Pure Food and Wine

While in NY, the ladies and I dined out Saturday evening at Pure Food and Wine. This was our big night out and Laura (NY resident) made our reservations two weeks in advance.

Pure Food is a raw restaurant, which means all their stuff is not cooked.  Everything is veggie based and the menu also states that they are GF and vegan.

From their website (the “about” section):

June of 2004 is when we first opened our doors in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. Back then, not so many people knew the term “raw food” as a style of cuisine. Pure Food and Wine’s raw vegan menu is entirely plant based and does not use any processed ingredients. Nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees in order to preserve vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Everyone always imagines a menu of just salads, but it’s much more than that. 

They also list that they do not use tofu, tempeh, or seitan at all at the restaurant which I find refreshing.

Our party of six was seated outside on their back patio which was gorgeous.

Full of trees and twinkle lights everywhere.  High buildings surround the patio and you feel very secluded.  The outside decor reflects nature with dark wood seating and even an outdoor bar that fits the atmosphere.

The evening started off with wine and one of my friends ordered a drink which was stunning.

It’s a Lightening Tini: Lemongrass, ginger, green tea, and unfiltered sake.  Complete with edible flower on top!

Night was starting to fall so my pictures start to get a bit on the darker side.  I started off with a radicchio salad that had a pistachio vinaigrette and a side of fresh peaches. You can’t tell from the picture but the radicchio was sitting on top of a huge thick slice of heirloom tomato.

The combo of peaches with radicchio was a bit odd though it was nice to have that burst of sweetness on the side.  The radicchio was a lot more bitter than I expected it to be but the vinaigrette helped tone that down a bit. The tomato was juicy and perfect.  I was the last one to finish my first course!  I was starving by this point too but it takes time to eat an entire head of radicchio!

A lot of the ladies ordered the lasagna but I went with braised chard and polenta.

It also had some dehydrated eggplant chips on top and a side of tomato, almost like a tapenade, no olives though.  The eggplant was my favorite! I didn’t really care for the polenta much, they added lemon to it and that overpowered the entire dish.  I’m not much of a lemon fan so I think that’s why I found it so strong.  I’m not sure what veggie was used as the base of the polenta. I want to say maybe golden beet, but I’m not positive. The tomato tapenade was flavorful and when I paired that with the polenta, it took away some of the harshness of the lemon.

While I normally am not a dessert person at all, I couldn’t pass up a mint chocolate sundae!

Mint and chocolate is my favorite combo!  This sundae was amazing!  Fresh cream on top (I do not know what that was made from), mint ice cream, chocolate drizzle, mint chocolate cookies, and huge chunks of dark chocolate all over.

Heaven!  And if you can believe it, it had too much dark chocolate on top.  A little overwhelming!  I had to leave some behind.  This was my favorite part of dinner!

The ladies and I had an amazing time!  And naturally when six people go to a fancy-pants restaurant, the bill is going to reflect such antics.

You’ll have to click on the picture to make it bigger, but I’ll save you the trouble.  We were looking at a $600 bill.

Oh New York, you and your pricey uncooked food.

I give huge props to Pure Food and Wine because we had amazing service and an amazing dinner.  No one tried to kick us out or make us rush through a meal so they could seat more people.

We were there for three hours enjoying dinner and chatting away.  Not once at any point were we made to feel unwelcome or expected to hurry our meal along.

Our server was amazing! She answered all of our questions, dealt with all the requests for pictures, and handled our table beautifully.

If you’re curious about raw food or looking to try something different, give Pure Food and Wine a try next time you’re in New York!

14 thoughts on “Pure Food and Wine

  1. Wowza – $100 a head without tip? That is some crazy New York restaurant prices, although truth be told, young into our marriage we went out to dinner with another couple – we each got 2 drinks and our bill was $450 in Chicago. Glad you didn’t feel rushed!

  2. I love it when they let you sit and chat forever, without any pressure to leave. Especially when you’re out with the ladies and are having a blast :) Looks like it was delicious and fun!

  3. A price that was likely worth the experience. :) Gotta splurge every now and then. I love your line though – oh NY and your uncooked food. Ha, ha! Everything looks amazing including the atmosphere. I especially intrigued by that drink and the dessert. Maybe I’m drawn to martini glasses!

  4. I’ve always wanted to try out Pure Food and Wine (and go to New York too but that’s another story) We don’t have any restaurants like it in our area. I’d love to try that sundae. Too much dark chocolate? I thought it was impossible!

    • Amanda, it was great and perfect for those with dietary restrictions as they can feed everyone without issue. The atmosphere is really fantastic as well.

  5. No wonder I’m not an appetizer + entree + dessert person when I go out for food – too damn expensive! And generally too much food. I find that here, people don’t normally bother with all of the courses, unless they are going somewhere with a set menu that includes them. Or maybe I just hang out with cheap people. LOL

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