Their Second Hit on #WhomYouKnow #CandleCafe by #JorgePineda #388ThirdAvenue #Manhattan #Vegan from #Scratch
Executive Chef and Owner Jorge Pineda at their BRAND NEW BAR!
Peachy Deegan loves to think every day is St. Patrick's Day when she is eating dinner and there are so many excellent GREEN options at Candle Cafe!
We told you in January this year:
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.
Well we also tell you all the time that we look for the best that keep getting better and for someone that was not at all into vegan anything ever, we went back a second time and also had a second outstanding experience.
And perhaps even more outstanding because they got their liquor license a month ago. This is what Peachy sipped with Jorge:
So, what makes it great?
EVERYTHING IS MADE FROM SCRATCH.
After doing this for fifteen years we can tell you it makes a tremendous difference when something is from scratch. Owner and Executive Chef Jorge Pineda who hails from El Salvador has been eating this his whole life, and not only is everything delicious in our two experiences but also you really feel healthy and wonderful after you eat it.
We began with the Chimichurri Skewers, above, which are great summer fun.
What on earth is seitan you might ask? It is made of organic, nut-free spelt flour and it's a whole grain. Of course Jorge makes his own. So, it's char-grilled seitan, chipotle aioli and grape tomato. The NF on the menu means nut free.
Below, the Parmesan Crispy Artichokes will enrapture your tastebuds and you will almost think you are eating Italian. It is the closest thing to pizza. Asparagus, fava beans, leeks, zucchini, and amazing garlic truffle aioli and tomato sauce will truly wow you. This is among our favorites.
Ooooh you know who is going wild for salads in this weather and we hope you readers are enjoying our newest food column, Sensational Salads which showcases the very best from Peachy's Picks. First in the salad batting order at this visit is the Grilled Kale Salad, above. They listened and put the Chive dressing on the side as we asked, and it includes Peachy's favorite vegetable, green beans/haricots verts/string beans! Beluga lentils, kabocha squash, avocado, red onion, sunflower seeds and spelt berries make this a standout selection.
Next, the Morel Mushroom Ravioli is also evocative of Italian cuisine, so if you love Italian like Peachy and are carefully wading into the Vegan Food kiddie pool too, order this. It's a starter and you will love the spring vegetables with sauteed spinach tomato sauce truffle oil and obviously the mushrooms, aforementioned. It was maybe our favorite.
Dr. Oz we hope you are super proud of our gospel of Kale here. We can't get enough of it at Candle Cafe. Kale Caesar Salad is a total winner with hot polenta croutons, fabulous grilled tomatoes, cashew parmesean, fried capers and GFNF (gluten free, nut free) caesar dressing. You are not going to believe the outstanding flavor combination.
The Seitan Picatta is a favorite of Jorge's:
Creamed spinach, wild mushroom, garlic mashed potatoes and lemon caper sauce is delicious and refreshing. Of course if Peachy was ordering a steak somewhere she would say medium rare, so she asked do you say how well done you want the seitan? No you do not. It is black and white: cooked or not. There are no degrees of cooked for seitan, which is cooked in water for six hours we understand.
It insisted on glamour shots.
We really adored the King Oyster Scallops Risotto.
Spring vegetables, pesto and parmesan cheese are a total entree dream and if you want to eat healthy, this should be your dinner if you also want to eat devastatingly delicious.
Pictures do not lie:
As always, pictures are unedited. You win like Jorge or we do not publish.
Finally, the Wild Mushroom Crepe is also to be adored.
It's decadent and boasts seasonal vegetables, sauteed wild mushrooms, tempeh, spinach, garlic truffle aioli, arugula and fennel salad that is GF, NF. Although you have been eating so healthy all dinner (note Peachy is not a nutritionist and we make no nutritional claims anywhere) you are not going to feel like you are missing anything, especially now that they have a liquor license. If you think you don't like vegan, Jorge and Candle Cafe have an extremely high chance of getting you to change your mind like Peachy Deegan did. Finally, you can see the steam coming off of the daily vegetables:
Sauteed in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, they are perfection.
We can't wait to see the continued excellence evolve at Candle Cafe!
And note the average tenure of half the staff is 20 years, and it's ten years for the other half. Just the facts for you!
