Mondays are the perfect night to visit Dovetail in NYC.
Chef/Owner John Fraser has carved a meatless Monday niche for vegetarians and those who are kosher like me.
Options are plentiful and preparations are elegantly plated in this contemporary dining room with a casual but grown up vibe. No need to settle for just any ol’ salad or vegetable laden pasta here.
The Monday night vegetarian menu is prix fixe at $46. which includes three generous courses and dessert. There are three options in each of these categories and a list of eight desserts made by pastry chef Michal Selkowitz.
If you relish great vegetarian preparations that celebrate the bounty of each season, plan ahead in order to reserve your Monday night table. I waited two weeks for a res at a decent dinner hour.
We were three diners but one opted out of the veg menu. M and I are the kosher keepers who keep the rules by eating veg when away from our kosher kitchen. We loved the enticing options on this sophisticated menu and dug in with gusto.

We opted for Long Island squash soup (vegan) which was sunny with orange veg and tangy with apple shavings. The kale was quickly sauteed in a hot pan and provided an unexpected and delicious crunch in each spoonful.

I loved the turnip ceviche and thought it was the most creative use of ingredients of the offerings. Pert, raw turnips in a traditional lime bath were nestled in a plate of quinoa with bits of habeneros. The heat of the peppers against the chill of the turnips was delicious and pleasantly yin/yang.

Crispy cauliflower was a winner, though, with its crunchy, jerk spiced florets providing a perfect counterpoint to a simple poached egg.
We were stuffed but pressed on to our third course. Swiss chard filled ravioli were delicate and bright with preserved lemon and thyme. The pasta was perfectly al dente and punctuated with sweet bites of petite cipollini onions.
Dessert seemed unthinkable after this marathon but you know what happened when it is “included”. We chose the apple pie profiteroles (there is always one in the crowd that can’t resist anything apple), lemon yogurt panna cotta, and chocolate bread pudding.
The chocolate bread pudding was the exact opposite with extra heat infusing the warm oozing chocolate layers with the addition of cayenne seasoned marshmallows.
It is well worth planning ahead to secure your Monday night reservation. Dovetail provides a varied, seasonal, innovative menu for anyone seeking non-meat options.


What a beautiful presentation full of color and texture! Wish we lived closer to taste…
Swiss chard ravioli looks awesome!
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