Candle Cafe, Candle West and Candle 79 were fine-dining vegan restaurants in Manhattan, New York City.[1][2][3]

Candle Cafe
Candle Cafe in December 2023
Map
Restaurant information
Established1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Closed2020; 4 years ago (2020)
Owner(s)Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza
Food typeVegan
Street addressMultiple locations in Manhattan
CityNew York
StateNew York
CountryUnited States
Websitecandlecafe.com

Candle Cafe opened in 1994 as a juice bar and health food cafe, and was owned by Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza.[4][5] The Potenzas used $53,000 they won in the New York State Take Five lottery in 1993 to start the restaurant.[6]

Celebrities such as Woody Harrelson were known to frequent the restaurant.[1]

All three restaurants closed as of December 2020. However, a new Candle Cafe location reopened at 388 3rd Ave in March 2023.

Reviews

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In 2015 PETA named Candle 79 one of the six best vegan fine-dining restaurants in the U.S.,[7] BuzzFeed named them one of 24 "bucket list" vegan restaurants,[8] and vegan studies scholar Laura Wright referenced them as one of two "famous vegan restaurants."[9]: 23 

In 2013 Travel + Leisure named Candle 79 one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the U.S.[10]

In 2013, Zagat's gave Candle Cafe a 25 rating for food, making it the second-highest rated of the 46 New York City health food restaurants rated by the survey.[11]

Shape named Candle 79 one of the top 10 upscale vegan restaurants in the United States, calling them "one of the 'Grand Dames'" of upscale vegan dining.[12]

Works

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  • Joy Pierson, The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York's Renowned Vegan Restaurant, Random House (2003). ISBN 978-0-609-80981-5
  • Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos & Jorge Pineda, Candle*79 Cookbook: Modern Vegan Classics from New York's Premier Sustainable Restaurant, Ten Speed Press (2011). ISBN 978-1-60774-012-4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b James Bernard Frost (2011). New York and New Jersey. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781588438836. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  2. ^ Jared Koch (May 1, 2010). Clean Plates N.Y.C. ISBN 9781458757999. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Mark Fleischmann (2004). Happy Pig's Hot 100 New York Restaurants: A Stubbornly Offbeat Guide. Quiet River Press LLC. ISBN 9781932732054. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  4. ^ Joon Yun, Stephanie Daniel (2007). Low-Stress Food. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780615148090. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  5. ^ Anita Gates (November 4, 2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to New York City. Penguin. ISBN 9781440653360. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  6. ^ Alex Witchel (August 6, 2003). "Feng Shui and Vegan Fare Battle a Neighborhood Curse". New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  7. ^ Prater, Danny (June 10, 2015). "The Top 6 Vegan Fine-Dining Establishments in the U.S." PETA. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  8. ^ Paul, Lauren (July 5, 2015). "24 Vegan Restaurants That Belong On Your Culinary Bucket List". Buzzfeed. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  9. ^ Laura Wright (2015). The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals, and Gender in the Age of Terror. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-4855-1.
  10. ^ Stewart, Sarah L. (October 10, 2013). "Best Vegetarian Restaurants in the U.S." Travel + Leisure. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  11. ^ "Candle Cafe | Manhattan | Restaurant Menus and Reviews". Zagat. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  12. ^ Yolen-Cohen, Malerie (August 7, 2012). "Top 10 Upscale Vegan Restaurants in America". Shape. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
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