The very first cookbook review we did for Our Hen House was Vedge, 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby of Vedge, A Vegetable Restaurant in Philadelphia, PA.  As we started reading the book to review it, we knew we would have to make it to Vedge to try these dishes as prepared by Rich and Kate.  Well, it took us many months to get there, but this year for Ethan’s birthday we went to Vedge.  It took us way too long to finally make the trip, but it was so worth the wait. From start to finish, the entire experience of dining at Vedge was wonderful.

As soon as we arrived at Vedge, we were greeted and shown immediately to our table. This is always a plus. When dining out, it is very frustrating to show up at restaurant at the time of your reservation and be told, “your table is not ready yet. You can wait at the bar.” So right from the start, we knew Vedge was customer service oriented.  As soon as we were seated, our server, Shea, introduced herself to us and explained that the menu is broken into 4 sections: For the Table (pick 3 items out of 6), The Vedge Bar, Hot Plates and The Dirt List with the idea being that each person orders 3 or 4 items.  That was perfect for us as we wanted to sample as much as we could.

L to R: U-Peel Lupini Beans, Curry Pickled Cauliflower, and Zuccini “verder Caliente” Pickles

While deciding what to order for our main meal, we ordered three items from the “For the Table” section of the menu and cocktails.  We chose the U-Peel Lupini Beans, Zucchini “Verde Caliente” Pickles, and Curry Pickled Cauliflower.  They arrived beautfully arranged in a 3 section dish. Shea explained that we were supposed to peel the beans to eat them. As they were small, this was a slight challenge, but we found that biting into them allowed the bean to pop out of the shell. The beans were lightly seasoned with Piri-Piri, a type of chili so they had a little heat, but nothing overwhelming. Just a nice warm finish. The zucchini pickles were a wonderful mix of sweet and sour.  The zucchini was crisp and juicy with the brine having permiated completely. The cauliflower was cripsy and crunchy with just a hint of acid to give it some zing. The curry was very mild and not overpowering. This was a great way to start the meal. As soon as our plates were cleared, we were presented with a treat from the kitchen: chilled lemongrass corn soup. It was cool and refreshing. Perfect after the heat of the starters.  The soup was a nice balance of bright from the lemongrass and sweet from the corn. The flavors all worked very well together. As for cocktails, I went with the Botticelli and mix of Hendricks, Averna, Aperol, fennel, and strawberry-oolong shrub. It was slightly sweet, slightly bitter and completely delicious. Ethan opted for the Pomegranite Sangria which was one of the recipes we tried as part of our book review. It definitely packs a punch.

Roasted Rutabaga Salad

From the “Vedge Bar” section, we chose the Heirloom Tomatoes and the Roasted Rutabaga Salad.  The tomatoes came with whipped basil, grilled bread, smoked olives, and black salt.  The tomatoes were juicy and nicely salted. The whipped basil was a creamy spread on the bread with the perfect amount of basil in it. Any more would be overpowering and less would have left the dish lacking. The dish was a nice balance of textures and tastes: sweet and salty, creamy and crispy, juicy and crunchy.  The rutabagas came as thin slices topped with greens and slices of grilled shiitakes, sprinkled with charred onions and pieces of pistachio. Like the tomatoes, the rutabaga was a fantastic mix of textures and flavors. The shiitakes gave the salad a richness that was balanced by the sweetness of the onions. The golden rutabagas were lightly sweet with an slightly earthy flavor and the roasting gave them a little crispness on the edge while remaining tender in the center.

Our “Hot Plate” selections were the Grilled Seitan and the Fresh Hearts of Palm Tart. Both were exquisite.  The seitan was lightly charred and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. It was served with swiss chard and pickled turnips on a bed of whipped tahini. I have never had seitan so perfectly prepared. The seitan was

Grilled Seitan

slightly crisp on the outside and soft, tender and juicy inside. Any omnivore would happily devour this dish. The hearts of palm tart was a pastry shell filled with large chunks of hearts of palm in a creamy saffron sauce topped with “old bay fries” with a side of squash gazpacho.  The tart itself was amazing, rich and hearty.  The fries were thin crispy fried potato straws and the gazpacho was a nice mix of diced squash and baby corn.  I was grateful that we were sharing as I could not imagine missing out on either of these.  Although, it if I had to have only one, the winner would be the seitan.

Summer Squash and Corn

For our “Dirt List” choices we actually picked 3 items.  We knew we loved the Fingerling Fries and Brussels Sprouts already.  Listen to our podcast review of the cookbook to hear about them.  They are fantastic and staples on our table when we have company over.  The potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft inside, tossed in a creamy Worcestershire sauce.  The sprouts are shaved thin, seared and tossed with a creamy mustard sauce.  Even though we have had these in our house, there is something special about having them prepared by the person who created the recipe.  We chose the Summer Squash and Corn as our third item,  grilled slices of squash topped with fresh sweet corn kernels.  It was a great mix of sweet and smoky.

With the main meal out of the way, it was time to sample some desserts.  Although I was disappointed that the chocolate beignets weren’t on the menu this evening, I was also happy. If they were there, I know I would have ordered them, despite having made them a number of times.  For desserts we chose the Yuzu Cornbread and Sweet Potato Arancini.  As it was Ethan’s birthday, the kitchen sent us a bonus third dessert, the Chocolate Uber Chunk.  The cornbread was a generous slice of dense cornbread served atop a luscious miso frosting and topped with fresh blackberries and pickled pineapple ice cream. The cornbread was a little dry, but paired nicely with the frosting and ice cream.  The miso frosting was delicious – simultaneously sweet and savory. The ice cream

Yuzu Cornbread

helped bring all the flavors together.   The sweet potato arancini were two small rice balls filled a sweet potato puree and served with lime sorbet and pho spiced orange segments.  Ethan described it as, “bizarre and delightful.”  The arancini are sweet, crispy and moist and pair wonderfully with the lime and orange.  Ethan was on his own for the chocolate uber chunk as it contains peanuts and I am allergic to them. This dish was a malt custard topped with a pretzel-peanut crust and filled with chocolate chips, stout ice cream topped with pretzel-peanut crust and piece of a peanut-chocolate confection. As the combination of chocolate and peanut butter is one of Ethan’s favorite things, he was very happy to have this all to himself.  Ethan took Shea’s advice and had a glass of port to accompany the chocolate uber chunk.

Start to finish, our meal was spectacular. The preparation and presentation of the food is flawless.  The combination of flavors is genius.  The service is amazingly attentive, friendly and solicitous without being intrusive.  If you are anywhere near Philadelphia, PA, or can get there, do yourself a favor and go to Vegde for dinner. Bring your omnivore friends too and let them experience what a vegetable restaurant is like.  We definitely won’t be waiting long to make another visit.

Vedge
1221 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-320-7500

Hearts of Palm Tart

Heirloom Tomatoes

Chocolate Uber Chunk