Vedge
1221 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
I
could not have been more impressed with our first visit to Vedge. Years ago, I
wouldnt have dreamed of eating vegan food, but I was extremely excited to get
to try this place, and it lived up to the hype. Rich Landau and his wife Kate
Jacoby are knocking out some seriously tasty eats. When people tell you about
this place, they usually say you dont miss the meat, and they are right. The
flavors are so bold and the techniques are so spot on, that the vegetables eat
like a meal at any other restaurant would. Walking into the restaurant, I
assumed it would be small based on the look from the outside, but it's huge
inside.
From the moment we arrived, our service was stellar. Our bartender hooked me up with a happy hour drink special even after it ended, and our waitress was very knowledgeable about the food and extremely pleasant. She recommended several things and helped us know how much food to order. We ordered a share plate for the table of olives, shisito peppers, and celery root pickles, the white root pate and the portabella carpaccio, grilled seitan from the hot grill and wood grilled okra and mushroom fazzoletti from the dirt list.
I loved the olives and celery root pickles, but wasnt crazy about the peppers. I wish they had a bit of heat to them, but thats just me being me. The celery root pickles might have been the best pickled vegetable I have ever tasted. Thoroughly acidic, with a slight touch of heat at the tail end. Amazing. The white root pate was very interesting. Smearing it on the bread crisps provided with a small amount of the citrus and gingerbread crumbs made for a throughly complete dish. Tons of flavor and texture. Outstanding. The portabella carpaccio was nice, but it was a little underwhelming. It was seasoned nicely and a great idea, but I thought it fell kind of flat.
We thought the okra was impeccably prepared. Okra is so often misprepared leaving it slimy and very unappetizing, but this okra was nothing like that. The char it received from the grill gave it fantastic flavor. The lentils were cooked perfectly and the banana peppers served with the dish provided quite a wallop of heat. It was a fantastic dish that was very well balanced. The mushroom fazzoletti was very tasty as well. It could have been served as a pasta dish in many Italian restaurants in Philly without anyone noticing it was mushrooms.
The standout dishes of the night were the grilled seitan and the sticky toffee pudding. The grilled seitan ate like meat and had more flavor than I thought it would. We loved the combination of the za'atar and tahini underneath. I could have eaten that sauce on anything. The final taste of the evening, the sticky toffee pudding, was absolutely stellar. The brown sugar date cake was extremely moist and sweet without being overpowering. The ice cream was fantastic and I loved the smoked pecans on top. The smokiness really brought another element to the dish.
Four pints for Vedge. You will love this place. I dont care if you are a meat and potatoes kind of person. This restaurant will knock your socks off if you just give it a chance. Go in with an open mind and I promise it will be one of the most incredibly different experiences of your life. Cheers!
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