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I know, I know- Valentine’s Day was a week ago, and you probably don’t care to hear about it at this point. But as late as it may be, my meal at Candle Cafe was certainly worthy of your attention! Upon being seated, we were handed two beautifully decorated special menus and were delighted by the views of a gorgeous array of flowers on the table. A very romantic atmosphere and feel! Haha, too bad I was with my mom…
Before I start, I do want to say that the lighting at Candle was very dim, therefore my pictures didn’t come out as great as I would’ve hoped. Oh well!
Onto the food! We both ordered the prix fix where we were each served with soup, an appetizer or salad, the entree, and dessert. Needless to say, we both started out with soup- me, the Tortilla Soup with tofu sour cream and avocado, and my mom, the Creamy Celeriac and Potato topped with grilled bread.
Having tasted both, I can testify to the fact that both of these soups were phenomenal! Mine was your basic tomato soup, kicked up about 20 notches- It had a strong and bold tomato flavor that was just about as thick and creamy as you could imagine. The soup itself was laced with perfect little strips of tortilla and topped with avocado and a drizzle of tofu sour cream that brought the soup alive. I had a smile on my face with every spoonful. As for the Celeriac and Potato, it, too, was terrific! Although I only had a taste of it, I was still able to gather how thick the consistency was, as well as how flavorful it was! My mom surely did enjoy it, and especially loved the garnish of the grilled bread.
Onto the next course! My mom ordered the Chopped Salad with mixed greens, cucumber, hearts of palm, blood oranges, onion, tomato, and tofu feta with a pineapple-mint dressing, while I ordered the Gnocchi which was served with zucchini, shallots, and cauliflower mushrooms with a tomato cashew cream sauce.
My mom really enjoyed her Chopped Salad, but I have to say that I made the better choice with this course- the Gnocchi was sensational! To be honest, I’ve never had Gnocchi in my life so I didn’t quite know what to expect. It was better than I could’ve ever imagined! The shining star had to be the cashew cream sauce- it was good enough to eat by the spoon!
Once we finished our appetizers, my mom and I were presented with the Tomato-Beet Tartar Salad, complements of the chef, to share! The chef at Candle Cafe (along with all of the staff members, really) is the sweetest guy ever, and always makes a fuss over me when I go! So adorable! But getting back to the salad, this lovely creation was a mixture of tomatoes and beets, avocado, mache, and chives tossed with a raspberry dressing and topped with almond cheese crostini. It was love at first bite. The flavors and textures worked together in perfect harmony, and sent our tastebuds on a journey!
Next up- the entrees! I went with the intriguing Ancho Chocolate Seitan Tamales which were served with julienne vegetables, mole sauce, grilled asparagus, and mango-jicama salsa, while my mom went the more traditional route with the Chili-Lime Grilled Seitan served with spanish rice pilaf, sautéed greens, and avocado salad over a black bean sauce.
Both of our dishes didn’t let us down! My tamales were so unique, and like nothing I’ve previously had at Candle to date. They were bursting with tons of vegetables and a hearty helping of seitan making these an extremely substantial dish. The pool of mole sauce the tamales were served atop was my favorite part- it had a very subtle chocolate flavor that only lent another dimension and depth in flavor without being overwhelming. It was out of this world! As for my mom’s Seitan dish, having tried it several times in the past, I know this was a great choice! It’s pretty evident in the fact that she completely cleared her plate, as did I!
Now onto my favorite part of the night- dessert! After much debate, we compromised and ordered the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with chocolate sauce along with the Apple Strudel served with vanilla soy ice cream.
Both of these desserts were heavenly. Starting with the Peanut Butter Pie, it was everything I could’ve asked for- it was basically Candle’s famous and fabulous Chocolate Mousse Pie with a thick and rich layer of peanut butter mousse underneath, all held together by a fabulous cookie crumble crust on the bottom. It tasted just like a reese’s peanut butter cup, only way better! Let’s not forget about the Apple Strudel- the sweet, bite-sized cinnamon infused apples were held together by a light phyllo crust and were topped with a luscious berry coulis. I absolutely loved the contrast between the warm strudel and the cold ice cream- every bite was heavenly! My only complaint was that it wasn’t big enough!
Being that it was a special occasion and all, my mom and I decided to walk on the wild side and order a third dessert to share- the Coconut Cheesecake! To my surprise, this might’ve been my favorite of the three! The cheesecake was extremely creamy, and the coconut flavor was in no way overpowering! The cheesecake was also topped with a strawberry glaze that added an unexpected bite of sweetness, especially when swiped through some of the luxurious caramel sauce that was drizzled on the plate.
As you can tell, my mom and I had one of the best meals we’ve ever had on Valentine’s Day. I don’t think it’s possible for Candle Cafe to ever let me down! The food was outstanding, the service, as always, was warm and friendly, and the ambiance made for the perfect setting for a romantic Valentine’s meal for any couple. This Valentine’s Day meal was simply unforgettable! And this, folks, is why Candle Cafe will always be my ultimate favorite restaurant.
First off, let me start out by saying that this past Friday, February 13th, was my 1st year blogging anniversary!! Thinking back, I can’t believe it’s only been a year that I’ve been blogging! It feels as though I’ve been doing this all of my life. Blogging has opened so many doors for me, and I want to thank each and every you, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting me through all of this! I admit that sometimes it gets hard to juggle both blogging and the “real world” (aka school), but I know that even if I don’t post for a few days, you’ll all be back when I do. It means a lot, and I thank you all!
Okay, enough with the sappy stuff and onto what you’re really here for.. a review of my time spent in Connecticut! Exploring Connecticut through it’s vegan offerings with Nicole was certainly memorable! Not only did we eat some truly fabulous cuisine, but it was refreshing to actually sit back and relax for once considering all we do in New York is run around all day long!
I left for Connecticut early Thursday morning, bought my coffee, and I was off! I did have a couple of bumps along the way though.. I missed the first train that I had intended on taking, AND I managed to spill some coffee onto myself. Not exactly a smooth start, but then again I’m a total klutz so it’s expected!
Once I arrived in Stratford, Nicole picked me up and we made our way to New Haven, Connecticut’s Vegan Mecca, to do some heavy duty dining! Being that I hadn’t had a real breakfast (coffee doesn’t count!), we stopped at a local vegetarian/health market, Edge of the Woods, to pick up a quick breakfast to hold me over. This is how I roll for breakfast-
A vegan vanilla cupcake! The cake was extremely moist and the frosting, although a bit stiff, was every bit as rich and creamy as I expected. Now THAT is how to get the morning started out right!
Next on the menu was one of Nicole and I’s very favorite eateries ever- Miya’s! I was beyond thrilled to go back there considering that I’ve been craving it ever since I went back in January. Once we arrived, we were immediately served two bowl of steaming Pumpkin Miso Soup. This miso soup certainly stands out from the rest being that it is chock full of bite-sized chunks of all different kinds of veggies ranging from butternut squash to cauliflower. We devoured our bowls almost instantaneously.
Up next was our wide spread of vegetable sushi rolls! We both loved the fact that they came out progressively so we could really take it slow and savor every bite! We chose the Curry Cauliflower, Kiss the Smiling Piggie (sweet potato, mango chutney, and pine nuts), Charlie Chan (broccoli, black beans, and roasted garlic), Japafrican Queen (roasted eggplant, avocado, apricot, pickled radish, scallion, and ethiopian spice wrapped in a whole grain crepe), and last but not last, Artichoke Cumin. We could hardly wait to dig in!
As expected, they were all absolutely sensational! So much so that we couldn’t help but order another Kiss The Smiling Piggie roll! These innovative sushi creations are like nothing I’ve ever tried before, and they’re simply the best of the best. If you ever make a trip to New Haven, venturing to Miya’s is a must!
After our satisfying sushi lunch, Nicole and I headed to an adorable coffee shop nearby to allow for some time to pass before we met Nicole’s boyfriend, Chris, at Ahimsa. Being that we had already eaten lunch, Nicole and I stuck to ordering just dessert. Chris, however, ordered a beautifully plated Raw Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo which was garnished with delicate pink flowers! Not only was the presentation flawless, but Chris seemed to really enjoy it!
As for our desserts, we decided to go with one of Nicole’s tried and true favorites that I’ve yet to ever try- Tiramisu! I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be absolutely incredible! The layers of cake had a very light and fluffy consistency with a strong and bold coffee flavor in each bite, topped off by an airy and sweet cream that sent my tastebuds on a journey to heaven.
Out of sheer curiosity, we also ordered the Raw Apple Pie to try. We were both pleasantly surprised; it was fantastic! Under a bed of bite-sized cinnamon infused apples laid a soft and chewy fruit and nut crust that was reminiscent of a Larabar, only better!
We drove around for a while, at which our stomachs started to growl. Dinner time! Nicole and I hit up a local New Haven favorite, Claire’s Corner Copia for what we though was going to be a light dinner. Boy were we mistaken!
It started off well! We both ordered salads; Nicole the Roasted Vegetable, and me the Roasted Tofu and Vegetable, that ended up being quite huge and extremely hardy! The vegetables were roasted to perfection, and still managed to have a crunch to them, and the tofu was extremely soft and very flavorful. Alongside our salads, we were both served mini individual loaves of bread! What a genius idea! The bread had a crispy outer layer with an extremely doughy interior that would make any bread lover like myself swoon in pure joy. And yes, we both polished off our loaves without a problem.
And now is when it got a little crazy; we decided to try out Claire’s dessert and chose the only two vegan offerings- an “Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookie” along with a HUGE Chocolate Cupcake. We split both of them, and couldn’t get over how terrific they were! The cookie tasted just like a crunchy, sweet granola bar, and the cupcake was incredibly moist and had the richest, fudgiest frosting you could imagine. We loved the cupcake so much that we couldn’t help but snag the last one for ourselves as well! It’s pretty clear that we both indulged like crazy on Thursday, and our food babies were back in full force. It was totally worth it though!
You’re not going to believe it, but Nicole and I also managed to get into the kitchen for once! Our kitchen adventures started out with these luscious Carrot Cake Whoppie Pies! The recipe was a veganized Martha Stewart recipe, and it worked like a charm. Martha surely knows what she’s talking about, because these cookie sandwiches were intoxicating; two soft carrot cake cookies that were infused with love from the raisins and a sugary sweet and addicting vegan cream cheese frosting that simply knocked our socks off. Lets just say that we did plenty of frosting and cookie batter “testing”.. you know, to make sure they tasted alright. ;)
I was lucky enough to be able to sleepover, and the next day I was delighted to visit my first Whole Foods out of New York! We ventured to Westport and made ourselves some delicious salads which we supplemented with even more nutrition- fruit salad! It was just about the ripest fruit salad I’ve had in ages.
Once we returned home, we were bitten, once again, by the cooking bug and decided to try to recreate a favorite of ours- Polenta Fries! As you all know, Candle 79’s polenta fries are something we crave day in and day out. While an order of polenta fries will cost you $7 (they’re worth every penny, though!), ours came out to be way cheaper and almost as tasty as the original!
The fries were extremely simple to make as well. All we did was cook up some polenta (1 1/2 cups to 6 cups of vegetable broth, I believe) seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh parsley, and garlic, poured the mixture into a sheet pan, let it cool until firm, sliced then into fry shapes, and baked them at 450 degrees for about 40 minutes.
We were really on a role Friday considering that we also decided to whip up a batch of mini super-charge me cookies before I headed back home to New York! I’ve made these dozens of times, and this Eat, Drink, and be Vegan recipe has yet to ever let me down. With a fabulous nutritional profile and an unmistakable delicious taste, these cookies are winners!
I had an absolutely fabulous time in Connecticut, and cannot wait to go back! I’m going to be heading into the city soon, so it’s time for me to get ready! My next entry will be all about my incredible Valentine’s Day meal at none other than Candle Cafe- stay tuned!
