Review of Cauliflower tempura, steamed buns & house pickles at Nix by lox

Nix is the only Michelin starred vegetarian restaurant in New York. As such, I had high expectations for my lunch tasting menu. The 'walk around the garden' meal set, at least when I had it in spring 2018, was a five course meal. 35 dollars for tandoor bread and three dips (hummus, eggplant, avocado mint and ginger); White asparagus soup; Broccoli-artichoke dumplings; cauliflower tempura; and a chocolaty desert. I requested that my meal be made vegan and, as indicated by the menu, the restaurant was indeed amenable to veganizing most of its vegetarian dishes. The meal fell a little flat for me, although most of what I ate was decent. The cauliflower was definitely a highlight as was the vegan mayonnaise that accompanied the dish. Nix, however, represents an incarnated fear that I tend to see exhibited in explicitly vegetarian/vegan restaurants - a sterile, prophylactic approach to food that has little resonance with the complexity and richness of flavor seen in 'naturally occurring ' vegetarian cuisines. If you're in search of a fine dining vegetarian or vegan experience you may be better off going to an omnivorous institution and eating whatever options they have there.