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“Anyone can cook a hamburger, leave the vegetables to the professionals” – SNAP! There is no candy-coating when it comes to Dirt Candy‘s prominence in NYC’s vegetable-forward culinary movement.
Vegetables seem to be having their moment lately in the New York food scene with all the veggie-centric restaurants growing like mushrooms 😆. When it opened in 2008, Dirt Candy was pretty much the forerunner of the vegetable-focused trend, and was the first highly-awarded vegetarian restaurant in the city to get Michelin recognition and two stars from the New York Times.
The original location was an East Village 18-seater nook where scoring a reservation was like hitting pay dirt. Highly acclaimed owner and chef Amanda Cohen was even infamous for having to turn down a table to Leonardo DiCaprio 😯 ! Saying no to such arm candy was just one of the many reasons that led Chef Cohen to expand and open a reboot restaurant at a larger Lower East Side location in February 2015. The newer airy space seats about 60 guests, has a bar area at the entrance, a large open kitchen, and tall windows overlooking Allen Street. Snagging a table is still not an easy task, but definitely more accessible (please come back, Leo ♥ !)
Sit at the counter seats by the open kitchen
Dirt Candy Dining Room
The design is clean and modern, although the restaurant front made me feel like I was entering Dylan’s Candy Store!
Brussel Sprout Tacos for 2
Chef Cohen doesn’t like to label Dirt Candy as a Vegetarian restaurant per se though, as it is not a “lifestyle restaurant”. She invented her own style of vegetable cuisine without having to use any kind of faux-meat. This is not your typical rabbit-food menu with health-focused recipes (and produce is, alas, not organic). All dishes are veggies, yes, but a lot are fried, buttered, or burgered! The menu is wildly creative and catered to impress vegetarians, vegans and carnivores alike. Meat lovers, don’t you fret you will not miss your protein!
Will accomodate vegan, gluten-free and allergies
Carrot Sliders on Carrot Buns – $13
Portobello mousse, Asian pears, cherries & truffle toast
All dishes are served family style and best shared. Portions are on the small side, so count two to three dishes per person. The highlights include $14 Portobello Mushroom mousse dish, the $9 Forager’s Salad, and the impressively surprising $13 Carrot Sliders on Carrot Buns: I did not carrot all to try this at first but the waitress lettuce know it was a must-order 😆. And she was right – although it tasted a lot like a Big Mac which was a bit unsettling… The hyped $30 Brussel Spout Tacos (to share) was an inventive and fun dish. The infamous $8 Korean Fried Broccoli, although worth a try, did not live up to the hype (even if the dish was described as being “as addictive as crack” to us)…
Cauliflower & curry with green pea paneer, papaya chutney and pappadam – $18
Black radish spaghetti with radish ravioli and horseradish – $18
Their most complicated dish to make: Broccoli “Dogs” with broccoli kraut & mustard barbecue sauce – $16
Their infamous Korean Fried Broccoli – $8
Despite the hit-or-misses, all dishes were innovative, colorful and playful, with an ingenious play on the senses of sight, smell and taste. Chef Cohen interestingly balances the texture and taste of the vegetables with the other accompanying ingredients.
Full menu available at the bar
Drinks wise, Dirt Candy serves all kinds of alcohol be from in house cocktails, beer, to wine, to hard liquor both brown and clear. The wine list, although not very extensive, is interesting, with unusual selections of natural wines.
No, this is not ice cream but their complimentary vegetable bread!
Dessert – Corn Cake with Popcorn Ice Cream – $11
Service is friendly and accommodating, with a predominantly female staff #girlpower! Dirt Candy is officially a no-tip establishment (it was actually the first restaurant in the city to eliminate tipping and share profits with its employees). Don’t get excited though: a 20% “administration charge” is tacked on to each check instead, which to me is basically disguising a mandatory gratuity… Dirty move Dirt Candy 😡 !
Dirt Candy ain’t dirt cheap, but you pay for the unique recipes and experience. Come for a girls’ night out, or with your fellow adventurous foodie friends, whether they be vegetarian or not!
Dinner Tues-Sat from 5:30pm-11pm
Brunch on weekends from 11:30am-2:30pm (walk-in only)
