Blossom On Carmine
“Seitan Marsala with sage potato cake, sautéed garlic spinach, poached pear, shallot and thyme marsala reduction.”
“The Mushroom phyllo pastry with mashed butternut squash and accompanying deliciousness.”
“I love the sliders, the BBQ tempeh, the Regular burgers, brussel sprouts, kale and sauteed asparagus…everything is good!”
Blossom On Carmine
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I tend to come here at least once a month and love the food that Blossom has to offer. My stand-bys are the mushroom tacos and the croquettes- both so delicious that I find myself craving them every once in awhile.
For dinner, I also tend to order the scallopini which has a wonderful truffled creamed wine sauce – it's so good. For lunch, I like the South western sandwich- hearty and yummy.
The decor is nothing special, but the food and friendly staff we'll make up for it. If you dine in on a warm day- be sure to sit by the window, it's always great for people watching. Can't wait to come back!
I love vegetarian restaurants specifically because they elevate their dishes for regular everyday consumers who love eating meat and believe meat is essential to creating a delicious entree, which is totally untrue. Restaurants like blossom make me want to become a vegetarian, if it wasn't for its time consuming preparations and expenses for fresh produce.
Anyway, the flatbread was a limited spring special that we enjoyed and was surprisingly a lot thicker for a flatbread. It had various roasted veggies on top with a green sauce, but the star was the truffle ravioli. I wish it was an entree because I totally could have enjoyed another serving of that appetizer. The ravioli was cooked al dente and was fragrant of mushrooms and truffles, my favorite.
We also ordered the quinoa salad which was HUGE! Normally, salads don't really fill me up but the amount of grains on this salad definitely made it filling. It was fresh, light and hearty at the same time. I would have gotten dessert if we didn't have to catch a movie so I will be coming back shortly. Their cheesecake sounded amazing and I can't wait to try it.
Whenever I come home to NYC to visit, Blossom has been one of my musts. Some of their dishes are absolutely divine (mushroom ravioli app, tiramisu, I'm looking at you!) and others, not so much (Seitan Scallopini, what happened to you?). I haven't written an update to my review three years ago, but have visited many more times and I don't know… I find that while years ago Blossom was at the top of its game, it's needs some TLC to justify those prices so that it's on par with more cutting edge vegan restaurants in the city. The last two times I've found my experiences to be a bit lackluster if not disappointing. This comes at too high a price tag.
Appetizers: As I've mentioned, that mushroom ravioli is absolute perfection, tender pillows of truffle-like mushrooms and what seems like tofu. The pasta is thin/delicate and practically velvety in texture. Even my mom likes this and she's pretty picky about her ravioli. The "butter" sauce is a miracle. I don't recommend the buffalo croquettes, however, as they are really pasty/starchy and not even flavorful, no less spicy. The flatbread special at 15 dollars… I mean, that price is reason to give pause, when I think of Pala downtown and their vegan pizza masterpieces.
Entrees: I first tried their bacon cheeseburger at the Columbus location and thought I had died and gone to heaven. I know the recipes have to be the same, but at this location recently, I found the patty to be akin to Boca (my most hated veggie burger and I'm not saying that's what they use here, but it does remind me of it!) and the entire thing to be not that exciting. Not when you consider By Chloe's veggie burger at 3/4 the price. I'll gladly pay the $17 for a veggie burger when it's next level kind of stuff, but I just don't feel this one is that. The Seitan Scallopini used to be a favorite, but I've recently found it lacking in flavor and needing a salt bath, not to mention that the texture is spongy/chewy. Disappointing.
Dessert: that tiramisu… oh, that tiramisu. On a recent visit, they were out of it, which made me sad, but then the coconut chocolate mousse saved the day (I may be wrong, but I think it's also in the tiramisu) with its rich, decadent texture and taste.
Service: I've just been noticing a decline in service, from the lackluster greeting to me forcing a purely reluctant "thank you" upon leaving. Maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he just hated us. I was nothing but nice and respectful to him, as I always am, but this guy was all but telling us that he didn't want us there. He was efficient at taking our order, bringing us our food and then the check. At a restaurant with this price point, you expect a little more… perhaps a smile… or just a tiny bit of enthusiasm.
I travel all around the US and Canada frequently and have access to vegan food that ranges from inexpensive comfort food to super tasty healthy bowls to what Blossom used to be: creative vegan food that comes at a pretty high price point (yet is totally worth that price). I don't consider Blossom quite worth it anymore, with all of these recent hits and misses. So, I think we need to break up for a while…
While I consider myself an omnivore with carnivore leanings, I always like to try something different and for me, going to a Vegan/Vegetarian restaurant generally ranks up there with Things I Don't Do Often(tm). Having had a heavy lunch the same day, I wanted a restaurant that would offer me lighter options without greasiness or heavy, heavy proteins. "Blossom on Carmine" came up via a Yelp app search for "Vegetarian" in the Village and given its high ratings, my girlfriend and I decided to check it out.
Blossom is located on Carmine street, a row of restaurants, cafes and shops in the West Village. It's a great area and makes for fun walking around with friends or a date before getting to the restaurant.
Blossom itself is in a really nice looking space. When you enter the host station is right in front. There is a seating area that has bar style seating, there are sit down tables to the right and to the left a long lounge-like seat running along one wall with comfortable seats facing them. Tables are small in this section and can easily be reconfigured to accommodate parties of 2-12. The walls are mostly white the ceiling has wood panels running in strips across with a rough, white paint brushed onto them, giving it a rustic feel appropriate to the type of restaurant. The rest rooms are downstairs in where you'll find additional seating which oddly doesn't match the decor upstairs at all (but it still looks very comfortable).
Service was really super great. I mean, the people there were just so *nice*. They were happy to explain everything we asked about on the menu and my water glass was never empty. When I accidentally dropped a knife, a replacement appeared a minute later without my prompting. I was very impressed.
But what about the food?! I'm happy to say that was amazing too! Here's a rundown of what we had:
MUSHROOM WITH POLENTA & GREENS
This was a special appetizer so I'm not sure what determines when it is offered. This dish had a layer of polenta sitting in a wonderful savory sauce. On top were three large tube shaped pieces that *at first* appear to be scallops, but when you cut into them you realize they are actually mushroom stalks! On top of those were micro greens. Combine them all together into one bite and you have a chewy, creamy, savory experience all in one forkful. It is a fun, creative and most of all delicious dish.
BAKED SWEET POTATO WITH LENTILS
This was also a special, so I can't guarantee they will have it every night. This dish took a good sized sweet potato baked to perfection and layered it with a lentil mash of sorts. On top of that were thinly sliced and crisp sweet potatoes. This sat on top of a bed of sauteed chard. All *that* sat on top of a layer of coconut curry. I have to admit at first the dish seemed a bit busy, but man, once you put all those flavors together the result is a sweet and spicy mix of flavors and textures that really make this dish exceptional.
SOY CHEESEBURGER
The meat lover in me cringes a bit at the phrase "Soy Cheeseburger" but I wanted to be open minded so I gave it a shot. Boy am I glad I did! This soy burger starts with a soy patty in the middle and then extends outward into deliciousness. There is a layer of cheese (non-dairy I believe), a layer of cooked mushrooms, faux-bacon and a beautifully toasted sesame seed bun. Every component of this burger was perfect. There was a smokey flavor in it, the cheese was creamy and the mushrooms added a layer of Umami. As a side I could have had fries but chose instead to go with sauteed kale. Both items were amazing.
APPLE COBBLER
The apple cobbler is served in an oval ceramic dish normally used for Crème brûlée. There is a layer of sweet apple, then on top a crumble-like layer that included shredded coconut. Sitting on top was a scoop of ice cream. The cobbler is served hot so be careful when you dive in. It was absolutely delightful. The coconut gave the dish a very unexpected texture and flavor that I really enjoyed.
I never thought I'd say that I'd crave food from a vegetarian restaurant, but here I am already thinking about my next visit! That should say it all.
Blossom on Carmine…what a vegan delight. We had the quinoa salad and the French toast for "dessert." The overall experience was EXCELLENT…the food was great and the service was awesome!
With a vegan niece in town, we* thought it only hospitable to take her to a restaurant where everything was fair game. And you know what? Blossom is pretty good.
Did I enjoy my Southern Seitan Sandwich and sweet potato fries? Actually yes, yes I did. Could I eat the same thing at many restaurants across this city, but with chicken instead of seitan, at a discount of $5? Yes, yes I could. But then again, I'm not going to argue that the seitan was too expensive, because I don't really know what seitan is.
When it comes to the vegetables though, things did seem a bit overpriced. For example, the sweet potato wraps: personally, I find $15 to be entirely too expensive for a few raw bites of sweet potato, jicama, avocado, carrot, with an unappealingly watery almond-ginger dipping sauce.
My wife's kale salad was run-of-the-mill and the buffalo croquettes were pretty bland, but I did like the mushroom phyllo wraps. Around the table, everyone seemed satisfied with their various carby choices (a seasonal risotto, and the 'fettucini alfredo'). I do think just about everything could've been improved with a healthy dose of cheese, but I suppose that's why I'm not a vegan.
Overall though, you can get a decent meal here, whether or not you are a vegan. I think a better selection of booze would go a long way; Jim Beam should never be the only bourbon available, unless I'm in the basement of a fraternity.
The things we do for family.
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*My wife thought this, which means I also thought this. I definitely did not think that she should stand in the cold outside a steakhouse while we ate and reconsider her life choices.
I went here with one of my friends last night because she is *obsessed* with this place, and I didn't really understand the hype after our dinner. There were some dishes that are particularly tasty and make you feel like you're not eating Vegan/Vegetarian– the buffalo risotto croquettes and my friend's scallop meal, for instance. I had the Salmon Tofu, and it just tasted like tofu smothered with a sub-par dill cream (who puts a dill cream on their salmon? Not I!). The service was average, though I was frustrated they asked us to hurry up settling our bill because there was another reservation– totally understand if the restaurant is packed, but it wasn't and we're paying guests, too. What's more, I found a bug of some sort in the toilet bowl when I went to the bathroom upon arrival. I understand it's New York and bugs are everywhere, but not a great way to start the meal. Not itching to come back here any time soon.
Came here for v-day. They had a prix fixe menu. When I made the reservation, nothing was noted about a prix fixe menu, so getting there I was surprised knowing that our choices were super limited. The meals were two extremes: the gnocchi was bland, and the seitan poivre was over seasoned with peppeecorn. It was so overseasoned it caused my partner to gag and choke. The highly raved tiramisu was again bland and moslty cream. It ended up being a pretty bad experience since we couldn't eat or taste anything, and it cost $200+ which was even more terrible since that could have been used elsewhere with more flavor and artistry. Definitely won't do this place for a special occasion as it is definitely not worth it.