Restaurant Review: Dirt Candy

While I love to eat most things and try almost anything once, my wonderful mother is the complete opposite. She is a “vegetarian” – which I put in quotes because she does eat chicken, not because she wants to, but she feels she has to in order to maintain a healthy diet (which isn’t true, but that’s another story).

Since my mom is always inclined to accommodate my need to go on dining adventures rather than just out to dinner, during her visit to New York this week I wanted to take her on a dining adventure that might be a little more fit for her. Enter Dirt Candy – one of the only Michelin-recommended vegetarian restaurants in America.

Let me start by saying that I greatly enjoyed my Dirt Candy experience, and so did my “vegetarian” mother. The food was delicious, the presentation was gorgeous, and New York Press was right when they said, “Dirt Candy is a restaurant where meat eaters and vegetarians can order side-by-side and leave feeling like they’ve experienced something special.”

The one hang up I have about Dirt Candy was the “health” factor. I honestly went there thinking that if it’s vegetarian, it must be healthy, but at Dirt Candy this is not the case. Again, the food was delicious, but it was very rich and heavy, and often deep fried. All in all, a great experience, but not one that will fit into your healthy regimen. I actually found this interesting because on their website Dirt Candy explains its name saying, “What is dirt candy? Vegetables, of course. When you eat a vegetable you’re eating little more than dirt that’s been transformed by plenty of sunshine and rain into something that’s full of flavor.”

If it’s so full of flavor, why mask it with heavy cream and breading? That’s just my opinion, though! At the end of the day, I say go for it on your diet day off. Just be sure to make arrangements via OpenTable in advance. There are only about 20 seats in the place and they book up fast.

Here are some pictures of the items I tried and enjoyed (sorry they’re a little dark!).