Blossom (187 9th Ave. between 21st & 22nd, NYC)

Ahh, this place is relaxing.  It's all vegan by the way.  I've dined here before today several times for both lunch and dinner and each time, I have been delighted with the exception that most desserts are not available during lunch.  Note to self: must try brunch one day...the menu looks really interesting (see link below).

Back to the dinner review at hand, the decor is contemporary and atmosphere is lovely and dim, with candlelight.  The music could use some improvement, as it is rather depressing, but somehow does not detract from my overall experience.    If I focused on it more, it would have though!  There is also a room upstairs that can be rented out for occasions.

I start off with an excellent glass of organic syrah from California for $9 -- all the wines on the menu are organic, as well as the beers,  a nice treat.    The selection of wines was nicely varied; I always like to see Malbec on the list, as I did.  

The waitress reads off the list of specials (one appetizer and one entree) and the appetizer sounded delightful; a phyllo purse of vegetables with a cashew cream pesto sauce for $10.  I wanted that for my entree but sadly, they could not accommodate that request.  After it was too late, I thought I could have ordered two in order to make a larger size.  Oh well.   I also found out later that my waitress neglected to mention a soup special that came with homemade tortilla chips.  I felt cheated, but only for a few seconds, then I got over it.

I ordered the vegetable mezze plate for $21, which was an assortment of neatly displayed veggies, including haricot verts (never had them before), delectable mashed sweet potatoes, quinoa, garlic sauteed sliced carrots and zucchini, spinach, string beans and I'm sure something else I am forgetting.  I was counting on this being on the website so I did not have to write it all down in my dining journal.  You'll see from my note at the end, this was not so.  I immediately felt healthier after eating this plate of vitamins!   The presentation of the food was impressive on an oversized round plate that reminded me of an artist's palette.

And the dessert selections, well, there were two that I was debating between.  One was chocolate ganache with vanilla soy ice cream with peanut butter drizzle for $8 and the other contender was a lavender maple tart with maple soy ice cream in a pastry shell with fresh berries for $9.  The waitress broke the tie for me and I got the chocolate.   The ganache was rich and dense.  The vanilla ice cream was a nice complement to cut some of the richness though the ice cream was a tad too icy.  A single spearmint leave was a refreshing touch on the plate.  The peanut butter drizzle was good but I could have used more of it, like a peanut butter gusher.  Okay, that would've been too much.   

There is also a nice selection of loose teas and dessert wines, though I did not have any.

Here is the website, where you can see the menu though it's not complete (my entree above is missing for some reason).  

http://www.blossomnyc.com/home.html