Dirt Candy

By Megan Kian

Since my recent stint as a vegetarian, I’ve stumbled upon a whole new world of restaurants in NYC. One of my favorite finds is a small, humble restaurant in the East Village called Dirt Candy. There are only about 10 or so tables in the restaurant and reservations are hard to get for a reasonable hour (I ended up eating dinner at 10 pm), but it is probably one of the best vegetarian meals I’ve ever had.

The philosophy at Dirt Candy is to center a main course around a vegetable and make it just as satisfying as a meat-based dish. After hearing so much about the wonders of Dirt Candy from one of my close friends I just had to try it!

Our first taste of one of chef Amanda Cohen’s creations was a starter of jalapeno hush puppies with maple butter. The contrast between the spicy and sweet made for a mouth-watering combination. Some of our other courses included steamed barbeque carrot buns,

mint and tarragon pasta with zucchini and a yogurt and saffron sauce, and stone ground grits with corn cream and a tempura poached egg (all of the dishes were equally delicious!). Of course we had to indulge in some dessert so we decided to try the red pepper velvet cake. It tasted like a mix of red velvet cake and carrot cake – yum!

Whether or not you’re vegetarian I definitely recommend taking a trip to Dirt Candy for a delicious meal.

Have you ever been to Dirt Candy? What are some of your favorite vegetarian restaurants?

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote this restaurant. All opinions are my own.

Photo Source: Dirt Candy website