The two of us were immediately drawn to the Mezze Plate appetizer, so we split it to start: hummus, quinoa tabbouli, lemon-date chutney, marinated olives, parata bread and zaatar.
The parata was flaky and doughy, almost like phyllo dough. I swear it tasted like pie when topped with the lemon-date chutney- although maybe that's my recent lack of desserts speaking.
For my entree, I got my favorite Candle Cafe dish: the "Good Food" plate, in which you get to choose among four of their many sides and two of their sauces to create your own plate.
I rolled with caramelized onions, steamed broccoli, roasted beets and sea vegetable salad with carrot ginger and roasted garlic tomato sauces. Also known as a the fiber baby plate.
The caramelized onions and roasted beets were my favorites, though the broccoli was also particularly amazing dipped in the carrot ginger dressing.
Gracie ordered the Tuscan Lasagna: grilled zucchini, peppers and onions, tofu basil ricotta, tapioca cheese and seitan ragout topped with tomato sauce and served with sauteed greens. She raved about it!
Speaking of delicious restaurants, I spent awhile this afternoon revamping my NYC Restaurant Reviews page, so if you're ever visiting the city, definitely check it out!
* * *
After dinner, Gracie was craving a Crumbs cupcake, so we walked a few blocks to one on 79th and 3rd. Apparently I've been missing out when I go to their downtown locations, because this bakery was stocked with some flavors I'd never seen or heard of!
Gracie selected a caramel apple flavor for her train ride home, while I cursed my Lenten resolution. One week until I'm on a mission to track down the most heavily frosted cupcake in the city.
Instead, I had a plate of frozen grapes and two slices of banana bread when I got home, as well as some unpictured cashews.
I've been looking forward to an early bedtime all day. This weekend has really taken it out of me! Enjoy your evening!
If you could create your perfect cupcake, what would it be? Mine would be chocolate mousse cake on the bottom, filled with fudge and topped with a mountain of buttercream, then decorated with chocolate chips and sprinkles. And the frosting-to-cake ratio would be an even 1:1. (Can you tell I'm ready for Lent to be over?)
