I wanted to do a special dinner with Samuel in NYC and that means vegetarian, so I asked a friend at the James Beard House and he suggested Cadence, on the lower eact side (E 7th St) which is part of a vegetarian restaurant group, and the previous chef here even got a Beard nomination! It was IDEAL!
The space is small and cozy with a funky feel (tables are not very spaced, so while comfy it is a tad crowded). We got the wonderful corner booth of pink velvet banquettes which were great for my back! There is a cute tin ceiling, and the decor is funky albeit I could have done without the fake hydrangea over my head. The small bar has white leather stools, and the staff is very helpful with the menu as it had many options. Cocktails sounded fun and Sam tried the Raspberry Beret with Cocchi Rosa, Lemon, mint and raspberry with sparkling wine. There is a wine and beer list, but no hard liquor, but the bartender does miracles with the ingredients. My "Roberta Flack Peach Cobbler Manhattan" sounded sweet but indeed was not with Cocchi Rosa, Chenin Blanc, Smoked Peach, Orange bitters, vanilla and Serrano maple. It was smokey and had a huge spicy aftertaste which increased after I dunked in the half serrano pepper that was atop the drink. I wanted another, but moved onto wine instead, pf which there are many choices as well.
We perused the menu and made some choices as the plates are meant to be shared. In the end we chose 5 which was about one too many, but we loved them all.
Fresh Mustard Greens Salad with collards, pumpkin seeds, onion rings and blood orange vinaigrette was a super tasty salad, and the onion rings were super crispy ti boot. I only wish they had four, not three so we could share. There was some fennel (not on the menu), but it was quite mild and worked superbly. Indeed, we noticed that some of the dishes tend to come in odd amounts (the dumplings were 5).
FRIED ESQUITES DUMPLINGS was a cross between Mexican Street Corn and southwestern fried dumplings! They had a corn filling with cashew crema (vegan dishes abound too) and sat on a kicky Red Chile Barbecue Sauce. The Chef, Haley Duren, hails from New Mexico and the spices she used were clearly from her home state!
COWBOY CAVIAR TOAST may have been our favorite dish and was a huge piece of (sourdough, I think) toast with blackened butter and a black-eyed pea hummus spread on top with cactus jam. Chili threads on top gave the dish a real punchy taste and some jalapenos were mixed in the hummus to boot. We loved it.
I had started with a glass of Wade Cellars Pinot Noir from Sonoma County 2022 as it was a rose which worked well with the spicy dishes, then moved on to a Brunia Pinot Noir from Sondagskloof in South Africa 2022 which had nice body and some fruit. It was ideal with the GREEN CHILE MACC rich with lager-infused bechamel sauce and white cheddar cheese but loaded with flavorful New Mexico roasted green Hatch chiles!
CAJUN GRITS was just too much as the dishes tend to be heavy and we should have stopped at four choices! It had a huge fried banana blossom with yummy, blackened okra and a sage and rosemary butter and a crumb crust.
Credits to the servers for giving us ample time between the dishes as we saw many folks come and go during our 2 hour 40-minute stay! At the start, we were told to order all the dishes and dessert, and I did not like this. I like to set the pace, not the kitchen. Later on, the manager said that was silly and I am glad we did not order the entire meal up front as we may have been too rushed. I would suggest you order several dishes and then move on!
While full, it was the beginning of my weekend-birthday celebration and I had to have the CADENCE COBBLER which was a strawberry-rhubarb on Saturday with seasonal fruit and an oat crumble, and Earl Gray Ice Cream. the piece de resistance was the basil-caramel compote on the bottom. Samuel said he would have a bite, but indeed we both could not resist this excellent dessert and a small glass of Bodkin Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from lake Country California was perfect to send us home happy.
