Dirt Candy

This is not the usual vegetarian restaurant you know or have tried before. It is not the Indian, Chinese, or other Southeast Asian-style vegetarian restaurant.
Dirt Candy
Translucent Spinach Soup with Smoked Tofu Dumplings (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)
1/8/2009
Updated:
2/2/2009

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/SpinachSoup_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/SpinachSoup_medium.JPG" alt="Translucent Spinach Soup with Smoked Tofu Dumplings (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" title="Translucent Spinach Soup with Smoked Tofu Dumplings (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-79209"/></a>
Translucent Spinach Soup with Smoked Tofu Dumplings (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)
This is not the usual vegetarian restaurant you know or have tried before. It is not the Indian, Chinese, or other Southeast Asian-style vegetarian restaurant. This is one of the most brilliant and creative vegetarian restaurants I have ever tried.

“You do not have to be vegan, and we can do it your way,” said cheerful owner and chef Amanda Cohen. Amanda also told me that the name “Dirt Candy” comes from nature and “that vegetables are amazing —made out of little more than water, sunlight, and dirt—they wind up growing into a candy store full of color and flavor. And that’s what I want Dirt Candy to be: nature’s candy store. I want this place to be all about my food.”

Indeed, that is what Amanda creates: wonderful, complex, and exotic flavors from vegetables in a very colorful and artistic way. It is not easy to cook vegetarian. I guess if it were so, most of us would be eating that wonderful and healthy food, but Amanda is a chef who makes great food by making wonderful creation of flavors in a straightforward yet bold and unique style. The place is intimate and made of recycled and sustainable materials. Smiling and humbly standing by our table, Amada told me that she wants her guests to feel as if she were entertaining them at her home. Her staff, which includes herself, a sous chef, and a waiter, would give each guest personalized attention—from greeting to advice regarding the fare.

The menu, although vegetarian and small, does not miss anything and is accompanied with a superb wine list. The wine can be purchased by the half glass ($3 to $5), glass ($6 to $13), or by the bottle ($19 to $54).

All ingredients are fresh and masterfully prepared and presented. Colorful, simple, yet elegant in both flavor and presentation at reasonable prices. The items on the menu change often depending on what is available at the market. Oh, how I wished the place would have been bigger so that more people could enjoy it! But Amanda said that Dirt Candy is all about her cooking. For the vegetarian and non-vegetarian as well, it will be a playful experience with one pleasant surprise after another.

And so my friend and I started with the Jalapeno Hush Puppy Poppers served with maple butter ($6) and shared Portobello Mousse Fennel Peach Compote ($11), Spinach Soup with Smoked Tofu Dumplings Lemon Confit, Water Chestnuts, and Pistachio Oil ($13). I must say that these were brilliantly prepared. The soup had a beautiful translucent green color I have never seen before—and take your time in savoring every bite. If you thought vegetarian food was boring, Dirt Candy will make you reconsider.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CarrotRisotto_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CarrotRisotto_medium.JPG" alt="Amazing Carrot Risotto With Carrot Dumplings and Parmesan Curls (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" title="Amazing Carrot Risotto With Carrot Dumplings and Parmesan Curls (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-79210"/></a>
Amazing Carrot Risotto With Carrot Dumplings and Parmesan Curls (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)
Then we had the Carrot Risotto with carrot dumplings and parmesan curls, which was another fascinating dish with the different textures and flavors all harmoniously combined. I think Amanda, ex Hairloom, Pure Food, and Wine and Teany, has created a new face for vegetarian cuisine that is heading someplace. As another friend said to me about the menu, “I never once felt the absence of anything.”

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CakeandIcecream_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CakeandIcecream_medium.JPG" alt="Cake and Ice Cream II with chocolate, sweet potato, and chili (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" title="Cake and Ice Cream II with chocolate, sweet potato, and chili (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-79211"/></a>
Cake and Ice Cream II with chocolate, sweet potato, and chili (Nadia Ghattas/The Epoch Times)
The experience does not stop there. The deserts are a must and we had the Cake and Ice Cream II —chocolate, sweet potato, and chili—wonderful. I personally like chili with my ice cream. Not to be missed the Cake and Ice Cream I—sesame, grapefruit, which is another fabulous invention by the pastry chef Debbie Lee. The dessert menu has only four items with suggested pairings of coffee, tea, and wine. Of course, dessert wine is available.

Who said that vegetarian food is boring?

Dirt Candy,
430 East 9th Street, New York, N.Y. 10009,
(212) 228-7732.
Open Tuesday through Saturday, from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Casual.
Reservations are recommended

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