Zen Palate

You can't see it from this picture but what you're looking at on the projector is rows and rows and rows of red Mt. Everest-proof jackets, queued up and ready to outfit all the crazies who decide to spend time in Antarctica.

Ken Mankoff is one such (impressive) crazy that I met at a Young Professionals dinner sponsored by the Nature Conservancy. My friend BumbleBee invited me to go and I was excited to try a new restaurant and learn about Antarctica. BumbleBee informed me that Mankoff was trained in giving Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" lecture and I was thrilled to have the chance to hear him speak.

I expected an elderly gentleman in his mid-50s with gray hair and a big shaggy beard, sporting some killer '70s glasses and a saggy forest green grandfather sweater, or someone that resembled my 8th grade science teacher Mr. McLeavy. Mankoff was quite the opposite. He had more of the Williamsburg artsy flavor than science geek and he was my age, if not younger. He was a cute cross between Casey Affleck and Scott Foley.

Mankoff went to Antarctica to research the climate history of the region. He worked for the ANDRILL team, which creates software to help teach about scientific drilling, drill cores, Antarctica, and how the poles affect climate. While he was "on ice" for two and a half months, he walked along a rope to get from his "dorm" to the cafeteria during a whiteout, flew in a plane that had skis for landing gear instead of wheels, not only went to the South Pole but gave a lecture there, stood on 9,000 feet of ice, lounged in a hammock in a small green house to get warm and marched with the penguins.

As we listened to Mankoff's Antarctic adventure, servers at Zen Palate were stuffing our tables and our stomachs with incredible vegetarian delights. Each time we felt this MUST be the last dish, out came another one more impressive than the previous. I am not a vegetarian by any means, and have been very unsatisfied with vegetarian dining in the past, but the food I ate at Zen was almost as good, if not better, than real meat. If I could get my hands on Zen's food every day I could become a herbivore.

We started with this little plate as an appetizer. I thought this was dinner at first so I carefully took my time savoring each bite. The taro spring roll was packed with texture and flavor and I liked the lightly battered yam fries.


Below was my favorite dish of the night by far. It was the vegetarian's version of orange beef, or crispy wheat gluten a l'orange. The pieces were crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and smothered in a warm, sweet thick sauce. Forget seconds, I think I made it to eighths with this one.


The "chicken" dish was my least favorite. I liked the vegetables served with the meatless chicken but I didn't like its texture. It was too gooey for my taste.


This was the most attractive and intriguing dish to look at. It came out and there were several "Whoas" and "What thes....." and "Geeeezes" when it landed. It was a circle of portobello mushroom tempura with a sweet potato mash in the middle. I'm not even a portobello mushroom fan but these guys were scrumptious.

I could have skipped the noodles. They were very bland. Pad Thai is normally one of my favorite dishes so this was a big disappointment.


Just when we thought we were finished the server brought us all out a small cheesecake with blueberry drippings. I really liked it though my neighbors were not that impressed. It was a blend of tofu and cream cheese. I would certainly get it again.


I wish there was a Zen Palate closer to where I lived because I would order from them all the time. I was disappointed that it doesn't feel like an actual restaurant, but more of a fast food venue. And it would be a hike for me to head down to the Financial District for a quick grab-and-go meal.

I was extremely impressed by Mankoff's ease with which he spoke and presented his experiences to the crowd. One on one Mankoff seemed soft-spoken, reserved and timid. He could have fooled us, speaking in front of about 50 people with no notes, and just the projector to guide him. I'm the complete opposite: I'm a loud, boisterous extrovert who has an astute fear of public speaking. What gives? I was fortunate enough to meet Mankoff after his speech and compliment him. He happened to be there with a former co-worker and friend of mine. As it turns out the two are dating. What a small New York world.

I thanked BumbleBee for her invitation to Zen that night and asked her how I could get more involved. Below is the open invitation to a benefit she is organizing for her cause--The Nature Conservancy. I will be there and hope you consider joining me! After all, I am no scientist, and unlike Mankoff, I would not be able to contribute my brain or research to global warming, but I can support it with my money and my heart. I too hope to march with the penguins someday.

Hi boys and girls!

So as many of you know, I'm helping to plan the annual benefit for The Nature Conservancy. It's Thurs, March 13th at the Bowery Hotel and it's open bar, and it's not too expensive as far as charity things go. Anyone who likes either drinking or nature should be there! Give me a call if you have any questions... We're trying to raise money to save the environment (or one small chunk of it) after all. I've attached the invite with all the info...I can't make any promises, but there might be an ice luge.

Here's a link to the invite if opening the attached file seems too tedious.

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/events/events4737.html

Hope you all can come!

Cheers,

BumbleBee