On the first page of their website, it says: “Anyone can cook a hamburger, leave the vegetables to the professionals.” I have to agree with that. To make vegetable-based dishes spectacular and delicious, you must be a very talented and creative chef.
Dirt Candy is the first vegetarian restaurant in 17 years to receive two stars from the New York Times, was recognized by the Michelin Guide five years in a row, and won awards from Gourmet Magazine, the Village Voice, and many others. The Canadian Amanda Cohen is the chef and owner.
This place started with 18 seats only. Now you have a bar at the entrance where they serve very good cocktails. We ordered the planter’s punch – that was very tasty.
You also have the kitchen, visible to all, with a counter all around where you can eat at, and dozens of tables on the other side of the restaurant.
The décor is all white, and on the right side of the restaurant, there is a red booth that takes the whole length of the wall. Above, you see black and white drawings of flowers and plants. It looks like a red flowerpot. All the elements of the décor go beautifully together.
The bread is a big hit. It looks like a scoop of ice cream in a small flowerpot. And it was so delicious we ordered an extra one. Too gourmand!
The menu is quite varied. You basically choose the main vegetable and they bring a very elegant and elaborate dish.
We had the pleasure to taste the mushroom, the fennel, the eggplant, and the cauliflower dishes. They were absolutely excellent. For example, the mushroom was a Portobello mousse with sautéed Asian pears, cherries, and truffle toast. The fennel was made of raw and pickled fennel with caramelized yogurt on crackers.
There are 2 dishes to share; the cabbage hotpot and the Brussels sprout tacos. We opted in favor of the Brussels sprouts. It has nothing to do with the fact that we are from Brussels. It just looked very interesting on our neighbor’s table. It was indeed very interesting and delicious. We used the lettuce to wrap the sprouts and added all kinds of ingredients and sauces to it. I should have taken the picture of the wrap actually but I was too busy eating and enjoying it.
We chose a very good Portuguese variety of grape; the Touriga to go with the meal.
Then came the desserts. They sound a bit bizarre because the base is a vegetable as well. Like onion chocolate tart? Really? Yes really! We tried the carrot meringue pie and the corn cake. Both excellent!
No need to be vegetarian to appreciate this restaurant, Dirt Candy will impress you for sure!
Price:$$$
Open: Tuesday to Friday 5:30 – 11:00pm
Saturday 11:00am – 3:00pm, 5:30 – 11:00pm
Sunday 11:00am – 3:00pm
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