• 4
• Creative food, if a bit lackluster

We went for brunch last time we visited NYC. It was honestly more of a 3.5 experience. I love the spaciousness and brightness of their new location, though I don't love the new spot. It's a bit deep into the Lower East Side. We were seated without a reservation - unheard of at the old, smaller Dirt Candy location in the East Village. Service was friendly and attentive. We thought brunch food prices were very reasonable, however, cocktails were borderline outrageously priced. A brunch drink shouldn't be the same price as food. We decided to forego cocktails and just split a few dishes. We ordered: - Zucchini Pancakes (for sweet) - These were about 7 or so silver dollar pancakes, dusted with powdered sugar. They were fun, but almost more snack-sized. They had good flavor and certainly no overwhelming zucchini scent. However, they felt a bit oiled/fried, which seems unnecessary with pancakes. - The Greens Sandwich (for savory) - This was a very large sandwich, which is a plus, especially considering the size of the pancakes. It mostly tasted like salad on bread to me though. My fiancé liked it a lot though (he did layer on a fair bit of hot sauce though). We were still a bit hungry (and were trying to stretch this meal for breakfast and lunch), so we ordered the carrot granola too. - Carrot Granola - This was a thick labneh yogurt with carrot marmalade and super crunchy granola. Again, not a massive serving size, but the perfect thing to top us off. The marmalade had a good tang to it, though this, like a few other dishes at Dirt Candy, was almost too inventive, if that's a thing. Sometimes a chef can still be inventive without going soo far out of the box, and it seems like sometimes Dirt Candy is quite far out. Still, food is generally good. We may go back next time we're in NYC, but considering there are so many other restaurants we love there, we wouldn't run back.