Candle 79 (Upper East Side, NYC) VGN

Candle 79 is considered to be one of the best vegan restaurants in NYC and so it's been on my "must visit" list for some time now.   I finally dined here last Saturday with my friend Jessica and it did not disappoint my high expectations.   The ambience is elegant and formal where we dined upstairs, with red and plum accents and a velvet ceiling and a contemporary-look bar scene downstairs.   We had a nice window seat upstairs though on a lovely night, the prime tables in the house would be downstairs near the open double doors.   The restaurant was bustling at 6 p.m. on Saturday with a nice hum of comfortable energy, and not too loud. 

As I explored the menu, my mouth began to water.  It reminded my of when I dined at Candle 79's sister restaurant, Candle Cafe (see 9/25/08 post) because there were just so many interesting and tempting choices, making it difficult to decide.    The ingredients were healthful and unique with a creative flair.   This was a no-guilt dining experience, which even contained some raw food options.    

As I perused the menu, several of the salads piqued my interest, like the avocado salad for $16 and seaweed salad for $14, but we ultimately decided to skip that course to save room for dessert.  It's possible to add tofu or tempeh on to salads for $4.  Good to know for next time.  First, we were served complementary edamame with sea salt, which was a nice surprise.  Then, we shared an appetizer, the live avocado cucumber tartare for $15, which was impossibly creamy with delicious homemade flax chips for dipping.   For the entree, I had the Moroccan spiced chickpea cake for $19 and Jessica had Caribbean jerk grilled seitan with plantains and mango for $23.   We both absolutely loved our dishes to the very last bite.   For dessert, we each had our own Mexican chocolate cake with crystallized ginger ice cream for $12.   The ginger complemented the chocolate so perfectly; this dessert was positively dreamy.  We were still raving about it days later.  

As for the drink menu, the impressive wine list was mostly organic or biodynamic.  I had a glass of sangria made with both organic wine and fruit for $12.    Though I tried, I was unsuccessful in finishing my sangria because of the large size, which was fine.  I certainly had plenty and it was a bit strong for me, so better that I did not finish it all.

Really, the only unpleasant surprise, though it should not have been considering I knew the individual item's prices, was the bill.  As you can see from the prices above, it adds up quickly to a very large number and  my jaw did actually drop.   Quality ingredients and loving preparation come at a price, I suppose.  

Our waitress, also named Jessica, was wonderful and extremely pleasant and knowledgeable about the dishes.   Service was great, attentive from start to finish.  

Vegetarians, vegans and even carnivores alike can and will appreciate the inspired food and gourmet experience at Candle 79.  I recommend dining there on special occasions on and the occasional splurge.

Candle 79

154 E. 79th St. (between Lex and 3rd, near Lex)

212-537-7179

www.candlecafe.com

Costa Rica - the official Pura Vida food review

At last (took me awhile, I admit)...

The food was served buffet style and was consistently good, though not gourmet.  The bar had been set quite high since, about a year ago, I spent a weekend at Kripalu (a well-known yoga and wellness retreat) in the Berkshires so my point of comparison was very high indeed because their food is nothing short of superb.  The food at Pura Vida was fresh, yes, but nothing too fancy, quite simple in fact. But, the fruit was incredible.  Ah, the fruit.  The pineapple and mangos tasted as though they were just picked.  Fruit was definitely the star at the table for all meals.  I devoured strawberries and papaya (and I am not even a papaya fan), enjoyed freshly-squeezed strawberry juice, which, surprisingly was not that sweet and had a luscious smoothie with banana, mango and pineapple.  

The runner up to the fruit in terms of my favorites  was the soup.  I sampled every single one of them at each and every meal.  The best of the best was the carrot ginger soup, which was rich and satisfying.  

In general, there was not a huge selection of foods on the buffet, which was mostly vegetarian except for one or two items, usually fish, at the end of the buffet.   I noticed that, at times, the small name cards displaying the names of the dishes were not always present for each dish, leaving us to guess or taste what the dish was.  Now, it's fairly easy to determine what is not vegetarian, however, this would pose a problem for someone who is vegan, because the ingredients were never listed for anything. Though, I must admit, everyone at the resort was extremely accommodating so if that were an issue for you, I am certain they would work with you.

Of course, the view from the dining area was amazing, with the capital city of San Jose in the distance. The people at the resort were also an amazing and interesting bunch of mostly vegetarian yoga lovers.  

The pictures above are from Thursday, March 26th's dinner, also my birthday, and Japanese night.   I started off with miso soup, which did not disappoint, then enjoyed a lovely mango and avocado spring roll (perfect ingredients), a salad medley and a light, sweet cupcake for dessert.  How fitting for my birthday!

Each night was a different theme and one night was locally-themed, with rice and beans and incredible guacamole as dishes.  The avocados were absolutely delicious.   I was in serious chocolate withdrawal mode by the end of the week having had no chocolate my entire trip, which must be a record for me.  Not to worry, I got my fix at the San Jose airport with a roasted almond dark chocolate bar.  

Natural dog shampoo?

Next product search...natural dog shampoo.  After I bathed my dog last night, I happened to check the ingredients of the Oatmeal & Aloe Vera shampoo and saw the dreaded "SLS" listed- sodium laurel sulfate AND sodium laureth sulfate duo among other ingredients I cannot pronounce.  Yikes!  Maybe that's why Snoozy hates bath time. He's also not a fan of getting wet so that could explain it, too. 

Check out the link below for an explanation of the dangers of SLS:

http://www.healthy-communications.com/slsmostdangerousirritant.html

If anyone has suggestions for a natural dog shampoo, I would like to hear about it.

*UPDATE* I bought Aubrey Organics dog shampoo from my local health food store.  I was planning to buy this very product online, after significant time spent researching and scrutinizing ingredients but when I saw it in my local store, it made more sense (and cents) to support my local businesses on Main Street.

Natural ant remedy

Another fruitless search.  I dug around online to find a natural, non-toxic remedy for getting rid of those pesky ants I noticed in my kitchen a few days ago.   I found one that consisted entirely of cornmeal, which I happened to have in my pantry and thought, great, let's try it.  All was fine for awhile and I only saw a few random ants with my mounds of cornmeal on the kitchen floor warding them away until my dog, Snoozy, discovered the delicious cornmeal "treats" sprinkled where he is normally fed.   Needless to say my dog loves cornmeal (who knew?) and lapped it up almost as quickly as I put it down, on the sly, usually after I left the room.  So much for that.  At least it was a natural remedy considering how much Snoozy consumed.

Suggestions?

Vegan Chocolate Truffles (take 2)

For those of you who follow this blog and remember my Valentine's Day truffle making experience (see 2/14/09 post), where my truffles resembled flat chocolate pancakes, rather than the usual three-dimensional truffle shape, you will be interested to see I am posting another recipe for vegan (and gluten-free) chocolate truffles, this one from Vegetarian Times magazine, February 2009 issue.  

I have yet to try the recipe so I can't tell you about the result just yet, but I couldn't resist sharing the recipe, with my notes in parenthetical.

Ingredients (list is short and sweet, just as I prefer):

1/2 cup chocolate soymilk (I plan to substitute unsweetened chocolate almond milk due to difficulties digesting soy)

1 12-oz. pkg vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1.  Warm milk until hot to touch, set aside.

2.  Melt chips in large metal bowl set over saucepan (or use a double boiler) of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Stir in warmed milk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight (I think I will opt for caution and will refrigerate overnight as I think this was my downfall last time).

3.  Place cocoa on plate (or wax paper on counter top).  Shape chilled chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls, and roll in cocoa. 

Makes 40 1-inch truffles.  Enjoy (not all at once).

   

Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

I wanted to pass on some really interesting information to my blog readers.  I attended a truly inspiring lecture yesterday on Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs), given by Cliff Harwin.   As it turns out, Cliff informed me that many vegetarians are HSPs, which I thought was fascinating.  I encourage you to check out the website to learn more about this inherited trait and to take the assessment to determine whether or not you are a HSP (click the "self-test" link on Cliff's website, below).   In addition, Cliff published a book that is for sale via the website, and he offers a free monthly e-newsletter and free e-book.    Really interesting material that I can relate to.  You may, too.  Check it out!

http://www.thehighlysensitiveperson.com/

Natural nail polish remover - the search is over

I know this blog is typically about food, I do want to incorporate various "green", earth-friendly topics.  I have been searching for a non-toxic, formaldehyde-free, acetone/acetate-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free, synthetic fragrance-free, vegan nail polish remover with very little success.  

I've come close in my internet search, though.  I almost succumbed to No Miss brand, which seemed to very closely match my preferences, even though it has some sort of so-called "natural" vanilla scent, which I normally stay away from because it never seems to really be natural.  It was the company's website that was the downfall, with a clunky checkout system that did not seem secure (no "https" in the URL) and linked to my IP address instead.  Scary.  Hmm, I will not give my credit card information in that shady scenario.

Okay, just now, and after spending way too much time searching and comparing, I settled on Suncoat Naturals for $9.99 and $3 shipping from Canada.    It is paraben-free, not tested on animals (is it vegan? can't confirm but hope so), non-toxic, biodegradable, non-GMO, contains no petroleum ingredients, and acetone/acetate-free.  That's as close as I can get to my dream nail polish remover.  

Check out this link for more info: 

http://bewellstaywell.com/nail_care.htm

And now, if only I could find a spa or nail salon that uses actual natural products (polish, polish remover, creams) for manicures and pedicures.  Now, that would be a find.   Until then, I am on my own.  That's okay.  It will save me some green, after all.

If you have any better product suggestions, I am all ears! 

*Update* I received my nail polish remover very promptly in just a few days after ordering.  While it did take more elbow grease to first saturate my toe nails in order remove my polish  (from an old pedicure with "traditional"nail polish) at a few minutes time per toe, it was worth it.  The product has a light, pleasant smell, and not the usual, acrid smell of traditional, chemical-laden remover.  Also, my nails are not dry from using the Suncoat remover, as they would be with the chemical stuff.   Win-win!