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My Recent Dinner at Quintessence in NYC
Recently I had dinner at Quintessence in NYC. Quintessence is an organic raw food restaurant in the East Village that I enjoy very much. For those unfamiliar with raw food restaurants, everything is vegan and nothing is cooked above 118 degrees.
So, why do I like going to Quintessence?
1) The Food is very good I’ve taken some people there and they have told me that it is their favorite organic restaurant in NYC.
2) Off the beaten path and nice atmosphere Unless you are a raw food devotee or you live in the neighborhood, there is a very good chance that you’ve never heard of Quintessence. Additionally, the dining area is small and very intimate.
3) Excellent Water If you read my blog consistently, I say all of the time that I am a water fanatic. And, the water at Quintessence is excellent. How do I know this?
My good friend, who is the top water filtration expert in NYC, does their water. I like going to a place where I know that the ultra-filtered tap water is as good as it gets.
4) The service is always solid The people working there are very attentive and pleasant. It also helps that there is a very limited number of tables.
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While Quintessence offers a very eclectic mix of raw food entrees, this particular night I opted for a few appetizers instead of a main course.
I started off with the green soup, which consisted of kale, spinach, celery, extra virgin olive oil, Celtic sea salt, lemon juice and avocado.
The texture of the soup was fantastic — so smooth, no chunks or bits of greens at all. The flavor profile really worked as well.
Next I moved onto the arugula sprout salad with carmelized walnuts.
The greens were exceedingly fresh and the entire salad had great color to it. However, the star of the show were the goji berries, a fantastic and sweet superfood. I’ve never had goji berries in a salad before but they added such an unusual and welcoming taste. They made the entire dish.
I ended the meal with the taco.
The tortilla was made of corn and flax seeds. The “meat” of the taco consisted of a Brazil nut base, cashew cheese, tomatoes and guacamole. On top is a cashew sour cream and on the side is a guajillo hot sauce.
I loved the crunch of the taco and the guajillo hot sauce gave it great spice and real authenticity. It was also very filling.
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The menu at Quintessence is quite extensive and above is just a tiny fraction of the innovative and wide-ranging dishes that they have at the restaurant. I very much want to go back and try what they have for breakfast. The potato pancakes and walnut banana bread look amazing.
Quintessence always delivers a great meal. For sure, I’ll be going back.
