Dirt Candy

The name is a bit of a problem. Dirt Candy? Seriously? We suppose it’s meant to inject a bit of playfulness into the restaurant’s deadly earnest mission. (Notice too how we --- or they --- managed to get some dirt on the menu.)


Inside, the basement restaurant resembles the hull of a ship. Extra glasses are stored along the cork-covered walls; extra napkins in secret cabinets beneath the seats. The bathroom sink is so small you can only wash one hand at a time.



Thankfully for all concerned the food’s good, which is what counts, of course. We started with the famed jalapeno hush puppies. On their own, OK, but with the maple butter --- outstanding. We could have happily dived into huge vats, living out our days in the sweet, airy concoction.


As entrees, we had the golden beet papardelle with a pistachio-pesto dumpling. The pasta was a wee bit gummy, although the beets were perfectly cut cubes of flavor. We also had the carrot risotto, a shockingly yummy blend of sweet and savory. Every bite tasted a little differently, depending on the amounts of the chewy carrot curls and moist carrot dumplings and soft carrot rice hitting the palate.





Our first dessert was passable. The chocolate cake was a bit dry, and the sweet potato sorbet didn’t quite work for us (it tasted exactly like cold sweet potatoes, which, in retrospect, shouldn’t have surprised us). But the sesame cake was excellent, topped with grapefruit sorbet and garnished with grapefruit slices. It was also pretty.



Obviously not everything here delighted us, but what did, really, really did.