I love to travel the world and one of the pleasures or travelling is new food experiences. Amanda (who shares the same name as the head chef) recommended Dirt Candy, an innovative restaurant in New York serving tasting menus made entirely with vegetables. Beginning with a dirty corn martini we launched into the 10-course menu – an amazing experience. Many of the courses consisted of more than one dish and we could hardly fit in the savoury courses before the 3 desserts arrived. But there’s always room somewhere for dessert! The dishes included a tower of amuse-bouches (lettuce gazpacho; elderflower salad with black bean hummus; caramelised red onion over onion cream; popcorn on corn and avocado salsa and vegetable pops); spinach monkey bread with garlic butter; Korean fried broccoli; bagna càuda; tomato tart; portobello mushroom mousse served with truffle toast; long beans with almonds, Spanish smoked cheese and fermented yoghurt; a carrot slider in a cute little box; corn ravioli in a corn broth with corn harissa nuts; kohlrabi dumplings in broth with various brassicas; vegetarian Peking duck with pea tofu and tofu skin; cauliflower confetti cake; a coffee chocolate mushroom with mushroom cream; and finally, eggplant foster with basil anglais and eggplant chips.
michelle picker cooks 