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I generally avoid having friends who are vegetarians. Also people who don’t drink or cringe when I yell obscenities in public. I don’t like to be put in a box and deprived of things. I am here to say Nix put me in a vegetarian box and didn’t deprive me of one thing.
Nix is a new vegetarian restaurant in Greenwich Village that comes from John Fraser. He is the Michelin award-winning chef behind the acclaimed Narcissa in the Standard Hotel. The space itself is comfortable and doesn’t suffer from being over decorated. At the front of the long narrow dining room you will find a marble bar and at the back, a semi open kitchen. The ceiling and brick walls are white washed and brown leather booths run the length of the room. It is casual enough for a relaxed dinner but would also suit for a special occasion.
Often when I dine in a vegetarian restaurant I leave not feeling satiated. Like sex without an orgasm, if you will. The focus of any vegetarian menu (I would assume) is to make dishes so heavenly that you don’t miss the meat. Fraser executes that perfectly. For starters, the basis of the dishes span the globe. We went from the Mediterranean, to China, and then Italy. It was exciting to see dishes from around the world with so much depth and freshness of ingredients. We started with grilled bread hot from the oven and an assortment of some of the best spreads I’ve ever encountered. I was skeptical of the avocado a la plancha. It looked like burnt avocados swimming in water. Wrong, so wrong. I don’t know what they do with this dish, but just trust me and eat it. It was fresh, acidic, and fatty. The cacio e pepe was sinfully creamy with a sharp bite and rich roasted mushrooms. They also have a playful version of steamy bao buns that come with sweet and sticky cauliflower. I definitely finished with an orgasm. Here’s what we had:
Tandoor bread w/ Spreads - House hummus, zaatar / Labneh & marinated cucumbers / Avocado, mint & curry
Ribbons of jicama with fresno chili & blood oranges
Avocado a la plancha, tomato water, mozzarella
Shiitake “cacio e pepe” with salsify & heirloom polenta
Brown rice stir-fry with snap peas, spring ramps & tofu
Cauliflower tempura and steamed buns, house pickles
Roasted pineapple with hazelnuts
