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"Let Me Tell You" is a series of columns from our expert editors about NYC living, including the best things to do, where to eat and drink, and what to see at the theater. They publish each Tuesday so you’re hearing from us each week. Last month, Senior News Editor Anna Rahmanan tried some of the weirdest wellness treatments in NYC and wrote about them all.
I’ve reached a limit with all the themed immersive experiences, odd culinary pairings and weird wellness treatments in NYC. I long for the return of a traditional restaurant meal, a straightforward movie screening, a one-dimensional art exhibit and a simple massage so, when I first heard about a mushroom-only restaurant in New York, thought it was another gimmick. Despite that, I decided to see it for myself—after all, I have a love for fungi and I am devoted to all things new given my job as a news editor.
Opened earlier this year by owner Ravi DeRossi of uber-successful Overthrow Hospitality alongside chef Juan Pajarito, Third Kingdom, a reference to the fungi kingdom, occupies a pretty nondescript storefront at 21 East 7th Street in the East Village.
The vegan restaurant falls squarely into the realm of off-the-beaten-path destinations that business owners think New Yorkers want to visit—and is perfect social media fodder. Just think about it: could you really scroll past a video of innovative mushroom-only dishes in NYC? That’s what I thought.
And so there I was on a recent Sunday night, entering fungi-land alongside my shroom-loving husband.
Mushrooms are everywhere at Third Kingdom: the space actually feels like the inside of a fungus—all dark and brown and full of images of toadstools from across the world. The experience made one thing clear: there is no such thing as too many mushrooms.
The menu is a relatively simple one: there are about 10 dishes on offer, each one using mushrooms as its centerpiece, cooked differently each time.
Although a bit too spicy for my simple palate, the ramen certainly showcases the creativity of chef Pajarito: the crunchy, fried enoki complements the house-made noodles and sesame coconut broth nicely. The blue oyster, the restaurant's version of a steak, also delivers: the button mushroom puree is incredibly tasty, especially next to a deliciously prepared celery root and fennel concoction.
The mushroom dumplings are, on the other hand, a more traditional dish and a great choice for patrons yearning for a classic order, although it is the vegan raviolo—a single (rather large) fried mushroom on a bed of green sauce—that steals the show, perhaps one of the best vegan dishes in New York.
A word about the dessert, a rosemary-and-mushroom ice cream that’s heavy on the former and is served alongside a chocolate lava cake: when, at the beginning of your meal, the waiter asks you whether you’d like to order it given that it takes almost 30 minutes to prepare, say “yes.”
The idea that fungi could be considered as routinely satisfying as, say, a piece of beef, is the exact core of Third Kingdom’s proposition.
“Vegetables have always been an afterthought, something we thought we had to eat in order to get the proper nutrients we need to live a healthier life, not something that can taste so profoundly amazing that they can alter the course of one’s culinary journey,” owner DeRossi writes to me. “It’s like this: if I were an artist and just invented oil paint and canvas today the art world would go crazy with delight. Vegetables can be the oil paint and canvas of today.”
Perhaps not as culture-altering as the invention of oil paint, Third Kingdom certainly does seem to ride on the wave of sustainability that has come to define many local enterprises.
"Mushrooms are the most sustainable product on the planet," says DeRossi. "You can grow more products in the least amount of space with the least amount of energy and water than anything else. Mushrooms are the future of dining in a world where our natural resources are running out and becoming very expensive."
What's more, the eatery shies away from vegan versions of non-vegan dishes (there is not much fake cheese here), clearly utilizing the versatility of the mushroom as the main focus of the menu.
Although I do wish the eatery’s drink menu included cocktails (only beer and wine are on offer), perhaps fungi-leaning ones could showcase a New York City bartender’s inventiveness.
Third Kingdom did deliver despite its at-first gimmicky premise. Turns out, not all unconventional gastronomic offerings should be passed over with an eye-roll.