Blossom Restaurant, Chelsea, NYC

Don’t you dislike ridiculous hypotheticals such as “if you were deserted on a desert island and could choose only one record album, what would it be?” So do I, but I’m gonna’ throw one at you anyway…”if you could dine in only one upscale vegan restaurant in New York City for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?” A tough one, I know! After giving it careful consideration, my emphatic answer is Blossom Restaurant located at 187 Ninth Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets) in New York City.

This past Thursday evening, my husband and I dined at the lovely Blossom Restaurant before we went to the theater to see Al Pacino in the fabulous play “Glengarry, Glen Ross.” FYI, Al Pacino was terrific and so was the rest of the cast which included Bobby Cannavale. Oh my, Bobby Cannavale!!! Anyway, when we arrived at Blossom at about 5:45 pm, we were the only ones seated in the warm, intimate and candlelit restaurant. By 6:oo pm, every table was filled. I just love Blossom’s location nestled away in a romantic townhouse in the chic neighborhood of Chelsea. Although I have been to Blossom on many prior occasions, I didn’t remember the atmosphere being quite as charming as it was a few days ago; but it was, in fact, very charming. As you may already know, I am also a big fan of the other Blossom restaurants, including Cafe Blossom on Carmine and V-Note Wine Bar and Vegan Bistro.

These photos really don’t do justice to Blossom’s cozy interior, but they will give you a general idea of what the restaurant looks like…

It should be noted that the restaurant offers a wide variety of vegan beer and organic wines. My husband began his meal with a fabulous glass of ale…

I hadn’t yet eaten any greens that day, so we shared a large “Blossom Greens” salad with a delicious ginger teriyaki lime dressing…

The “Porcini Cigars” appetizer (hand-rolled phyllos with porcini mushrooms, almonds, ground tempeh and cashew pesto) was killer good! I highly recommend them! My other favorite appetizer is the “Black-eyed Pea Cake” made with Yukon Gold potatoes, black eyed peas and chipotle aioli, although I didn’t order it on this particular night. Please do yourself a favor and order these two appetizers if you dine at Blossom. Please!

My husband ordered the “Port Wine Seitan” as an entree and absolutely loved it!

I ordered the special entree of the day which was a three mushroom tarte in a phyllo over creamed beets. It was beautiful to look at and yummy! For the record, I usually order the “Pistachio and Pepper Dusted Tofu” at Blossom (which still remains my favorite entree), but I wanted to try something different this time.

We shared a side of whipped sweet potatoes which were really tasty! Not an exciting photo, but this was really good.

For dessert, we ordered the “Blossom Cheesecake With a Mixed Berry Reduction” (which was “over the top” sensational) and a delicious Chocolate Mousse/ Banana Date Parfait. I was thrilled to see that ice cream from Lula’s Sweet Apothecary was offered on the dessert menu which I never noticed before. Excellent! Our dessert was accompanied by some lovely lavender tea…

Our meal was decadent and filling. I loved it! If you happen to be in New York City and can choose only one upscale vegan restaurant, please take my word for it and dine at Blossom’s wonderful restaurant in Chelsea. On a side note: OMG, that Bobby Cannavale!