Black Rican Vegan Pop-Up

Unclaimed

I discovered Lyana on IG, I was instantly drawn in by the pics of her food. I saw the lines get crazy, so make sure to get there hours before she even opens(I’ve seen ppl bring chairs). But on the weekends she does pick up and deliveries..Now the food?? omg I can go on and on about how delicious her food is! I’m happy she’s offering the community this. I love telling everyone I know about BlackRicanVegan, especially people who’ve never tried vegan dishes.

My partner and i were fortunate enough to try this chef’s amazing food at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn last year and we can’t wait to go back! Everything was absolutely incredible, you could really taste the love in the food. We got the jackfruit chicharrones with mofongo, the alcapurrias, and guava and cheese empanada. We loved her food so much that we pre-ordered her cookbook as soon as it came out! Def gotta take a trip over to see her again soon!

Learned about this chef and restaurant on Tabitha Brown's social media. The food was amazing. Everything was flavorful, and the sauces just made the food pop. It's clear that the chef put a ton of effort into making her food delicious. She even has a cookbook. During our visit, I just wished that the same effort was made on the service. It's not the chef's fault, maybe it was, but we waited for a table for 45 minutes and the restaurant wasn't full. It was confusing at first seeing a number of empty tables, but we realized at some point while we were waiting for our order, the food was behind schedule and there were many patrons waiting for their orders to make it to their table. It was never communicated to us when we were waiting for a table, except "it will be a few minutes." Good customer service goes a long way. We still would've waited, but at least being informed manages our expectations.

¡Buen provecho! After stalking her instagram for THE LONGEST, and practically begging her to come to STL, I finally made it to NYC. For the first time in my life, I took the subway (all by myself too!), about a 45 minute ride one way just to make it to her food. I placed my order after I exited the subway (due to connectivity issues on the train). It was only like a 5 minute walk from the station to La Fonda so the food wasn’t quite ready yet. No worries. I sat at La Fonda’s bar and enjoyed the music and good vibes from the restaurant’s staff and customers. The food took a while to prepare (I ordered a lot though), so keep that in mind if you’re on a schedule. When the young man brought my food, he apologized for the wait. It was an easy Sunday for me, so I had no issues with the wait. However, I did decide to sit at the bar and eat my food. VACALAITO: 3 nicely sized fritters, made from hearts of palm, if I remember correctly. Very tasty! I ate my leftovers today - 3 days later, and they were even better! (Warm up the leftovers in air fryer for best results) BEEFLESS EMPANADA: Should’ve ordered 2 because I’m craving more. You get one large empanada. It was so tasty and the beef was seasoned exquisitely! 10/10 would order again! (If you like a lil spice, order the chipotle sauce for dipping. So yum!!) MOXTAILS: Freggin fire. FIYAH!! The dinner came with moxtails (vegan/mock oxtails), white rice (they were out of their arroz con gandules), shredded cabbage, y maduros. I added her Cilantro Garlic sauce to plain the rice and OMG OMG!! Do it!! I ended up ordering 6 cilantro garlic sauces and 3 chipotle sauces; they’re that good! I don’t know what she uses for her moxtails, but the flavor and texture are insanely succulent. No weird chewy consistency to it at all. Initially it appeared that the portion was small, but it ended up being very filling and plentiful. 10/10 would order again. BISTEC ENCEBOLLADO: A vegan spin to a classic Latin Caribbean dish. This plate is hefty! A huge portion of vegan bistec is accompanied by white rice, pink beans, tostones, y ensalada. I only took a nibble of this on Sunday, but today/Wednesday, I warmed it up and ate the rest. The flavors have settled in and it’s better today than it was Sunday. I spent @ $75 before the tip, which is decent for 2 meals and 2 appetizers. So many other things that I want to try from Black Rican Vegan, so I cannot wait to return!

Delicious food! I catered from Black Rican Vegan for a work event and everyone (56+ people) loved the food. Definitely the best vegan vendor in NYC. Wish I would've take more pics. Thank you Lyana for your help and assistance on sight!