Cafe Clover

Cafe Clover has been the talk of the town lately, and one of the latest NYC restaurants to join the veggie-forward movement. I wasn't expecting their offerings to be as health-centric as they were, but they were still very tasty.

Each table gets a dish of hummus and delicious crackers (gluten free) to start. The crackers looked like a mix of sunflower, pumpkin, and a few other seeds. They were incredible, as was the butternut squash hummus that accompanied them. The hummus had a slight Indian flare to it, which really complimented the earthiness of the crackers.

I decided on the veggie crudités for my appetizer, which was much larger than I expected. 

There was a lot going on here. I thought the amount of cauliflower was slight overkill, but the trio of sauces (green goddess, smoked vinegar, sesame ranch) that came with it let you diversify a bit.

For my main, I went with a 6 oz steak served with crispy Brussel sprout leaves and olive oil puréed potatoes. Shockingly, the steak was the highlight of the meal. Cooked to absolute perfection. My sister (visiting from DC) got the cauliflower steak for her main.

It came with an insanely good dipping sauce, that seemed vaguely reminiscent of the hummus at the start of the meal. We also ordered a side of butternut squash with cashews and a slight dusting of crumbled cheese. 

This was definitely their strongest showing in the veggie department--perfectly tender and mixed with toasted quinoa.

I also sampled some of their cocktails, which tasted like they were trying too hard to make them "healthy." One was a Superhero cocktail with pomegranate and blueberry, which was average. The second drink I tried was a matcha and gin concoction. It was definitely better than the Superhero, but still felt a little off. Maybe I'm just not used to the taste of matcha.

For the grand finale, we got a GLUTEN FREE crepe layer cake that was pure heaven. 

It was filled with a light marscapone cream and served with a side of espresso ice cream. The drizzle of chocolate sauce at the top added a nice touch of sweetness without being cloyingly sweet. This dessert is a must for any gluten free New Yorker, and a slam dunk all around. 

Overall, I'd give Cafe Clover a 7/10. They did veggies well (for the most part), but my favorite parts of the meal were the steak and crepe cake. Portion size was also a little skimpy, but it's par for the course in the Village