new york city vegetarian restaurants Pure Food and Wine

new york city vegetarian restaurants Pure Food and Wine

Pure Food and Wine
54 Irving Place, 212-477-1010, Gramercy, Manhattan
The raw food movement got a boost when the fashion-forward Pure Food and Wine opened in 2004. The elegant, candlelit dining room is radiant with deep red fabrics, but when the weather is fine everyone would rather sit in the lovely back garden. Nothing is cooked over 118 degrees, so that means no seitan, tofu, tempeh or even coffee is on the menu.
Salads, naturally, dominate—the spicy sesame salad rimmed with thick squiggles of wasabi aioli is especially good—but there are also facsimiles of lasagna, tamales and pizzettes. The menu changes frequently, and desserts are thrilling, such as the salted chocolate caramel tart. Bill and Chelsea Clinton have been spotted here on father-daughter dates, and the rest of the crowd is reliably cosmopolitan. The entrance for One Lucky Duck, its juice and takeaway shop, is around the corner.

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