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18 Arhans serves up vegetarian comfort food, dishes that taste great and fill you up, but keep to vegetarian standards. There’s no ‘bird-food’ here. Hearty dishes like ‘Hot and Sour Pork,’ ‘Mock Orange Beef’ (a favorite), and ‘Mock Kung Pao Chicken’, are sure to leave you satisfied. All the ‘meat’ is made from animal friendly ingredients like silken tofu and marinated soy. They even have a disclaimer, at the end of the menu, which states “usage of terms such as chicken, beef, ham are solely to express the taste.” Their sauces are also worthy of mention, the vinegar peanut and spicy mango are both big hits. You can even get a dish of udon noodles topped with your choice of sauce. Nearly everything is made on site, all the dumplings are hand rolled, and even the tofu is made fresh daily. The menu is straight forward and clearly marks those dishes that contain dairy, for the vegans to avoid. Everything is cooked to order and they will customize orders to accommodate preferences and food allergies. Most of the dishes cost a very reasonable $5.50. Check the website out, it has a complete menu and prices.
The word ‘Arhans’ means Buddhist Sages and, indeed, Buddhism is all over this restaurant. 18 Arhans is half Buddhist Guan Gong temple and half vegetarian restaurant. On the border of Little Italy and Chinatown, it was founded by Shi, a Buddhist nun, and Nancy, a local merchant. This eclectic mix creates a wonderfully friendly environment and fantastic vegetarian and vegan fare.
New York Times, Time Out New York, VegGuide.org, MenuPages.com, The Martha Stewart of Herbs, & Asian Health Secrets
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