Dining Out in New York City - Candle 79

Wild Mushroom-Squash Risotto - Candle 79

Candle 79 is my favorite fine dining vegan establishment. It's also at the top of my list of favorite New York restaurants.  It opened in 2003 after much success of its sister restaurant Candle Café. Named by Zagat as the city's #1 vegetarian restaurant, it's also frequented by NYC's elite, including many famous vegans and non-vegans. It doesn't work for all occasions and is by no means a cheap eat, but if you're looking for an intimate, relaxing, satisfying, delicious meal, this is the place. I loved my first experience here, which was a surprise dinner reservation made by my boyfriend for my birthday last year. I had no idea where we were headed but when I saw the name as we pulled up to the restaurant I knew I was in for a fantastic meal.

Chipotle Black Bean & Squash Ravioli - Candle 79

I dined here for the second time just recently. It was also for my birthday, but this time my parents accompanied me. Neither of them are vegan, and my Dad isn't quite comfortable with the concept yet. He asked where the meat was when reading the menu, but after some guidance he picked out a dish that he thoroughly enjoyed. For a starter we went with the Chipotle Black Bean & Squash Ravioli made with whole wheat pasta, sautéed spinach, crispy capers and tomato sauce. There were two or three large raviolis stacked on the plate surrounded by sauce. We really enjoyed it! My Dad's meal was the special of the night, a BBQ Seitan served over black-eyed peas with a handful of other ingredients I can't recall. My Mom ordered the Wild Mushroom-Squash Risotto because she's a big fan of mushrooms. It was prepared with cashew cream, pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs and frizzled leeks. It was a hearty winter dish presented elegantly. I opted for one of the most popular dishes, the Seitan Piccata. The entree is a generous serving of housemade seitan with creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms and a lemon caper sauce. I was practically licking my plate! Delicious!

Seitan Piccata - Candle 79

For drinks, my parents enjoyed white wine while I had a cocktail, the Fall of Persephone, made with gin, pomegranate, lime, agave, orange blossom water, and soda. It was a cold, snowy night and this full-flavored beverage warmed me up.

Fall of Persephone Eco-Cocktail - Candle 79

For dessert I had to have the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss. They presented it beautifully with a birthday candle and berry sauce drizzle (or coulis, as the menu reads). Made with very rich chocolate, normally I don't go for such flavors and textures, but the salty, creamy peanut butter offset it perfectly. It also happens to be gluten-free, which is a nice plus. Only after devouring it, did I wonder if it was the same dessert I had enjoyed for my first visit. Clearly that means it's a winner. My parents opted for the Apple Cranberry Pie served with vanilla ice cream. They loved it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss - Candle 79

Apple Cranberry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream - Candle 79

It was the perfect outing to escape the snow, celebrate almost two years of being vegan, and my first birthday as a NYC resident. My boyfriend's mother just gave us a gift card for Candle 79 as a Christmas gift and I cannot wait for my return visit!

Candle 79

154 E 79th Street

New York, NY 10075

Candle 79 Website

Dining Out in New York City - Two Boots Pizza

V for Vegan Pizza - Two Boots

This could really be titled a "Dining In" post, because I ordered delivery, something I haven't done since college! You'd think living in NYC means I can walk outside and find a meal within a few blocks, and while that is true when the temperature drops and you have websites like Seamless it's so tempting to just order online and never leave your building! 

A pizza craving hit me this weekend and I needed to satisfy it so I checked off one of the places I learned about from another vegan blogger. In what some might consider the pizza capital of the world, second of course to Italy, I had high hopes of finding delicious pizza here even with the added challenge of being vegan-friendly. I now have a decent list to work through, and Two Boots was first. They have multiple locations throughout NYC and beyond, like Baltimore, LA, and Jersey City. It's easy to order online and they are open until 4:30am on weekends and 2am on Thursdays. That spells trouble!


I loved that it was simple to spot my vegan options on the menu at Two Boots. There are two speciality vegan pizzas (Earth Mother and V for Vegan) and a make-your-own option. I opted for the V for Vegan Pizza with whole wheat crust topped with a generous helping of Daiya dairy-free cheese, artichokes, red onions, shiitake mushrooms, basil pesto and red pepper pesto. It packed more flavor than a lot of the non-vegan pizzas I've had! It's also nice to look at with all the veggies and stripes of pesto giving it extra color. 

The small size was plenty for me. I had to control myself and not eat the whole thing. For leftovers, it's great cold, but got a little soggy when reheated in the microwave with all the cheese and veggies layered on, so I recommend reheating in the oven. I have a feeling you could convince a non-vegan to try this pie and get a positive response!

Two Boots

Multiple Locations Throughout New York City

Two Boots Website

Dining In - Chocolate-Covered Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter Balls

Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter - VegNews

It took me far too long to try cookie butter. I avoided it only because I knew I would fall in love. It is a traditional Dutch and Belgian spiced thin cookie or biscuit that has been turned into a paste known as cookie butter. It is usually available during the holidays at my local Trader Joe's since it has a gingerbread-like flavor. There are no nuts, although the consistency is very similar to peanut butter, and yes it's naturally vegan. Trader Joe's also sells a crunchy version that could work very well in this recipe and now one with mocha mixed in, neither of which I've tried yet. Biscoff is another well known Belgian brand and they also make the original cookies. 

Personally I loved the flavor and subtle sweetness. I could easily eat spoonfuls of this stuff and that's dangerous given the nutrition facts (see photo). I enjoyed it even more when combined with chocolate. Though the original recipe called for dark chocolate I opted for dairy-free milk variety and coated them just as I do the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.

I first spotted this recipe on the VegNews website as the second place winner in a holiday cookie recipe contest. I was intrigued, but it took me a year to make it. This became a holiday gift for relatives. I made a batch and put them in decorated tins with tissue paper. Luckily I had a few opportunities to steal some and it earned a big thumbs up! Here is the recipe. I also found it on this blog with beautiful photography.

1 11 oz. jar of creamy cookie butter (speculoos) - Found at Trader Joe's
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups rice crisp cereal
12 oz. dairy-free chocolate, melted - You can use more if necessary to give an extra coat


Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Empty jar of cookie butter into a large bowl and add Earth Balance (or other vegan-friendly margarine). Stir together to combine. 

Add in rice crisp cereal. Use your hands to combine cereal with mixture. It may get sticky so try a light coating of water or oil on your hands and mold the dough into small balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on cookie sheet. Freeze for about 20 minutes.

A minute or two before you take them out of the freezer melt your chocolate, either in the microwave in 30-second intervals or using a double boiler. 

With two spoons, dip and roll each ball in the chocolate to evenly coat it. Place back on the pan and repeat until you've gone through the whole batch. 

Freeze again for another 20 minutes. Keep stored in freezer or refrigerator until serving. 

Simple as that! Just don't get addicted :)