The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Customer Reviews

• 3 out of 5
  
  
  by Camille from Oakland, CA | Aug 5, 2007
  

  The Candle Cafe is known for its amazing cuisine, and I thought I would get a strong sense of that in their book. One on hand, I did -- there are a lot of food and meal options, all of which are exciting. That said, not only do I have a hard time recreating their flavors at home, their recipes require a lot of prep time. I was also disappointed by the number of entrees and main dishes that require maple syrup and sugar. I'm not a big fan of the "all American" food tradition of sweetening savory foods, and so it was hard to wrap my mouth around some of these meals. That said, their soups, appetizers, and dessert sections are amazing. To be honest, I'm more likely to stop by the restaurant than to try to capture their cooking.

  
  

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• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by Lisa from San Francisco, CA | May 13, 2007
  

  I’ve never made anything from this cookbook as I am not sufficiently motivated to tackle complex recipes. But I enjoy reading the book, and I can tell I’d enjoy much of the food. I haven’t visited New York since I was 19, which was before I was either vegetarian or vegan; there are so many vegan/vegetarian restaurants I want to dine at in New York city, and the Candle Café/Candle 79 are at the top of my list. I love having restaurant cookbooks: they give me access to dishes from restaurants I can’t get to, or in the event (which happens all too frequently) some of my favorite restaurants close. Even if I don’t actually make the food, I know that I have that option.
  
  

  
  

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• 5 out of 5
  
  
  by Czarina from Austin, TX | Jun 13, 2010
  

  Wow! Every recipe I made from this book was easy and delicious! This cookbook is a keeper.

  
  

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• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by Jennie from Jamaica Plain, MA | Jun 13, 2007
  

  I agree with Nate. The Candle Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in the world, but there is a reason I like to go there in person rather than try to recreate their cuisine at home. It is definitely time-consuming. That being said, I have learned a lot from this book and do use it as a reference as I cook 90% vegetarian at home and there is nothing better in vegetarian cooking than to have lots of tricks to make the cuisine more interesting!

  
  

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• 2 out of 5
  
  
  by Nate from New York, NY | Mar 14, 2007
  

  Candle 79 is probably the best restaurant (anywhere, ever), but the recipes are
  
  1) way too time-intensive;
  2) unreliable; and
  3) filled with annoying ingredients.
  
  There are a few amazing ones; the seitan steaks can't be beat. But most of it ... Don't pay $20 for 'stupid things to do with phyllo dough' or a tapenade recipe that could be condensed into 3 lines.

  
  

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