Quintessence (New York, NY) « Max Efficiency

I took a recent trip to New York, and I was very fortunately able to do some fooding while I was there. On Tuesday, 19 April, my cousin and I had dinner at a raw vegan restaurant called Quintessence on 263 East 10th Street.

I ordered their California pizza ($14), mainly because I was drawn to the avocados. When what appeared in front of me did not at all resemble a traditional pizza, I was instantly intrigued. A smattering of toppings heaped on what resembled matzoh lay beside a fluffy pile of raw spinach and lettuce, which was interspersed with chopped tomatoes. A small dish of some kind of green dressing came nestled in with my leaves. I poured it all over them and ate enthusiastically as I usually enjoy really minimalist salads. After I finished that part of my meal, I moved on to the pizza, which I was only able to cut up with a knife. The very mild flavors came together nicely and without conflict, and I finally got my avocado fix for the evening.

I'm very interested in raw food as I relish the idea of (supposedly) maximizing the nutritional content of what I'm eating. Also, the notion of preparing or even assembling food (as distinct from cooking it in more traditional ways) holds a lot of creative appeal for me. However, I'm not sure raw food's execution is as brilliant as its concept. It's not that my meal at Quintessence was bad, not at all. It's just that I found it sort of boring in that it was neither as filling nor as toothsome as many of the things I've been able to create in my own kitchen at home. It was not so flavorful, but I'm willing to concede that my perception of it as bland could be a result of being used to heavily seasoned, cooked foods.

One of the most fun things about being a vegan is surprising the pants off everyone around you with delicious, filling foods. My California pizza was not something I would serve to guests I wanted to wow with my cooking skills; instead, it's something I'd fix myself for a quiet Friday night in.