Mulberry & Vine
“From pickup to consumption, the I give this place a thumbs up and if I were vegan, I would certainly frequent this hipster-esque styled establishment!”
“They have 2 choices – you can either pick 3 veggies ($10), or go with 2 veggies and 1 protein ($11.75).”
“A must get is the grilled avocado (magical) and the cauliflower ragout (put it over the veggie mash – way better combo than the brown rice.”
Mulberry & Vine
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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If your goal after lunch isn't to feel like you've punched in the gut and need a nap, then Mulberry & Vine should be on your radar.
Much like incumbent lunch destinations Hale & Hearty and Dig Inn, Mulberry & Vine specializes in fast casual healthy fare for conscious diners on the run. They lean heavy on the vegetables with a smaller variety of animal-based proteins, so that may set them apart a bit from others in their sphere.
They feature a three vegetable plate that changes daily, and on my recent visit, those three veggies were charred broccoli, a black eyed pea salad, and roasted yams. I'd have preferred the yams to be warm (not sure if they're intentionally served cold), so that was a miss for me. But the other two made up for that small bout of dissatisfaction.
If you feel like like eating in, they have plenty of tables to make that happen. And if you happen to retreat to the restroom, their wallpaper is pretty snazzy.
Great option for a quick and healthy lunch! Although the concept is fairly similar to Dig Inn, I preferred the selection and taste at Mulberry & Vine.
You can mix and match a combo of protein and veggie sides, and I went with a protein and two veggie combo. With so many veggie offerings, it was hard to decide on what to order! I ended up with sesame noodles and a kale, avocado and black bean salad. Protein was a bit easier because the roast chicken was definitely calling out to me. You can order the protein over rice or a veggie smash, but I ended up just having it solo.
The roast chicken was flavorful and delicious, and was perfectly seasoned. Both veggie sides were equally tasty, especially the sesame noodles. Portions were a bit small for the price, but everything was fresh and well-prepared.
I came in a bit before the weekday lunch rush, but as I was leaving it started to fill up fast. I don't think that it's been open for long, but I'm sure that it's only a matter of time until this becomes a lunch time staple for those who work and live in the area.
It is so hard to find a well prepared and healthy option that's no refined sugar, no raw, low oil and no bread for lunch aside from cooking and bringing food from home, so I'm definitely delighted to have discovered this spot!
Pricing is premium but still reasonable, and the food is simple and healthy, but also well seasoned and tasty.
Worth the trip – you might find yourself appreciate the feeling of being awake and energetic after lunch. (Versus my vice of an Arby's classic roast beef loaded with horsey sauce, or a big bowl of Ippudo ramen, haha!)
I wish I had found Mulberry & Vine sooner. Granted, it's only been in midtown for a very short time. But I'm not going to be working in midtown for much longer and M&V has already made such an impression on me that I will seriously miss it. And yes, you can miss food. You can yearn for food. You can be in love with food. Just trust me on this one. And I'm not saying I'm in love with M&V food, otherwise I'd be giving it five stars. But it's a damn good midtown lunch option that's fairly convenient for both Midtown West AND Flatiron folks. So rejoice in having this new kid on the block to spend some time with.
You don't need to read the reviews to understand the concept of this place. Just look at literally any of the pictures. It's Dig Inn. It's Inday. It's Chipotle. It's Pokeworks. Let's get past the obvious fact that this method is tried and true and people are very fond of it. Of all of these "conveyor belt" spots, Mulberry and Vine is most similar to Dig Inn, in that it's essentially healthy proteins and healthy sides, pre-portioned out in the style of TV dinner. You pick your combo before starting the process – either three veggie sides or two veggies + one protein. Again, like Dig Inn, you have a choice as far as what your protein is served over – here it's brown rice or veggie mash.
Okay, so obviously Dig Inn and M&V are close cousins. Here are some *differences*. First, you don't have a choice of large vs. small. What you see is what you get. I've never ordered a large at Dig Inn before, but the meal in its entirety here is significantly bigger than the "small" option at Dig Inn. So as others have reported, the price seems inflated here. Maybe it is. But you are getting more food here. And in my opinion, the food is BETTER. It's more flavorful, and I think there's more variety. I also think it's healthier. Obviously this is just a hunch – unfortunately plebians such as I aren't authorized to roam the kitchens. But the M&V food simply tastes like it's made in a cleaner, simpler way. There's no calorie info like there is at Dig Inn, but at this point informed consumers know that calories tell only a small part of the story. Now it's all about NUTRIENTS, folks. And finally, I find M&V to be more filling. Come here to make your stomach smile for hours on end.
So, now onto what I've tried here:
-Charred BBQ Broccoli: B+/A-
-Kale Salad: B
-Beets w/ apples and mint: A
-Kale and Black Beans w/ avocado: A
-Sesame Scallion Tofu: A
-Mediterranean Braised Chicken: A-
I have to say, this tofu is divine. Tofu is the ultimate chameleon food. Unseasoned/un-flavored tofu tastes like slimy, pillow-y mush. Good tofu tastes like happiness. The sesame/scallion preparation isn't necessarily inventive/complex, but it's seriously satisfying. If you get the [very yummy] veggie mash with it, you can pick up some of the flavor of that too. I'm also pleasantly surprised with how much I love the beets here. Beets used to be one of the few foods I didn't particularly like, but in the past couple of years my palette has changed (re: matured) quite a bit, and now beets are very much a part of my repertoire. These beets are fresh, flavorful and the addition of the honeycrisp apples gives an extra sweet punch to the whole package.
A few more notes:
-M&V is a beautiful, sunlit space that's ideal for lunching with friends and/or coworkers. There aren't many midtown lunch spots I'd like to eat in at, but this would be one of them
-As is the case with Dig Inn, the line may look daunting at first but it moves quickly
-Yeah, you're going to pay a pretty penny for lunch here, but I do trust M&V's commitment to health and I value that
-Each menu item is accompanied by the now oft-seen diet designation. So if you're paleo/vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free/any combination of these, you've got all of the info you'll need to make informed choices!
cute place! My friend and I decided to come here before our pottery class. the food was delicious and healthy. I opted for quinoa, kale, and sweet potatoes. this place is comparable to hu's kitchen. They have a wide variety of selection and it's all healthy. Def recommend this place if you're hungry after your workouts. The seating area was decently sized and clean.
Got tofu & 2 veg pickup thru MealPass. The owner made a statement somewhere that they only serve cold dishes through MealPass to ensure better storage. When I went in there was a long line which was super fun to skip. The food was pretty good. I had tofu over brown rice, kale salad and sweet potato noodles. The sweet potato noodles were the best of the 3 and also the least healthy probably. Kale salad was overly salted and the tofu was kind of dry. Portion size was perfect.
I don't know what's wrong with my co-workers, but lately they are all about "healthy fare" and "eating clean" and "not getting gout and dying prematurely."
So I find myself heading to a lot of quick and healthy lunch options, of which Mulberry & Vine is definitely one. And it's actually pretty tasty! I got down with some braised chicken, charred broccoli and sweet potato noodles, and it was not terrible in the least. I would even say that I enjoyed it. More importantly, I stayed awake through our afternoon meetings (if that sort of thing matters to you).
As a bonus, we saw Miranda from Sex & The City getting her lunch here, too. One of my co-workers flagged her down and generally gushed about her fandom, but I was all, "Whatever," because I'm a total Samantha.
Was introduced to this place via MealPass. Went to pick it up and they had a table with brown paper bags all labeled nicely with names. I skipped the line (a main perk of MP) and they helped snag me my lunch order. The three things it comprised of was kale, quinoa, and sweet potatoe (or squash? sure). The portions are certainly small, but altogether a tasty and truly healthy feeling meal. I enjoyed the flavor combination and it was all cold too which makes for a refreshing lunch (perfect for those warmer days). From pickup to consumption, the I give this place a thumbs up and if I were vegan, I would certainly frequent this hipster-esque styled establishment!