Dinner & a Movie
Talking cucumbers, squash, and grapes? No, it's not a C.S. Lewis spin-off. These anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables are among the animated characters featured in "VeggieTales," a children's show that takes a lighthearted approach to teaching the moral lessons at the heart of both original and traditional Jewish and Christian tales. The farm-fresh faces are currently starring in "The Pirates That Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie" (2007), and to celebrate the release, Dinner and a Movie takes a look at two vegetable-centric restaurants, in Williamsburg and in Manhattan's Koreatown.
DINNER
To eat at HanGawi is to be transported to a realm where soothing calm prevails. Here, patrons take off their shoes before sitting on tatami mats and cushions, which are placed at low dining tables. Ancient Korean dishes that were prepared with ingredients grown and harvested from the country's mountainous regions are the inspiration for the restaurant's menu. Many selections, such as the sautéed maitakes with asparagus, skew toward root vegetables and a variety of mushrooms, but vegetarian interpretations of meat-based Korean dishes also figure, including a vegetable stone bowl rice dish. Heat from the bowl crisps the bottom layer of rice, and diners are meant to break and mix the crust into the rest of the meal for crunchy textural contrasts. Other treats include spicy kimchi mushroom pancakes and HanGawi's extensive, impressive tea list. (12 E. 32nd St., between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, 212-213-0077)
If HanGawi's fare is delicately crafted, the fare at Foodswings is unapologetically messy: The owner of the restaurant, an artist named Freedom, craved the greasy food of his childhood despite adopting a vegetarian diet. He opened the herbivore-friendly Foodswings to satisfy his longing for the kind of food one could find at a local bar. Fans of the restaurant almost universally agree that the restaurant's vegan "chicken" wings are some of the best wings — meat or no meat — in the city. The wings are served with either Buffalo or barbecue sauce; or order them battered and "Southern fried." First-time diners might do a double take, though: Foodswings' wings are authentic down to the "bone," which is in fact an inedible wooden stick. Soy cheddar and tofu sour cream top the classic nachos, and a faux Philly cheesesteak comes with vegetarian chicken or steak, fried onions, and soy American or mozzarella cheese. (295 Grand St., between Roebling and Havemeyer streets, 718-388-1919)
MOVIE
In the second feature-length VeggieTales movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," Larry the Cucumber, Mr. Lunt (a round, yellow squash), and Pa Grape work as busboys — mostly idly — at the Pieces of Ate Dinner Theater. There, the three friends spend most of their time watching the theater's pirate show, fantasizing about the day when they might rule the stage. But when a strange instrument called a "Helpseeker" falls from the sky, the fate of the friends takes a sudden turn: The seeker is recruiting three heroes to time-travel to the 17th century to rescue a royal family from the grips of a dictator. The friends must decide whether to embark on the adventure. (Saturday, 3:45 p.m., AMC Empire 25, 234 W. 42nd St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-398-3939, $11)
