Dirt Candy NYC

Posted by Carolyn

on June 15, 2009

Who: Amanda Cohen

What: Dirt Candy

When: Tues-Sat (Wed-Sat Summer 2009) 530-11pm

Where: 30 East 9th Street, between Ave. A and First Ave.

Why: Because vegetables get a bad rep when it comes to taste, and Cohen is changing that one dish at a time.

Dirt Candy takes two of the most common myths about vegetarian foods and busts them both: a) it’s healthy and b) it’s not delicious. That’s not saying that being healthy and delicious are mutually exclusive either- there are salads on the menu, but why order that when you could instead go for their specialties and perhaps some the tastiest vegetarian cooking you could have.

Dirt Candy opened in October 2008 in New York’s East Village and quickly became one the trendiest new vegetarian restaurants in the city. Executive chef Amanda Cohen compares her restaurant’s philosophy to that of a steak house, specialized cooking- but for the vegetarian set or anyone else who is sick of raw or grilled vegetables as their sole non-meat options at other places. And indeed, Dirt Candy is for food lovers, with options on the menu including Portobello Mousse w/ fennel pear compote, Stone Ground Grits w/ pickled shitakes, and tempura poached egg and my favorite, Jalapeno Hush Puppies w/ maple butter. Now, words like ‘compote,’ ‘tempura,’ and ‘butter’ don’t exactly scream health but then again Cohen has a different philosophy about her cooking. She’s not out to make a political statement nor is she cooking to help you lose weight; instead she just wanted to take vegetables and make them unique and really, really delicious. And isn’t that what foodies care about most?

Dirt Candy only had a handful of options on the menu and is priced so well that you could order one of everything plus dessert, feed three to four people, and still get out with a bill under $150. I immediately zoned in on the paella (which I’ve only eaten before with hefty servings of shellfish) and hush puppies (they had me at both jalapeno and maple butter). I found the paella to be light and flavorful with the saffron tomato broth helping to retain its authenticity with its meatier siblings. The jalapeno hush puppies were deep fried and served with an ample side of sweet whipped butter for dunking. I loved the complexity of the spicy with the sweet and would’ve brought home the remainder of the maple butter if I hadn’t eaten the whole thing.

Even the desserts are Dirt Candy are made from vegetables with offerings such as zucchini ginger cake, sweet potato sorbet, and ricotta fritters w/ green tomato marmalade. The ingredients provide a more refreshing alternative to traditional desserts made with chocolate and cream. I would’ve tried them all but I was stuffed. Oh yeah, they also busted another myth- that vegetarian eating won’t satiate your hunger. Trust me, Dirt Candy is one meal that will leave you satisfied.

More info can be found at dirtcandynyc.com.

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