Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

You can make a TON of things. In fact, most sides on major recipe sites are vegan, or you can just swap any oil for butter and omit cheese (really, vegan cheese products aren't that tasty....just omit the cheese!)

I'm vegetarian and have been making Thanksgiving for my family for the past few years, feel free to check out my blog for some recipes (link is in my profile). Some of them contain cheese or butter, but you can easily omit those ingredients.

Good luck!

Honeycrisps are terrible for pies. Their amazing texture is best left raw. They're decent for sauces and stews but given that they're more expensive than other apples, you really shouldn't be cooking them - their texture when raw is unparalleled so just eat them as is!

The best apples for pies are Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap, and Newtown Pippin. I use a combination of the first two - there's something about that Pippin that I just don't like.

My favorite apples are Macouns - they work well in pies, too, but make sure to use small ones (large ones are overgrown and are mealy - Macs are meant to be small) and mix them with something else, like the Northern Spy.

And since we're on the topic of spelling and pronunciation...it's PEEVE. ;)

This is right up the block from my office....I may have to try this sometime soon.

Since when did SE become a bar directory?

Check www.sheckys.com

Not that I have any experience with expensive bottles of wine at a restaurant, but, in principle, I think it's pretty ridiculous to have to tip 20% on a, say, $1000 bottle of wine that is going to be served to you the same way that a $300 bottle would be.

I also think that it's ridiculous to tip a bartender $1 for opening a bottle of beer. If you've actually poured me a proper pint or mixed me a drink you deserve that, and even more if it's a fancy cocktail, but for opening a bottle? $1 for a flick of the wrist? Really?

Sounds like you're looking for a place like Dos Caminos - there's one on Park Ave South and one in Soho.

I made those whoopie pies the other day and I was not at all pleased with the results - and I'm a very experienced baker. They were completely undercooked at the specified time in the recipe and the recipe called for FAR too much cinnamon. They didn't taste like pumpkin at all but like an assault by cinnamon.

Yet another reason on my list of why I don't like Baked.

What gargupie said - the canteen at the Ganesh Hindu Temple in Flushing. Best South Indian food in NYC.

I understand Bourdain's sentiment that vegetarians are missing out on a lot of things, but he is just aggressively anti-vegetarian. It's asinine and obnoxious.

And btw, chefs who find vegetarians difficult to cook for aren't worth their salt. It is harder to cook delicious vegetarian food than it is to cook delicious animal foods - kudos to chefs who can do the former, and do it well.

NO on Graffiti - as much I adore Jehangir Mehta, I don't think his restaurant merits much attention or the prices that he charges. He was better as a pastry chef.

I highly recommend Saul in Cobble Hill - amazing food and a bonus is that it's less costly than a comparable meal in Manhattan. They have a Michelin star - obviously good food! And you get a wonderful neighborhood to go out in afterward!

Other recs in Cobble Hill area: Chestnut, Frankies 457, and the Grocery.

Not really off the radar anymore but low-key ethnic spots on Queens -

Sripraphai (Thai in Woodside)
Hindu Temple Canteen (South Indian vegetarian in Flushing)