Dirt Candy is a restaurant that has become famous over the course of the past decade on New York’s Lower East Side for making eggplant tiramisu, rosemary cotton candy, and tomato fruit leather. But its chef Amanda Cohen makes one thing very clear—it’s not about vegetarianism or health or politics. It’s just about making vegetables taste really good.

On this episode, we talk to Amanda about what’s changed over the years—especially as Dirt Candy has rolled out their tasting menu full of tricks, surprises, and, yes, even table-side flames. We also talked about the changing landscape of restaurant review coverage, and why restaurant critics in 2018 have a responsibility to tell a story that goes beyond the food.

Later on the episode, we ask Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman about her go-to dessert to bring to parties.

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