Before I jetted off to eat like a fatty in Las Vegas and
Philadelphia, I had a few Groupon’s at healthy places that I needed to try
before they expired. The first was Blossomon Carmine- which made me really nostalgic since it was basically across the
street from my old apartment on Bleecker St. that I miss so much!
Blossom on Carmine is super cute inside, and I am kicking
myself for not knowing it existed when I lived so nearby! Not that I could have
afforded to eat there on a regular basis.
Those were the days of $1 beers and pizza. (Ok, if we’re being honest, my wallet says it’s
still the days of $1 beers and pizza. My taste is what begs to differ).
Blossom on Carmine is owned by the same people behind
Blossom in Chelsea, Café Blossom on the Upper West Side (reopening in
September) and V-Note on the Upper East Side (which I have already reviewed on this blog).
I was excited to try this place after an exception
experience at V-Note. Like V-Note, Blossom on Carmine is a vegan restaurant- a
lifestyle that I’ve been giving some serious thought to! If I could have
Blossom provide my 3 meals a day, I would have made the switch already! The
website described Blossom on Carmine as having “delicious, varied small plates
meant to be shared and enjoyed with wine and cocktails.”
Luckily, my friend and I
are pretty great at agreeing on what to order, and I love shared plates. We
started with the eggplant lasagna small plate and the housemade marinara and
daiya mozzarella created pretty convincing lasagna! The sauce was a little thin
and soupy for me, but it made up for it with a solid taste.
(Eggplant Lasagna)
Next up for the small plates was the gnocchi. This was
killer! This roasted pumpkin and sweet potato gnocchi, sautéed kale, golden beets
and a sage cashew cream had me ready to say goodbye to dairy forever. The gnocchi, besides combining potato and
sweet potato which is always yum, was perfectly crispy on the outside with a
fluffy middle.
(YUM sweet potato and pumpkin gnocchi!)
A great thing about Blossom on Carmine is that they change their menu with the seasons, to ensure they’re using veggies that are in season! Currently, the menu features a green pea gnocchi with sautéed leeks and pea shoots, fennel, truffle butter and a cashew cream. Since I’m not a huge fan of truffles or fennel, I’m so happy I got to experience the heavenly pumpkin and sweet potato gnocchi. I mean, it came with beets and kale too. What more could I have asked for?
(YUM sweet potato and pumpkin gnocchi!)
A great thing about Blossom on Carmine is that they change their menu with the seasons, to ensure they’re using veggies that are in season! Currently, the menu features a green pea gnocchi with sautéed leeks and pea shoots, fennel, truffle butter and a cashew cream. Since I’m not a huge fan of truffles or fennel, I’m so happy I got to experience the heavenly pumpkin and sweet potato gnocchi. I mean, it came with beets and kale too. What more could I have asked for?
For our large plate, we had a little more difficulty choosing. Eventually, we settled for the picatta- pan
seared seitan cutlets, lemon/white wine/caper sauce, truffle mashed potato and sautéed
kale. The more I eat at vegetarian and
vegan restaurants, the more I’m coming to realize that I’m not the biggest fan
of seitan’s consistency. It’s a little
slimy, or something? That took away from this dish for me, but the taste was
pretty delish, and I always love mashed potatoes (and luckily they weren’t
truffle-y at all).
(Ok, this doesn't look very appetizing)
As a side, we went with our go-to…brussels sprouts! We’ve sampled a lotttt of brussels sprouts, and Blossom on Carmine’s, served with garlic and shallots, were just OK.
(Sproutz)
As a side, we went with our go-to…brussels sprouts! We’ve sampled a lotttt of brussels sprouts, and Blossom on Carmine’s, served with garlic and shallots, were just OK.
At the end of the day, as a non-vegan (at least for now), I
wouldn’t come back here without a Groupon.
It’s pricy for the amount of food you get, and I was only really
impressed with one of the dishes (that gnocchi was damn good!) Usually, I
wholeheartedly support the notion that vegan and vegetarian food is just as
good as any other food. But in this case,
the seitan picatta had me missing chicken just the tiniest bit.
That’s not to say that the flavors here weren’t excellent.
And if you’re vegan, I would definitely check it out. But so far, V-Note still gets my vote (hey,
that rhymes)!
(*Also, take this review with a grain of salt-
I ate here a pretty significant time ago, and am only writing the review now!)
