One of NYC's Coolest Restaurants Just Launched a Vegetarian Tasting Menu Because the People Demanded
"Kindly be advised there are no substitutions." These words have been printed on the tasting menu at Contra since it opened in 2013 but, still, the requests kept coming in. "In the last couple years, it's really picked up," says Jeremiah Stone, who owns the NYC fine-dining hotspot along with co-chef Fabian von Hauske Valtierra. "We get emails every week, or people will just show up and tell us, unannounced, that they're vegetarian or pescatarian or that they don't eat shellfish or whatever else. We were always asking, 'What should we do?' We say no substitutions, but they’re here."
This week, the two chefs bent to the collective will and launched a five-course vegetarian tasting menu that will be available every night, alongside the regular tasting menu, for any guest to try. Contra isn't the only restaurant to recognize the growing demand for plant-based food. In December, Le Bernardin announced that it would offer a vegetarian tasting menu for the first time since it opened in 1986.
Stone and von Hauske Valtierra developed the new menu to complement Contra's already plant-forward cuisine. "Our cooking is mostly vegetables anyway," says Stone. "We didn't want to change the direction of what we were doing; we just wanted to be in control of creating a quality menu for people interested in eating without fish and meat." Last week, they gave Healthyish a look at the new menu, which, like the regular one, will change frequently based on what's fresh. Read on for an exclusive look, and, yes, we're as obsessed with Wynne Noble's plateware as you are.
Contra is at 138 Orchard St, New York, NY. For reservations, visit the website or email info@contranyc.com.
Photo by Alex Lau1/6First Course: Celeriac with Asian Pear
A previous version of this layered celeriac and Asian pear dish included raw scallops on top, but Stone and von Huske say the original iteration was vegetarian, making it an obvious choice for the new menu.
Photo by Alex Lau2/6Second Course: Buckwheat Crepe with Ascutney Mountain Cheese
A riff on the cheese course, this buckwheat crepe comes with melted cheese from Ascutney Mountain in Vermont, chestnuts, black truffle, and a brown butter emulsion. The crepe can even be made gluten-free upon request.
Photo by Alex Lau3/6Third Course: Winter Vegetables with Feta
In this dish, winter vegetables are cooked in three different ways: roasted, boiled in stock, and steamed. The vegetables are re-warmed in a pan to order, then seasoned with vinegar, brown butter, grated feta, and a mix of fresh herbs.
Photo by Alex Lau4/6Fourth Course: Kohlrabi with Mushrooms and Sauce Vin Jaune
To make the stunner of a vegetarian main, the chefs make thin ribbons out of a whole kohlrabi using a Japanese-style mandolin. (They use the kohlrabi core to make stock.) The kohlrabi ribbons are layered with a butter mixture, then rolled and sliced into individual servings, which are pan-cooked to order and served with mushrooms and a sauce made with chipotle and Vin Jaune, a powerful French wine that's often compared to sherry.
Photo by Alex Lau5/6Fifth Course: Charred Milk Ice Cream with Blood Orange and Fig Leaf
The two dessert courses will be the same on both the regular and vegetarian menus. To make charred milk ice cream, the chefs heat binchotan, Japanese black charcoal, until it's red hot, then mix it into an ice cream base, which is then strained and frozen. The ice cream is served with fig leaf oil and whipped blood orange.
Photo by Alex Lau6/6Sixth Course: Apple and Vanilla Parfait
This dessert is a play on a caramel apple: Frozen vanilla mousse is layered with frozen whipped apple curd to make a delicate parfait, which is served with a jelly made from clarified apple juice steeped with chamomile, along with fresh juice and chamomile oil. The dish is topped with caramel.
