Two Lunches at Candle Cafe

This weekend I had two lunches at Candle Cafe. Candle is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants in New York, I am loving their food!

Saturday I met up with my dad for lunch. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table which was short considering we had waited over an hour at Angelica Kitchen the day before. I couldn't decide between the Jamaican Wrap special or the stir fry. I finally ended up choosing the stir fry because it is less messy to eat.

Ginger Miso Stir Fry: vegetables and tofu in a ginger-miso sauce over brown rice.

I thought the stir fry was alright but I probably would not order it again. The tofu pieces were a little too soft for my taste and the sauce was very strong. But the meal was extremely filling.

My dad ordered beet salad (not pictured) which looked good although I didn't try any.

For desert, I ordered the carrot cake.

It was a little bland but I still enjoyed it.

Sunday, my dad and I were in the neighborhood and considering there are not a lot of vegan options on the Upper East Side we stopped by Candle Cafe for lunch again. This time we didn't have to wait which was nice.

I couldn't decide between two specials, the wrap or the Indian Plate. The waitress reccomended the Indian Plate so that's what I went with.

Indian Plate: sweet potato curry, black-eyed pea masala, yellow basmati rice, date-raisin chutney, cabbage salad and parata bread

I was so happy I decided on the Indian Plate, it was amazing! I absolutely loved the sweet potato curry, it was so tasty! It even had a yam in it which I love even more than sweet potatoes. The black eyed pea masala was great too. Once again, I loved the parata bread, it tastes so good!

My dad ordered an Aztec Salad (not pictured). I tried a little and I thought it was very good. I loved the barbeque tempeh. Yum.

For desert, I ordered a special, chocolate chip bundt cake. It came with ice cream and I chose the mocha flavor.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Mocha Swirl Ice Cream

The cake was delicious! I love how they drizzle it with dark and white chocolate sauces. The mocha ice cream scoop is amazing, as well.

I love how Candle Cafe has so many specials everyday. I wish my other favorite restaurants would learn from them!

Candle Cafe

Last Wednesday night my friend and I had an epic dinner at Candle Cafe! This was my second time eating at Candle Cafe. My first visit was over the summer and I was not very impressed. However, this time, I loved everything.

My friend and I walked from my apartment to Candle Cafe and got there around 8pm. We had to wait around 15 minutes for a table, the place was packed. Once we were seated I had a hard time deciding on which special I should order for my meal. It was between the Indian Plate and Thai Wrap. I finally decided on the Indian Plate.

First we ordered an appetizer, the Mezze Plate.

Mezze Plate: Hummus, quinoa tabouli, lemon-date chutney, marinated olives, parata bread and zataar.

This appetizer was amazing! My favorite thing about it was the parata bread. It tasted just like Indian bread. Everything about this dish was amazing and so tasty.

For my dinner I had the Indian Plate.


Indian Plate: tofu spinach saag, black-eyed pea masala, yellow basmati rice, date-raisin chutney, cabbage salad and parata bread.

This was a fantastic dinner. The portion was huge! I was expecting it to be small and stingy like the Indian special I had ordered at Angelica Kitchen a few nights earlier but I was very pleasantly surprised. My favorite part of this dish was the bread, once again. It tasted so good with the masala wrapped inside of it.

My friend ordered the Thai Wrap.


Thai Wrap: spicy peanut grilled tofu, black rice, adzuki beans, string beans and sautéed peppers, carrots, onions, zucchini and cabbage in a coconut curry sauce wrapped in a spinach tortilla. Served with edamame salad and spicy peanut sauce.

It looked great and she enjoyed it a lot!

We each decided to order a desert. I ordered the Marble Bundt Cake with Mocha ice cream.

The cake was good. I loved how it was drizzled with dark and white chocolate sauces. I especially loved the mocha ice cream. I was too full for ice cream but it was so good I had to finish it.

My friend ordered the Vanilla Cheesecake with strawberry topping.

I tried a little and it tasted great. I love strawberries so the topping really made it better.

As you can see, we had an amazing meal! I cannot wait to go back and try other great dishes at Candle Cafe.

Candle Cafe
1307 3rd Ave between E 74th and E 75th St.
New York, NY
http://www.candlecafe.com/