Dirt Candy, NYC

“Made of little more than water and sunlight, vegetables are candy from the dirt.” This little 18-seat restaurant is quite the jewel. Their menu is all vegetable based and changes seasonally. They are vegetarian, not vegan, but anything on the menu can and will be made vegan by request. We made reservations several weeks in advance as we knew that is the only way to get in there. They requested we show up on time and told us to allow 1 hour and 55 minutes for dinner. They run a tight ship.

We started off with the jalapeno hush puppies. These were basically pieces of deep fried cornbread and served with their house-made maple butter. They were pretty good, but a little too deep-fried for me. Next, we ordered an appetizer that consisted of king oyster mushrooms, celery pesto, and grilled grapes. The appetizer was light and refreshing.

Next, we ordered our entrees. I ordered the coconut poached tofu that had shiso sauce and hearts of palm. The presentation of the food was very nice and the flavors went well together. Zach ordered the battered and fried cauliflower that was over a waffle – again too fried for me, but Zach really enjoyed it.

For dessert we ordered the ice cream nanamo bar, which had sweet pea and chocolate. The ice cream based dish had fresh mint and mint in the bar. It was really yummy.

All in all, I’d give this restaurant 4 out of 5 stars. The wine was good, service was great, and food was pretty good. We ended up leaving after 1 hour and 57 minutes so their estimate was right on. I enjoyed it, but I still prefer Candle 79 over Dirt Candy.

Dirt Candy
430 East 9th Street  

Manhattan, NY 10009

(212) 228-7732