the things here I’m most excited about. Beatnic has an item called Chicky Dippers, which is obviously a spin on your typical chicken tender, but made completely vegan. Just based on first impressions, the two look similar. The Chicky Dippers have that same kind of elongated, round shape and a fine breading coating on them that looks like it has a nice crunch. Much like the outer appearance, the first bite does not disappoint. The taste is more or less what I expected. It’s honestly quite similar to chicken tenders, but it has a unique texture that highlight’s its ingredients. It also comes with a nice dipping sauce on the side that definitely adds some extra flavor. Overall, this item went beyond my expectations and I was really happy with it. I feel like it’s the kind of thing you might like if you’ve gone vegan but miss some of the old classics, or even if you eat meat but are looking for a healthier option to the deep fried chicken options you find elsewhere.
For the main part of the meal, I went with a salad. Pretty classic. The one I ordered is Beatnic’s popular Quinoa Taco Salad which had a perfect combination of ingredients. Honestly, I probably haven’t put this much greenery in my body since before midterms, so it felt like the right move for me. The base of the salad is, of course, lettuce, but there’s a wide range of other ingredients and also a great dressing to top it off. As someone who lives off tortillas, my favorite part was the taco component; they added a wonderful, crunchy selection of colorful tortilla chips that really made the salad for me. There was also a healthy portion of avocado on one side. Personally, I eat almost everything, but I tend to avoid avocados when I can. However, I’m probably pretty isolated in my dislike, so it was easy to remove them from my salad and pawn them off to Adrienne, who I guess is a big fan. I did have to play it careful with my tomatoes though. We both love them so I had to keep an eye out and make sure she didn’t try and make any moves.
Adrienne gets a bit more adventurous with her order by trying one of their vegetable burgers. The Guac Burger is another popular item at Beatnic, and I can see why. Again there’s a lot of levels and flavors at play. The base burger is made from black bean, mushroom, and brown rice. It’s really incredible to see how all those ingredients can come together and make something so cohesive and delicious. The toppings also work really well with the burger. On it there’s classics like lettuce, tomato, onion etc. and then some fun items like the taco chips from before and guacamole. It tastes just as good as any other burger out there in its own, unique way and also leaves you feeling much better afterwards. No heavy ingredients and loads of grease that are hard to digest.
Overall, Beatnic was a great experience for me, even as a non-vegan. I think eating green is something everybody should really remember to try every once in a while. It’s always good to eat food that makes you feel good, especially in the midst of midterms (and upcoming finals) because that’s usually when you need it most. Plus, to any vegan friends, they have a great range of menu items that’s hard to find at other restaurants, so be sure to pay them a visit!
Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, or just looking for something healthy, be sure to use this coupon and your student ID when you visit in store:
If you want to see more about my trip to Beatnic check out my video on the Campus Clipper TikTok page!
By: Peter Schoenfeld
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As a sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
