Baby’s First Michelin Starred Meal (Dirt Candy, 1*)

I have had the privilege of eating many incredible meals in my life (high -brow and low-brow alike!) but never had a tasting menu or dined at a Michelin starred restaurant. I've read good things about Dirt Candy, and I recently went on a work trip to NYC with a pretty generous per diem so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. It was an incredible experience, lived up to my expectations and more. Someone beat me to posting about the spring menu, but I really wanted to gush about this experience! There is a TL;DR at the bottom because I am long-winded 🙂 

First, I accidentally got on the wrong train coming from another event and felt SO bad. They were very gracious. I was seated at the chef's counter which was perfect for a solo diner. Since it was close to the end of service on a weeknight the kitchen was pretty calm but still fun to watch. I wanted a nice glass of wine with the meal (I am sure the cocktails were amazing but none caught my eye). I asked for advice on which one to get, and I got to sample two sparkling wines to choose my favorite. I chose a sparkling Portuguese rose. I savored the glass throughout the meal and although I'm not a wine expert I felt that the wine complemented the spring produce in each course well. (It was also only $15 which is very reasonable IMO.) The service was excellent throughout the meal.

First course: Cucumber. Cucumber is so watery and subtle in flavor that I had a hard time imagining what it would be like in a cake. It reminded me of the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches you might find at high tea. The "cake" had a texture closer to bread and I believe had some cucumber flavor baked into it. The topping pulled the dish together in a very satisfying way. I liked the bitter sweetness of the dried grapefruit and there were big flakes of crunchy sea salt. I loved the bites with salt.

Kitchen Gift: Onion. The station right in front of my seat was dedicated to this dish. I knew it was a kitchen gift because I didn't recognize the components from the menu and was super excited because it looked amazing. I'll also note that I expected the kitchen gifts to be much smaller, more along the lines of an amuse bouche. I am not sure if Dirt Candy is particularly generous or this was my lack of knowledge about the fine dining world, but I was very pleased. This course involved scallion waffles, creme fraiche, onion cream, chives, smoked red onion "lox" and seaweed "caviar." I felt so lucky to have a chance to experience a take on a caviar and smoked fish plate as a vegetarian (I used to love a bagel with lox pre-vegetarianism). This was so fun and delicious. The onion flavor was very present but not too pungent or sharp. I mentioned that I've eaten a LOT of really good food in my life but just two courses into the meal here made me understand the difference in the caliber of restaurants. I couldn't believe how much effort was put into just one kitchen gift.

Second course: Potato. I knew I'd love this and was right. The potato noodle was barely cooked to retain some crunch. The experience was similar to an al dente pasta or chewy noodle. The pesto was unbelievable. They said "every herb you can think of" and they were right. The pesto was very rich but bright from the herbs and pickled potatoes. When introducing the dish they mentioned that there was chili in it (serrano maybe?) which would contribute some spice. I barely detected any. A part of me wanted to taste more spice but I also found the dish to be so balanced I wouldn't change anything.

Kitchen Gift: Kohlrabi. This course had chawanmushi, shaved kohlrabi, herb oil (I forgot which herb!) and annatto oil. At the table, they poured over a coconut laksa sauce. I'll be honest that this was probably my least favorite course. I found that the kohlrabi was shaved a little too thick. I don't know how to describe it but everything else was so smooth and creamy and this took a long time to chew. It was like it made the bite too long? The egg and sauce dissolved but you had to keep working on the kohlrabi. I'm guessing this was intentional so that the kohlrabi stayed on your palate the longest, but it didn't quite work for me. However, the laksa sauce was so delicious. They brought it over to the table in a carafe before pouring it over, and I would have drank it out of the carafe. 

Third course: Mushroom. It might sound silly but I gasped when I dug my spoon into the dish and saw the mushroom shaped pasta. It was so stinking cute and made the dish feel playful. If I'm being critical, the pasta was a little undercooked. I also wish it was served in a different type of bowl. The dish was topped with pecorino cheese and sumac, both of which contributed a lot to the flavor (especially the sumac! acidity is so underrated), but it was difficult to stir the topping and incorporate it evenly. This is me being extremely nit picky. Again, as the meal went on I became more and more aware of the detail and care, so these things stood out. It did not affect my enjoyment of the dish. The bites with the pecorino and sumac were astounding and the different textures of the mushrooms was so satisfying. I've never had morels or summer truffles before and they were very special.

Forth course: Peas. This might be the best dish I've ever eaten. I'll be thinking about it for a long time and I wish I could eat it again! This was a take on a schnitzel but made almost entirely with peas. There was a thin patty made of crushed peas that was deep fried. I don't know how they got it in and out of the fryer without falling apart. There was an amazing contrast between the crunchy crust and the soft peas inside. Then it was topped with a salad made of pea tendrils (so curly and pretty!) and sugar snap peas and a curry butter sauce. I absolutely love spring peas and this dish highlighted them in such a special way.

Fifth course/dessert: Artichoke. I knew I would enjoy the dessert–I would trust this restaurant with my life at this point–but wasn't super excited by it because I prefer chocolate desserts. The dessert complemented the rest of the menu so well. It was light and refreshing with gorgeous textures. The guava sorbet was a nice palate cleanser while the other elements provided richness. It wasn't heavy at all and the portion was perfect. I'm glad this was the final course even with as a chocolate lover. The plating was stunning. I would identify it as an artichoke themed dessert based on that although I didn't detect any notable flavor in the caramel. 

Final bite/kitchen gift: macaron with asparagus jam. This teeny tiny macaron was the final bite delivered with the check. So cute! Since it was such a tiny bite I couldn't taste the asparagus jam too much. I think that's probably a good thing??? But, they created so much magic with vegetables I would be very down to try a larger scale version. It must take SO much skill to perfect a macaron this size.

TL;DR: this was a gorgeous meal that surprised me in every course. I was blown away by the detail, individual components, and the creative use of the vegetable each course was themed around. The highlights were the onion "caviar and lox" plate, which was a kitchen gift, and the pea "schnitzel" course. Would highly recommend and would also encourage non-veg people to give it a chance to enjoy the artistry and creativity in each dish. The menu was centered around common, accessible, supermarket vegetables but transformed and highlighted in wildly impressive ways. Other than the kohlrabi and artichoke, any of the vegetables would be found on an average American plate. I think anyone would leave this meal with a new appreciation of these humble ingredients.