Just below Washington Square Park, my favourite square in New York, a few blocks down is Spicy Moon.
I had ordered from there many times on Uber Eats, but had never actually gone. One afternoon, a friend and I walked down through the harsh sunlight and into the cozy, dark restaurant.
It was quiet, probably just the hour. The space had hints of Chinese aesthetics, but felt more modern and cosmopolitan than traditional. Very New York.
We ordered a bunch of things. Most of them have faded from memory.
What hasn’t is the Dry Pepper Style — fried mushrooms, potatoes and vegetables covered in that numbing Szechuan spice. Somehow, it was never too much or too little.
It was the same food I had enjoyed so many times at home, now attached to a place.
I went back to Spicy Moon another time, this time to the Bowery location. It was a little more refined, with the same great food.
For a vegetarian in New York, Spicy Moon is one of those places worth remembering.