VeggieGirl & the City: Part III

During the first two days of our trip, my parents and I certainly managed to cover a lot of territory, savor delicious meals, visit interesting places, and meet great people. With everything that accomplished on the trip thus far, you may be wondering, "Was there anything left for the three of you to do or see, in NYC?" Well, if you have been to NYC before, chances are you know that the answer to that question is a resounding yes :0) Read on to find out what happened in the third installment of VeggieGirl & the City.


Saturday, March 22nd


Since my parents and I had lunch reservations for noon, we made sure to start our day early enough (not difficult for us, since we are "early birds" - even when on vacation! haha), so that we would have time to walk around and such, before having to head over to the restaurant. But before we knew it, it was time to make our way towards our lunch spot - as that old saying goes, time flies when you are having fun! :0)



Located amongst an array of specialty shops and food-markets was Candle 79, a rather well-known vegan restaurant in NYC (and known as the "sister restaurant" of the equally-popular, Candle Café). The décor inside was rather eclectic and posh, but still inviting; and it definitely had "curb appeal," outside! My parents and I were at Candle 79 for three main reasons: one, to experience the cuisine (would it be as delicious as many people have reported it to be?); two, to celebrate a special "event" (which I will reveal shortly); and three (and most importantly!), to meet our "guest of honor" for lunch:



So who exactly was our "guest of honor," you ask? Why, it was none other than "Vko" (her alias) from the "Lifestyles of the Chic & Vegan" blog! Vko's blog was one of the very first blogs that I ever visited - I have been reading her blog since before I even started my own blog, and have enjoyed reading about Vko's incredibly exciting, fast-paced schedule and life. It was truly an honor getting to meet such a lovely, inspiring individual (whom I have "known" for quite some time now), in person.

Our lunch at Candle 79 was bound to be an adventure, since none of us had ever dined there (Vko said that she had dined at Candle Café before, but had heard that Candle 79 was more "upscale" and had a different selection of dishes on the menu). Another reason why this lunch would be an adventure, and something to celebrate? Well, March 22nd marked my one-year vegan anniversary - that's right! I have officially been a vegan for one full year now! Vko's two-year vegan anniversary is on April 12th (which obviously has not occurred yet), so we prematurely celebrated that event as well. So we all knew that we wanted to enjoy a lavish meal, for the celebration/new restaurant experience :0)

The menu was very overwhelming, with so many enticing-sounding choices; but we eventually decided on what to order:



While my mom, Vko, and I just sipped hot tea and water during lunch, my dad enjoyed something a little more "exotic": He ordered the Limonade, which was a refreshing concoction of lemon, lime, agave nectar, and some ice. The fact that this drink caused my dad to slurp the remaining contents through his straw, without leaving any liquid behind, proves that he was definitely pleased with his beverage selection ;0)



While we waited for our meals, the waitress served us a complementary plate of Fresh-Baked Strawberry Mini Muffins, as an "amuse bouche." My dad said that he could have eaten just a plate of those muffins for lunch, he enjoyed his two-bite treat so much, haha.



As an appetizer for the entire table, Vko ordered the Grilled Seitan Chimichurri, which was a plate of citrus-herb marinated seitan skewers. Since they serve that same dish at Candle Café, Vko has eaten it before, and expected it to be just as good (if not better) - unfortunately, the seitan was not very tender, and a bit disappointing in that regard; but we all still had high hopes for our main courses!



It was fortunate that we went to Candle 79 on the weekend, since that is when they serve their brunch specialties. Pictured above is my dad's lunch, which was ordered from the brunch menu: he ordered the Home-Style Pancakes, topped with fresh banana slices and strawberries, and served with raspberry "butter" and gingered-maple syrup. My dad enjoyed the pancakes (who wouldn't enjoy a fluffy stack of pancakes?) and all of the meal components, but said that the maple syrup did not have a ginger flavor at all - false advertising, I guess? Haha ;0)



Whereas my dad ordered a sweet dish for lunch, my mom went with a savory entrée: she ordered the Seitan Piccata, which featured a seitan cutlet topped with a lemon-caper sauce, as well as some "creamed" spinach, a grilled potato cake," and oyster mushrooms, as the accompaniments. Although it certainly is not the most photogenic dish out there, it was definitely satisfying to my mom's palate.



Although the decision was not easy, I chose the Black Bean Pumpkin Seed Burger for lunch. This hearty "burger" patty was served on a caramelized-onion-potato bun, with a side of mixed greens, avocado slices, polenta fries, and some chipotle-ketchup. While this dish was certainly satiating and delicious, it was very difficult to eat - I ended up having to eat it with a knife and fork, because the "burger" patty was practically disintegrating! Although it was not firm enough to hold its shape, it was still packed with great flavor. Oh and the chipotle ketchup? It tasted just like regular ketchup (just like how my dad's ginger-maple syrup tasted just like regular maple syrup, haha).



Going for another one of the brunch specialties, Vko ordered the Wild Mushroom & Spring Vegetable Crepe, served with a tarragon aioli, artichoke salad, and mesclun greens. The aioli was a bit on the tangy side, but still complemented the crepe-fillings quite well.

Despite our large, main meals, we still had room for dessert (of course - and we remembered to take photographs of the desserts this time! Haha) - the desserts took a while to arrive at the table (the service was a bit slow throughout the entire meal), but the wait was well worth it, once we saw (and tasted) these delicacies:



Vko ordered the impeccably-presented Mango Napoleon, which was composed of layers of almond-shortbread cookies, a vanilla-almond "cream"-filling, mango compote, and topped with a scoop of green tea ice "cream." The shortbread cookies were so "buttery" and flaky, that each piece practically melted in your mouth; and the vanilla-almond "cream" was very reminiscent of peanut butter! All and all, a very unique, flavorful dessert.



My dad opted for a refreshing scoop of Orange Sorbet, which was good but "not the best sorbet that I have had," according to my dad.



My mom and I both ordered what everyone at the table agreed, was the best dessert of all: the Live Pineapple-Cherry Parfait ("Live" is the same thing as "Raw" - hooray for more raw vegan desserts!). This luscious sweet-treat featured layers of nut granola, a pineapple-cashew "cream," cherries, and a scoop of raw coconut ice "cream." Not only was this dessert absolutely heavenly-tasting, but it was quite gorgeous as well - I heard people sitting at nearby tables (which was not difficult to do, since all of the tables were extremely close together, haha) whispering about its beauty - no joke!

All four of us agreed that while we did enjoy our first experience at Candle 79, we would rather dine there for just the desserts (which were, hands down, the highlight of the meal); and my dad would not mind having some more of those mini muffins that were served at the beginning of lunch, haha ;0)

After a long, leisurely lunch with great company, it was time to go our separate ways for the day; but this was definitely not the last time that Vko and I would meet, in NYC! :0) My parents and I continued on our "walking trail," towards a specific destination that we had been anticipating on visiting for quite some time now:



In the photograph above, I am standing in front of a piece of "sentimental nostalgia" - the townhouse of my great-uncle (who passed away just one year ago). I was extremely close with my great-uncle (who was my grandfather's older brother), and miss him dearly; but it was lovely to get to visit his stunning NYC townhouse, which he lived in from 1980 until late 2006 (although he first moved to NYC in the 1950s). It was definitely my great-uncle who ignited my love for the city, and I will cherish my memories of him forever.

After spending another long (but fun-filled) day around town, my parents and I returned to our hotel to get ready for our dinner reservations. As you can see, we had a "costume change" for the occasion:


Black and white attire, as always :0)



My adorable parents, haha :0D

We did not have to travel far for dinner that evening, since the restaurant was conveniently located right inside of our hotel: we dined at the Jean-Georges restaurant, which bears the name of its award-winning chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten (who is one of only three Michelin-starred chefs in NYC).

Since this restaurant was far from being vegan (or even remotely vegetarian), my dad called the staff ahead of time, to see if they could prepare something vegan-friendly that evening. Luckily, I did not have any trouble ordering a decent meal - so far so good! But that is where my "luck" ended:



Now, the dish pictured above certainly looked like what I ordered (which was a simple mixture of steamed and sautéed vegetables); but it did not taste like what I had ordered. After taking just one bite, I seriously felt as if I had just chugged an entire salt-shaker - ick!! Even my mom, who loves a lot of seasonings and spices added to her dishes, thought that my dinner was sickeningly salty!

I seriously think that someone in the kitchen was appalled by how simple my order was (since the chef is used to creating complex, bizarre "delicacies"), and insisted on adding some salt for "flavor"; and then apparently five or so more chefs/kitchen staff members had the same idea, so they decided to add some "flavor" as well! Yuck. Even though I did get the dish re-made (sans salt, which is how I ordered it in the first place), and it tasted okay, I still had a salty aftertaste in my mouth. After dinner, I ran over to Whole Foods (literally, since it was located right across from our hotel, haha) for a sweet-treat :0) Sorry Jean-George, but I do not think that I will be dining in your restaurant again, anytime soon - but hey, I give you credit for creating such a gorgeous atmosphere!

After yet another full day, moving non-stop, my parents and I were grateful that we were already in the hotel, after dinner - time to go to bed, for sure!

Just one more day in NYC - stay tuned for the fourth and final installment of VeggieGirl & the City!