Pure Food and Wine

Dining in the magical and spacious garden of Pure Food and Wine will leave you beguiled by the offering of haute raw cuisine. Chef Matthew Kenney offers tomato tartare, spicy Thai lettuce wraps, and pineapple-cucumber gazpacho, and rice-free "sushi"

When to Go: In addition to the back patio, an outdoor area in front is ideal for smaller parties.

Fun Fact: Raw food rules mandate that nothing is heated above 118 degrees, which supposedly preserves essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Granted, it's "very different", but this Gramercy vegan "revelation" deserves recognition for the "unexpected" "flavor and flair" of its "dazzling" raw cuisine; "capable service" and a "lovely" garden enhance the "pure pleasure", even if it's a "quite expensive" way to "feel virtuous."

If you've never tried raw food, you're in for a treat at Pure Food & Wine, where nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees Fahrenheit. First courses may include green papaya salad, haricots verts and heirloom cherry tomatoes while second courses might range from sweet corn and cashew tamales with chile spiced portobello to squash blossoms filled with truffle shallot cashew cheese....

Nothing cooked above 118 degrees. Hmmm. Sounds suspicious...Fortunately, what's on your plate is subtle, intriguing, and totally delicious. Cheese made from soaked nuts, lasagna that's never touched an oven, ice cream without milk or sugar. And if nobody said anything, you probably wouldn't know the difference. For eating in, enjoy wood tables and hot-colored seat cushions, plus a killer back...

Servers seem accustomed to patrons' blank stares as they explain how raw, organic, dairy- and meat-free dishes are concocted at Pure Food and Wine. But part of the experience involves...

Pure Food and Wine is a restaurant that offers dishes with organic and seasonal fruits and vegetable nuts. The restaurant serves Thai lettuce wraps with tamarind sauce, biryani with coconut curried vegetables, wild mushroom and asparagus, tortilla wraps and lasagna. Pure Food and Wine offers a range of desserts that includes tiramisu, chocolate molten lava cake, ice cream, sundaes and passion...