The day after Halloween is a tough day. We are all tired from last night's trick or treating, and we need to rest. You may think that, but what we really need to do is party! We have to celebrate a holiday called Dia de los Muertos, otherwise known as Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that celebrates, and honors relatives that have died. A lot of people on this holiday make altars, and offer bread and flowers to welcome the spirits into their homes. People dress up and share food with neighbors and paint their faces like a skull. People often try to feel the presence of their loved ones. This holiday lasts for two days: November 1st and 2nd.
Now you might be wondering, what does this have to do with food. Well, for Day of the Dead, my dad took me out to a special dinner at Dirt Candy where we had a special Day of the Dead themed dinner. This was a special event so you had to get a special ticket for an eight course meal. Dirt Candy is a vegetarian restaurant owned, and run by Chef Amanda Cohen.
The first course we had was a corn brioche with elote butter. The brioche was a warm, spongy bread that had a slight taste of lemon zest in it. The elote butter was a creme fresca, with cilantro oil in it. It did give off a little tang but it was nice. The butter was creamy and light. The warm spongy bread with the light creamy elote butter went great together.
The next course was beet tacos. The dish was a beet infused taco, and in it was creamy chipotle, salt roasted beets, and purple cabbage. I honestly thought that I was not going to like the dish but it was really tasty. The dish was crunchy, soft, and spicy. It was like a party in my mouth.
This third course was my favorite. The dish was tostilocos with chipotle, jalapeño, and orange jicama sauce. I am not kidding when I say this the only thing that was wrong with the dish was that there was not enough sauce! My dad and I cleaned the plate. The flavors in this dish popped. It was spicy, crunchy, smooth, and the pickles on the dish made it stand out. I thought that the chipotle and the jalepeño were really spicy but that the orange jicama sort of cooled it down. That was the end of the appetizers.
The first entree was a pumpkin ceviche. Well, if you do not know what ceviche is, it is usually a fish appetizer that is made of raw fish and has lime juice on it. So, now you can probably guess what this dish was. It was raw pumpkin with avocado and lime juice. There were sunflower seeds on it with some fresh herbs. The pumpkin was cut like a carpaccio and was very smooth and thin. When I had it, I could taste a hint of olive oil, and it was seasoned very nicely. I got salt and pepper with a bit of lime or lemon juice on it. Simple but tasty. I also want to say that I really liked the sunflower seeds. It gave it that balance of crunchy and soft.
The next dish was a sweet pea enchilada. An enchilada to me is like a burrito, but cut into slices, so this one was no different but I liked it a lot. It had a very soft outside and a more crunchy inside. It was also a little bit sweet and a little bit sour. There were also different sauces on the plate that I dipped peas into and it was really good. I especially liked the sour cream and hummus. This was a fun dish that I enjoyed, and would love to come back for more.
This third dish was called Pepper. It was not exactly pepper though. It was beans in a little skillet with pepper “life savers” all around it which I thought was clever. The beans were in a sauce that was a five pepper sauce. This dish, specifically the sauce, reminded me of oyster sauce and was very smooth. I also thought that the salad with the beans and the sauce was stupendous. I know I said the “life savers” were clever, but they were also really fun to eat. Overall, I thought this dish was the most fun dish with the “life savers” and the tiny skillet.
Now, this last dish was my favorite entree, and my third favorite after the tostilocos and the pumpkin semifreddo that you can read about in my next paragraph. It was the brussels sprout tacos! The dish was a “make your own” taco which I love when we have taco night at my house. So, the layout was the brussels sprouts were on a really hot plate that you could not touch like a bibimbap bowl. To the side of the brussels sprouts were lettuce leaves they were the shell. Then, the rest of the plate had toppings on it; creme, radish, sour cream, crunchy corn sticks...etc. I went all out. I took the lettuce leaf put brussel sprouts and all of the toppings on it. The taco was delicious. It was smooth, spicy, and creamy. The brussels sprouts were packed with a nice kick, that made me want to eat them all day long. Just typing this paragraph makes my mouth water. Before my dad and I went to Dirt Candy he kept saying how much he loved the brussels sprout tacos, so I waited all night long for them and it was well worth it.
Last, but certainly not least was dessert. It was a pumpkin semifreddo pie with mango and chili. The semifreddo was like a frozen pumpkin pie with a slab of crust under it which gave it a cool hip style. I tasted like pumpkin ice cream and the mango and chili was a nice compliment with the pumpkin. The crust was so good it was hard and flaky just the way I like it. With the semifreddo we also had a mexican hot chocolate that we shared. It was very heavy with a little bit of paprika in it and not watery at all. It was perfect.
Overall I had a wonderful meal and would love to come back to Dirt Candy with my whole family including the new addition, Josie.
Now you might be wondering, what does this have to do with food. Well, for Day of the Dead, my dad took me out to a special dinner at Dirt Candy where we had a special Day of the Dead themed dinner. This was a special event so you had to get a special ticket for an eight course meal. Dirt Candy is a vegetarian restaurant owned, and run by Chef Amanda Cohen.
The first course we had was a corn brioche with elote butter. The brioche was a warm, spongy bread that had a slight taste of lemon zest in it. The elote butter was a creme fresca, with cilantro oil in it. It did give off a little tang but it was nice. The butter was creamy and light. The warm spongy bread with the light creamy elote butter went great together.
The next course was beet tacos. The dish was a beet infused taco, and in it was creamy chipotle, salt roasted beets, and purple cabbage. I honestly thought that I was not going to like the dish but it was really tasty. The dish was crunchy, soft, and spicy. It was like a party in my mouth.
This third course was my favorite. The dish was tostilocos with chipotle, jalapeño, and orange jicama sauce. I am not kidding when I say this the only thing that was wrong with the dish was that there was not enough sauce! My dad and I cleaned the plate. The flavors in this dish popped. It was spicy, crunchy, smooth, and the pickles on the dish made it stand out. I thought that the chipotle and the jalepeño were really spicy but that the orange jicama sort of cooled it down. That was the end of the appetizers.
The first entree was a pumpkin ceviche. Well, if you do not know what ceviche is, it is usually a fish appetizer that is made of raw fish and has lime juice on it. So, now you can probably guess what this dish was. It was raw pumpkin with avocado and lime juice. There were sunflower seeds on it with some fresh herbs. The pumpkin was cut like a carpaccio and was very smooth and thin. When I had it, I could taste a hint of olive oil, and it was seasoned very nicely. I got salt and pepper with a bit of lime or lemon juice on it. Simple but tasty. I also want to say that I really liked the sunflower seeds. It gave it that balance of crunchy and soft.
The next dish was a sweet pea enchilada. An enchilada to me is like a burrito, but cut into slices, so this one was no different but I liked it a lot. It had a very soft outside and a more crunchy inside. It was also a little bit sweet and a little bit sour. There were also different sauces on the plate that I dipped peas into and it was really good. I especially liked the sour cream and hummus. This was a fun dish that I enjoyed, and would love to come back for more.
This third dish was called Pepper. It was not exactly pepper though. It was beans in a little skillet with pepper “life savers” all around it which I thought was clever. The beans were in a sauce that was a five pepper sauce. This dish, specifically the sauce, reminded me of oyster sauce and was very smooth. I also thought that the salad with the beans and the sauce was stupendous. I know I said the “life savers” were clever, but they were also really fun to eat. Overall, I thought this dish was the most fun dish with the “life savers” and the tiny skillet.
Now, this last dish was my favorite entree, and my third favorite after the tostilocos and the pumpkin semifreddo that you can read about in my next paragraph. It was the brussels sprout tacos! The dish was a “make your own” taco which I love when we have taco night at my house. So, the layout was the brussels sprouts were on a really hot plate that you could not touch like a bibimbap bowl. To the side of the brussels sprouts were lettuce leaves they were the shell. Then, the rest of the plate had toppings on it; creme, radish, sour cream, crunchy corn sticks...etc. I went all out. I took the lettuce leaf put brussel sprouts and all of the toppings on it. The taco was delicious. It was smooth, spicy, and creamy. The brussels sprouts were packed with a nice kick, that made me want to eat them all day long. Just typing this paragraph makes my mouth water. Before my dad and I went to Dirt Candy he kept saying how much he loved the brussels sprout tacos, so I waited all night long for them and it was well worth it.
Last, but certainly not least was dessert. It was a pumpkin semifreddo pie with mango and chili. The semifreddo was like a frozen pumpkin pie with a slab of crust under it which gave it a cool hip style. I tasted like pumpkin ice cream and the mango and chili was a nice compliment with the pumpkin. The crust was so good it was hard and flaky just the way I like it. With the semifreddo we also had a mexican hot chocolate that we shared. It was very heavy with a little bit of paprika in it and not watery at all. It was perfect.
Overall I had a wonderful meal and would love to come back to Dirt Candy with my whole family including the new addition, Josie.
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