Dimes Times

Book excerpt: A practical guide to healthy cooking from the ultra-hip New York restaurant Dimes, described by New York Magazine as "1970s-era-whole-food-hippie chow for the jaded modern palate. Dimes, the Lower East Side restaurant from chef Alissa Wagner and designer Sabrina De Sousa, known for serving vibrant, healthy plates to an attractive clientele, is also a carefully designed brand providing more than just food to the artsy inhabitants of downtown New York City. The restaurant has expanded over the years to produce Dimes-branded merchandise, a food market, home goods and skincare, and now: the comprehensive debut cookbook of the Dimes all-encompassing brand. The restaurant has amassed a devout following of patrons who regularly visit the all-day cafe and bakery, and even refer to its location at the confluence of Canal, Essex and Division Street as "Dimes Square." This new book presents a whimsical collection of recipes, conveniently categorized by time of day: 8:00 AM DETERMINED, 10:33 AM EMO, NOON SENSITIVE, 3:00 PM ASPIRATIONAL, 4:00 PM CURIOUS, 4:20 PM FOUR TWENTY, 6:00 PM HOMESICK, 8:00 PM HONEYMOON, 10:00 PM COMMISERATE, and 11:00 PM AFTERHOURS. All recipes are derived from the Dimes menu, once described by the New York Times Style Magazine as "a useful time capsule of what and how people ate in 2010s New York City."