Vegetarian Star

Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy

Moby‘s prodigy from Teany has been named 2009 Chef of the Year by Metromix.

Although they love Amanda Cohen, Metromix isn’t too keen on the vegetarian food she cooks at her restaurant, Dirt Candy.

Just take a look at these two questions they fired at Amanda during an interview.

Does vegetarian food get a bad rap?
It does, and people can’t look behind what vegetarian food is about and not what it’s not about. The reality is that most people probably, at least once a week, have a meal that doesn’t have meat or chicken or fish in it. They just don’t call that meal “my vegetarian meal of the week.”

And then they just get real honest about it.

Well, we gotta say it: Most vegetarian food is pretty terrible.
That’s a hard thing for me to agree to [laughs]. But I think vegetarian food has a built-in audience, and [people] don’t necessarily have to try to go outside of that audience. So whether or not that makes the food good or bad, it has its audience. …There’s very few restaurants in this city where they’re expected to state their politics before you even walk in the door. But that onus is put on vegetarian restaurants, and I think it creates a world where it’s hard for vegetarian restaurants to necessarily make exciting and different food.

New Yorkers, what do you think?

Does Dirt Candy change the reputation of vegetarian food, for Metromix and everyone else?

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Heeb magazine has announced its annual list of 100 Jewish movers and shakers in the categories of art, music, fashion, film & tv, media, books, activism, comedy, food, and entrepreneurship.

We’re thrilled to report that two movers and shakers, Gabe Saporta and Amanda Cohen, also shake up the vegetarian community.

The front man for Cobra Starship, Saporta has been nominated for PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Contest several years in a row and starred in a PSA against fur.

Says Heeb of Cohen , founder of Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in New York City:

“Amanda Cohen, once famous for her buffalo wing recipe, found her true calling in vegetarian cuisine as the chef and owner of Dirt Candy, a vegetable-themed restaurant in New York. But don’t think that all she dishes out are sprout salads and tofu; Cohen is known for delicious snacks like jalapeño hush puppies, kimchi donuts and popcorn pudding.”

View some of the other Jewish movers and shakers at heebmagazine.com.

via heebnvegan

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Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy

Looking for a brand of vegetarian sausages to add to your faux meat palate?

Amanda Cohen, owner and chef at Dirt Candy in New York City, says Field Roast Sausages do it for her.

“I had pretty much given up on fake meat before I came across Field Roast vegetarian sausages, which are hands-down the best vegetarian sausages out there,” Amanda told lunchboxbunch.com.

Field Roast Sausages come in three varieties, Italian, Mexican Chipotle, and Smoked Apple Sage.

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Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy

“I think the challenge to all of us is that we have to be better. Vegetarian chefs are like the Ginger Rogers to the omnivore chef’s Fred Astaire: Our job is harder because we have to do everything they do, only backwards and in high heels. We have to work twice as hard for half the respect. Despite this, we desperately need to engage with the mainstream food world, because it’s not enough to preach to the choir anymore. Chefs and owners, myself included, need to step up our game. We need to become the 4.0 GPA overachievers of food.”

—-Amanda Cohen, owner and chef at Dirt Candy, an award winning vegetarian restaurant in New York City.

via vegcooking.com

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Amanda Cohen

Amanda Cohen, founder and owner of Dirt Candy, has been named “Chef of the Month” at the Veg Cooking Blog.

Dirt Candy is an all vegetarian restaurant in New York City and Cohen was received prestige for her work at the restaurant.

Veg Cooking sat down with Cohen to discuss all things veggie and here are some of Amanda’s thoughts:

Lube it up:
Splurge on good oils. Truffle oil, almond oil, hazelnut oil, or pistachio oil are all really nice ways to finish off a dish. You can drizzle them over just about anything, cooked or raw, and they add an extra, savory dimension.

On Favorite Veg Ingredients:
Right now, what I’m really into are potatoes. And even though beet season is wrapping up, I’ll probably stay obsessed with them until the year’s last beet is pulled up out of the dirt.

On Vegan Cooking:
Everything at Dirt Candy comes in a vegan and a non-vegan version, and I really like skipping back and forth between vegan and vegetarian cooking. Vegan cooking is challenging in a way that’s a lot of fun. It wakes your brain up. And I actually think that the Orange Tofu we serve is better vegan (we use coconut milk in the sauce instead of butter).

On Producing Great Vegetarian Dishes
Vegetarian food should be about what you can eat, not what you can’t. Aping the “protein, sauce, side of veg” format of the standard meat dish just reminds omnivorous diners of what they’re not eating, and it doesn’t do justice to vegetables, fruits, grains, and all the other fun stuff we get to play with. To me, breaking the “meat replacement” mold is the most important element in cooking great vegetarian food.

Read the entire interview with Amanda at vegcooking.com.

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“just had the most unbelievable meal at dirt candy in the east village vegetables done in ways you can’t imagine, as fresh as earth provides”

—-Sandra Bernhard in a Tweet about her experience eating at Dirt Candy restaurant in NYC.

Sandra agrees with Starchefs.com, as Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy’s owner and chef, has been named the first vegetarian chef in New York City to receive the Rising Star award, an prestigious acknowledgement among chefs and other foodies.

Cohen’s restaurant patrons can get down and dirty with menu selections like Jalapeno Hush Puppies and Portobello Mousse.

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restaurantgirl.com

It’s been open for less than a year, but Amanda Cohen‘s Dirt Candy, has already won praises from customers, chefs, and food connoisseurs.

Cohen is the first New York based vegetarian chef to win the Rising Star award from starchefs.com, an esteemed culinary website.

Starchefs.com based its decision on media, past winners and an advisory board to name Moby‘s former chef at Teany the winner.

“It’s really exciting to see vegetarian restaurants around the country getting recognized and appreciated, and I’m proud to be a part of that,” Cohen said.

Ever wondered how the named Dirt Candy came to be?

Why, vegetables are the sweetest things on the earth, don’t you know?

They’re candy from the ground.

“Vegetables are amazing,” Cohen said. “Made out of little more than water, sunlight, and dirt they wind up growing into a candy store full of color and flavor. And that’s what I want Dirt Candy to be: nature’s candy store.”

And if serving vegetable dishes wasn’t enough for the environment, Dirt Candy is made from recycled and sustainable materials and is certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

Suddenly the 5 second rule about eating food that touches the ground no longer applies.

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restaurantgirl.com

“This year, we’re starting to make our own raspberry ice cream at Dirt Candy and will use Cascadian Farm berries. They’re never bland-they have a pure raspberry flavor that rivals fresh berries. In fact, they’re so sweet, hey need little or no added sugar, even if you eat them plain.”

—Amanda Cohen, former chef for Moby’s Teany and owner and chef of Dirt Candy vegetarian restaurant in New York city.

Amanda was one of several chefs asked by Vegetarian Times what organic products could be found in their kitchens.

Cascadian Farm not only has the organic raspberries you need this summer, but all the other vegetables you need to eat until your pesticide-free heart is content.

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