#InauguralReview #CandleCafe by #JorgePineda #388ThirdAvenue #Manhattan
Executive Chef and Owner Jorge Pineda
It's never been who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW and drumroll please, though we are known to say that Peachy Deegan is a DEEGAN not a VEGAN, we have found exactly one circumstance ever where both hold true thanks to the genius of Executive Chef and Owner Jorge Pineda of Candle Cafe.
In 15 years publishing over 28,000 posts, this is among the biggest surprises.
Never, ever, have we found vegan food that is worth telling you about.
NEVER EVER.
Until now.
Vegan means: no animal product at all, no honey, no animals period.
They make their own mayo.
Candle Cafe is among the first two places at all ever doing vegan here in New York since 1990, and Jorge has worked here since 1997. In 2016, European Investors bought the company and in 2022, Jorge started leasing the name from the Candle Owner.
Obviously, common sense would dictate that the salad section would be strong here, and we were correct in our assumption.
First, we tried the Kale Caesar Salad. Dr. Oz we hope you are still reading even though we are so sad to not see you at your show anymore! You made us a Kale Ambassador, and you would also love this dish. Grilled grape tomatoes, herbed croutons, fried capers and caesar dressing that we actually liked came to the party with Cashew Parmesean: roasted cashews with lemon and nutritional yeast. It sounds strange but take it from us, it tastes good. We have never lied to you yet. Obviously it is not really cheese.
Next, we tried the Wild Mushroom Salad, aptly named as we are wild for it.
The salads here are super creative and elegant.
Note we never edit pictures: you excel like Jorge or we do not publish.
Baby arugula, wild mushrooms, olives, pickled red onion, squash and horseradish dressing which we found to be quite strong grace your presence here.
Note in all cases you know by now Ms. Superpicky likes to apply dressing herself.
In every case they listened and put it on the side.
Note that across the board, exact vegetable components may vary somewhat depending on market availability: it depends on what is available that is organic on any given day.
Jorge tells us everything is about 80 percent organic.
The Grilled Kale Salad was also spectacular: it had STRING BEANS our favorite vegetable, bien sur, haricots verts. Beluga lentils, kabocha squash, avocado, red onion, sunflower seeds, spelt berries (a grain, not a berry) and chive dressing will win you over. Note we really liked this dressing the best.
The Roasted Beets Salad might have been our favorite, as we liked the visual presentation and the beet variety itself. You can't beat it! Also it had fabulous citrus which offset the beets well. Fennel, fennel pistachios (in a tray), cashew cheese and balsamic reduction round this out well.
Jorge has been eating vegan his whole life; he grew up on a farm in El Salvador and his grandmother was dedicated to crafting wonderful vegetable delicacies which were a pronounced influence on him. There are seven entree choices.
First, we chose the Wild Mushroom Crepe.
Seasonal Vegetables, sauteed wild mushrooms, spinach, garlic truffle aioli which is truly amazing, arugula, beet and fennel salad make this a main course that will not leave you asking for medium rare, and it is a breath of fresh air.
Next, we tried the Zaatar (an Indian spice) Roasted Cauliflower. It arrives in style partying with chickpeas, oven-dried tomatoes, grilled red peppers, kale, zucchini, kale pine nut pesto, and spicy tahini sauce. It had incredible depth and flavor and you actually do feel more healthy after you eat everything by Jorge.
The sides are not to be ignored, and for someone that always orders brussels sprouts with bacon, Peachy actually found the roasted lemon brussels sprouts and almond cheese (not really cheese) a lovely deviation! And the sauteed wild mushrooms and shallots below emphasized how well mushrooms are incorporated into this menu.
Market Platter is a great option for an entree: it means you pick four sides and they are put together.
Peachy did this twice, above and below.
These are entirely her choice and you can pick what you want!
It's New York!
It's a restaurant!
First, we put together Daily Vegetables, Daily Greens, Black Beans and Caramelized Onions.
Next, we chose the combination of Daily Vegetables, Daily Greens, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms and Roasted Brussel Sprouts.
We might pick something else another time but were happy with these combinations and every component was fresh and terrific.
We'd suggest always getting those Daily two options because of their fresh market origins.
Another side note: we actually liked the music here! INXS and Hall and Oates and more tasteful, ambiant music we heard.
No, that is not ice cream, but it is coconut and dates, sugar free and vegan dessert.
There's no milk and no animal anything, and we actually liked it!
We cannot WAIT to see what they do next.
