VeganMoFo Day #5: A Meal At Candle 79

I didn't think we would be busy working in Florida now.  We flew down to Florida yesterday afternoon and now we are staying 10 minutes outside St. Augustine.  We will be staying around here for the winter and try to regain some sanity.  Once we get a little more time, we will be doing house hunting again.  I have so many photos to share but I simply don't have enought time.  But the VeganMoFo must go on, especially when it is a vegan lunch at the renowned Candle 79 in Manhattan.  We went with my hubby's brother so we had the opportunity to order more or less every item on the lunch menu.  The lunch was costly, but I guess the experience was worth it. 

So here I am, looking at these gorgeous food photos once again.  Next time when we are in the city, we will visit Pure Food & Wine.  This is one of the appetizers we ordered, grilled seitan chimichurri.  The seitan was amazingly tender.  My omni brother-in-law highly enjoyed it.  I will definitely consider making this at home.  I also ordered edamame but I forgot to photograph it.

These are the entrees we ordered: porcini crusted tempeh and summer harvest paella.  They were both excellent.  The third entree we got was the black bean burger which was a disappointment.  The black beans were bland and dry.  However, the polenta fries were really a saving grace.  Creamy inside and crispy outside, they were so good that we ordered another whole serving.

My brother-in-law and I shared a brunch item too: pancakes with strawberry butter, ginger maple syrup and seasonal fruit on the side.  I had better pancakes at home but the strawberry butter got me.

The desserts were another highlight of the lunch.  My omni brother-in-law almost doesn't eat any dessert but he couldn't resist the live peach & cherry parfait.  He practically inhaled it.  The ice cream sampler came with three flavors: peanut butter (heavenly), strawberry (more like a sorbet), and ginger (none of us liked it).  The apple pie with dulce de leche ice cream was amazing.  I actually finished it after a big lunch.