Dirt Candy Disappointment

My friend Natasha visited this weekend so we could go to one of the SIX Pavement shows at summerstage on Thursday. It was a short, but sweet weekend since she was leaving Saturday morning, so I decided to make some reservations at Dirt Candy in the East Village for Friday night. It opened about a year ago, but I hadn't been yet. Natasha is vegan and eating in the city with her almost inevitably takes us to the East Village. Everything good AND vegan is there! When she comes to town I get to test my vegan/vegetarian palate.

The place did not even have a sign out front! How is that for trendy! Also, it was so dark in there that I couldn't get ANY good pictures, but I will post one of the jalapeno hush puppies and maple butter below anyways. I went into the restaurant thinking that the goal was to take one veggie or fruit and create a dish inspired by that. So, if you have a sweet potato you could make a sweet potato glaze, and then a mash, too. But it turns out that I was a little off base. Only a few options were like this.

I have to say the food was OK, but seemed wildly overpriced for what it was. Also, the menu did not have many options. I know the idea is to simplify the menu and have it be market fresh, but one more option would have been nice. We started with the jalapeno hush puppies. Then, I had the tofu broccolini and even though the tofu was perfectly crisped and the orange sauce was delicious, the broccolini and tofu were sadly a little bland.

The place was great for a date and the atmosphere was impressive (complete with a mini-bathroom that is AH-dorable!). However, with all the other great options in EV, it seems unlikely that I will go back. Unless I meet a sexy vegan who hasn't heard about this place yet. The aesthetic definitely makes a good impression.

Brunch Days

Brunch is a sacred thing in NYC and I certainly take part in worshiping it. Every weekend you can walk around the city and see lines outside all of the restaurants. Big groups, small groups. Old and young. Brunch is a beautiful thing. It brings people together. However, as is true for most wonderful things, there is a flip side. It is easy to down FIVE mimosa's at brunch and then realize you are $50 in the hole. How are you to financially keep up!

Don't you worry fellow foodies. I have a solution! My friend Sarah moved to the East Village recently and was dying to try Esperanto, a Brazilian restaurant on the corner of 9th St. and Ave C. I begrudgingly said yes as my bank account is soon to be in the hole. Imagine my surprise when I get there and the sign outside proclaims that brunch in $9.99, including coffee, an alcoholic beverage, and an entree. Woohoo!

via ontheinside.com

On top of being affordable, the whole thing was delicious. I had the huevos rancheros, a staple of mine at brunch, and it was the perfect size and crunch. The entire table of people agreed that the home fries were some of the best they had ever had! Something in that seasoning was just divine. Below is a photo of the eggs benedict and you can see the yummy home fries.

via Flickr

So, moral of the story is, check this place out. The food won't suffer with the affordable price. Stay tuned next week for a birthday report. That's right, I'm turning 26 in 6 days...here we come late 20s!

xoxo

Brunch, Bed, Bath and Beyond

I'm a little tardy for this posting party, but who's keeping track (besides the always punctual Monday blogger! Kidding, Zoe!)? Anyways, I had a surprisingly domestic Saturday afternoon with my husband, complete with trips to Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond. Cheesy, I know, but it was completely necessary. But before the errands began, we partook in my favorite weekend pastime: BRUNCH.

I couldn't make up my mind on where to go and was really looking for outdoor seating on this gorgeous New York summer day. But when we wandered by Northern Spy Food Co., one of the latest restaurant additions to the East Village, I wanted to try it after hearing so many great things about the food. And so we did.

The verdict? The food is definitely tasty and the brunch cocktails are ahhhmaaazing and refreshing.

I mean, who wouldn't want wheat beer and lemon soda shandy or a Fuji apple mimosa?!

For our entree's, we got the Slow-whisked scrambled eggs (with sausage and carmelized shallot flatbreat) and the Griddled ham and eggs.





The latter of the two might have LOOKED more appetizing (and the ham was predictably delicious), but for anyone who loves soft scrambled eggs, Northern Spy does it amazingly well. My only regret was not ordering the griddled cornbread with sweet onion yogurt as an appetizer. When it landed on the table next to us, I had a serious case of food envy. Oh well, it gives me a reason to come back. Who wants to come with me?

--Jessica

Restaurant Tour

This week I was fortunate enough to have family in town visiting me. My aunt has been here several times and loves the culinary adventures I take her on. This time she was accompanied by two of my girl cousins - 13 and 17. They are all native Texans, and this was the girls' first time on an airplane. Needless to say it was a bit of a culture shock. Keeping this in mind, I had to be more selective in choosing the restaurants.. I was trying to find a balance between something they would consider "normal food" and also getting them to try something new. I am going to be one of those parents who forces my children to try EVERYTHING, no matter the struggle.

So, here's the restaurant run down.

Monday for lunch we were meeting in midtown before they went shopping on 5th Ave. I wanted to take them to get something simple, but thought the concourse at Rock Center would be too overwhelming for them. So, I sucked up my pride and met them at the Heartland Brewery on 51st Street. The food isn't bad, per say, but the service definitely is. I think it lives up to it's stigma of an overpriced tourist trap. The 13 yr old ordered a chicken caesar salad and the 17yr old ordered a philly cheesesteak. We split the buffalo spring rolls because they were so intrigued, and they liked them.

Monday for dinner I chose In Vino. This is an intimate Italian restaurant in the East Village (shout out to Friday blogger and her husband, one of their go to date night spots). I love the cavernous structure and dim lighting. The meal began with me ordering the following appetizers for the table: Prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, polpette in ragu sauce, and a cheese plate. There were mixed reactions to these. The 13 yr old decided she liked 'fake' mozzarella, like string cheese, better than fresh buffalo mozzarella (gasp!). She also thought the cheeses on the plate smelled bad. My aunt on the other hand experienced nirvana. She had the waitress write down all the cheeses so she could have them again in Texas. She also discovered that she liked marinara sauce for the first time! She raved about the marinara sauce for the next few days.

Tuesday I wanted to show them some New York thin crust pizza. I chose Pulino's because I had been dying to go back. Not to mention Keith McNally is my favorite person. We got the burrata appetizer - my favorite cheese. Then we split two pizzas - Salami Piccante (house made pepperoni and olives) and Pesto with pinenuts. My aunt and I found them both to be delicious, but the girls seemed unimpressed yet again.

Wednesday we went to China Grill. This was the girls favorite meal which made me really happy as it was new food to them. The Crackling Calamari Salad is my all time favorite salad ever. Love love love it! If you have not had it, run fast and eat it immediately! We also got Sashimi Tempura, which is not the most attractive dish. When it came out to the table I was thinking oops, they're not going to touch this. They had never had sashimi, or any type of sushi. At first they were shy, but then I saw them sneaking more pieces onto their plate. Success!

I had a great time with my family, and can't wait for them to come back. I bought my aunt the Frank Spuntino Kitchen Companion cookbook as a thank you gift for taking me out to all of these meals. She was thrilled.