Amanda Cohen pushes the reboot button on her beloved vegetarian eatery, opening up tomorrow night in a much larger space on Allen Street. Where the original location was 18 Seats and Elbows In Your Face, the new spot is 60 Seats and Impress Your In-Laws, with a gorgeous black-and-white motif and cute flowering plant murals. Sitting in the dining room should be almost as much of a treat as eating Cohen's fantastic vegetable-centric dishes, which will continue to buck the idea of veggies as a perfunctory side dish.
The ones arriving on the plates here certainly passed the cool test, starting with the incredibly fun bread service literally blooming out of a clay pot. Then there's the equally entertaining DIY Brussels Sprouts Tacos ($30), which come with charred sprouts and a bunch of fillings like avocado, pickled onions and radishes for customizable creations inside lettuce leaves. The delectable grilled and smoked broccoli dogs ($21), a holdover from the first restaurant, have thankfully also been replanted at the new space.
The desserts are vegetable-forward as well, including a Celery Cheesecake Roll ($11) with celeriac ice cream and an Onion Chocolate Tart ($13) with smoked almond ice cream. But perhaps even more than her incredible cooking, Cohen has made headlines for her decision to eliminate tipping at the new spot in favor of a 20% administrative fee on each check. As the menu notes, "it is not a tip and none of it is distributed to the employees who serve you."
86 Allen Street at Broome Street, 212-228-7732; website
