Candle 79: Regaining My Blogger Cred

If you’ve read health blogs for more than a hot second, you’ve probably read about Candle 79.

If not, here are some awesome reviews:

• Emily
• Meghann
• Gabriela
• Gena

It’s a vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side. I actually walk past it every single time I have a meeting at the Junior League headquarters, and had wondered about it for awhile–especially after I started reading lots of reviews of it!

We had a Junior League meeting tonight, and one of my friends and committee members suggested going over to Candle as we finished discussing Winter Ball prep. I tried to contain my excitement and curiosity, but hoped that we’d try some food too, and not just cocktails.

But their cocktails are supposedly yummy, too, and so we tried the Ginger Rush–sake, agave nectar and ginger. It was spicy but tasty–for one drink. I wouldn’t have more than that.

We split two appetizers between four of us. They’re actually a little bigger and definitely more filling than they look. Strangely enough, they came before our cocktails.

We started with the Angel’s Nachos (corn chips, cheddar & mozzarella, tomatoes, refried pinto beans, chili-grilled seitan, guacamole, salsa, tofu sour cream, romaine lettuce.) I usually eschew sour cream because I fear what it will do to my stomach, but I was all about this tofu sour cream.

We also had the guacamole timbale (chipotle black beans, caramelized onions, cucumber-jicama salsa, tortilla chips and ranchero sauce.)

For dessert, we had a special that wasn’t on the menu that included nuts, coconut ice cream, agave nectar and berries. We’d had our eye on a ice cream parfait that included granola, but they weren’t sure whether the granola included peanuts or not, and I’m allergic to peanuts. Between my peanut allergy, and my friend’s gluten allergy, we were impressed with how easy it was to find some dessert to accommodate both of us.

Verdict? I’d love to go back to try some more of their dishes, but I liked the intense flavors of the dishes I did try.