Meal of a Lifetime: Vedge Restaurant, Philadelphia

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Two years ago, I ate at Horizons restaurant in Philadelphia, and blogged about my meal. It was exceptional, I said, and I looked forward to returning. When I moved to DC, it occurred to me that I would love to take a day trip to Philly for a second meal there. It was only then that I got the news that Horizons had closed, but that the owners—Kate Jacoby and Richard Landau—had opened a new restaurant, Vedge, on Locust Street. The restaurant was so called not only because it’s vegan, but also because they focus of the menu was primarily on vegetables, rather than on faux meats or imitations of traditional omni dishes.

I loved this idea. Though I do think that faux meats have an important place in the transition to veganism, and that they can be helpful in sticking with the lifestyle over time and sharing it with others, I also think that they are often far less wholesome, innovative, and impressive than exceptionally prepared vegetables, grains, and legumes. And while I know many longtime vegans who are devotees of faux meats, most of my omnivore friends actually prefer interesting vegetable dishes to imitation meat dishes when they flirt with vegan dining.

And so it was with high hopes that I waited for Vedge to open. A month or so ago, when JL blogged about her meal there, I knew I could wait no longer. I resolved to visit on my first non-exam weekend, and two days ago, I made good on that goal! I am so glad that I did: Vedge is incredible, and I can honestly say that my meal there was one of the more memorable I’ve ever had.

I had an added reason to visit Philly: my friend Sam lives there, and I’ve been eager to catch up with him since this crazy semester began. Sam, an omnivore, was totally open to vegan dining (I assured him that we could procure a late snack if he wasn’t full from dinner, though I was also totally confident that this would not be necessary).

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(Image source)

I’m not sure what he expected, but as soon as we walked into Vedge and were greeted by the elegant, warmly lit townhouse space, Sam noted that the restaurant was far more “sexy” than he expected from a vegan establishment. Though I assured him that vegans are the living, breathing embodiment of sex appeal, I also knew exactly what he meant: a lot of vegan restaurants feel casual, feature tiny tables in a tiny space, serve no alcohol, and smell a lot like wheatgrass. I personally love those places, but when it comes to showing my friends that vegan fine dining is just as “fine” as omni fine dining, I love restaurants like Vedge, Candle 79, or Pure Food and Wine, which are sleek, elegant, and upscale.

Vedge is sexy alright. The restaurant is laid out over several rooms in a gorgeously restored historic home (for some cool coverage of the restaurant’s construction, click here). Guests enter into the bar area, which is bright and energetic:

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(Image courtesy of the Vedge website)

There is a main dining room, a “vegetable bar” with high seating, a cocktail lounge, and a cozy “cove” dining room, which is the room we sat in. I love dining spaces that feel like home interiors, so the bookshelf detail and fireplace made me very, very happy.

We began with a glass of wine for me and a “kyoto sour” for Sam:

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Then we began the nearly impossible task of going over the menu, and deciding what we wanted to eat. Vedge is a “small plate” restaurant, and we were advised to get about three dishes each, with perhaps one “snack.” It’s very, very hard for me to do justice to this menu without showing it to you, so please, click here to see the wealth of options from which we had to choose.

It wasn’t easy, but we settled on the following:

  • “peel and eat” luppini beans as a starting snack
  • local spinach from the “dirt list” of daily vegetables
  • wood roasted sweet potato pate with grain mustard and baguette
  • roasted rutabaga salad with charred onion, farro, pistachio, and greens
  • golden beets, smoked tofu, avocado, capers, dill sauce, and pumpernickel
  • steak spice seared tofu with English peas and potato ratatouille
  • braciole with smoked eggplant and cauliflower, fresh garbanzos, olive, and salsa verde

I honestly could have eaten anything else on the menu happily (except perhaps the seitan, but only because I don’t really care for seitan). But I was thrilled with our selections.

When the peel and eat beans arrived, we peeled and ate dutifully, until we started to debate whether it might not be so bad to eat the skins? Surely I eat more fibrous things than that, I reasoned. I make crackers from my juice pulp, for Pete’s sake.

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So we ate them, and we were both fine. Proceed at your own risk. Either way, they were delicious—touched with sea salt and sauteed garlic.

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The spinach was also garlicky, but the garlic was cooked well, so I really enjoyed it. The spinach leaves were perfectly tender and fresh, and they hadn’t been cooked down so much that they’d lost their bright flavor.

Our sweet potato pate and rutabaga salad arrived next. I wouldn’t say that the rutabaga salad was my favorite dish, because it feels like an injustice to the braciole and everything else, but I will say that it’s the dish I would most want replicated for me right now if I had the choice. Me and greens: it’s a love story for the ages.

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And when greens are paired with sweet, slow roasted rutabaga slices and chewy farro, it’s hard not to understand why. This was a perfect salad.

The sweet potato pate was equally noteworthy: so smoky and sweet! With the mustard, it was totally irresistible, and I think Sam and I could have eaten a vat of it if we’d been allowed to. I plan on doing my best to replicate this for you guys (sorry for the pic—some of these came out blurry).

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Our next dish was the beets with smoked tofu and avocado. Over the course of the whole evening, this was the dish that reminded me most of my own cooking: simple, bright. The beets were wonderfully sweet, and the tofu had a very subtle and sophisticated smokiness. A lovely and refreshing course midway through.

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The pumpernickel toast was just the right bite.

More tofu arrived soon: our steak spice tofu with English peas and potato ratatouille. Though this wasn’t Sam’s favorite dish of the night (he liked it, but didn’t flip out) it was actually one of my favorites! I like tofu very much, but I almost always opt for tempeh in restaurants instead. It was nice to enjoy tofu for a change, especially since this piece was far more expertly prepared, tender, and flavorful than even the best restaurant tofu I’ve tried. It was perfectly cooked, salty but not too salty, and delicate. I enjoyed that the dish channeled the concept of steak, but gave it incredible, melt-in-your-mouth, lightness.

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And last, but certainly not least, was the astonishing braciole. This was an eggplant roll up (not totally unlike my rollatini) stuffed with cauliflower “rice” of sorts, all united with a rich, smoky flavor and served over chickpeas and salsa verde. Truly incredible stuff. We were both blown away.

My camera did not do it justice, so I’m using the restaurant’s shot:

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As we were eating, Sam noted that he does feel “different” when he has a vegan meal: lighter, more energized, yet not unsatisfied. I smiled to hear this: I love when people who are new to vegan dining make this observation. I’m used to the lucky mix of energy + comfortable fullness that comes from plant-based fare, but it’s a joy to watch someone else grow acquainted with it. And I was feeling very much the same way: totally satisfied, yet—thanks to the magic of vegetables and the smaller portion sizes—not at all stuffed.

Which was why we were both delighted to dig into the chocolate pot de crème with sea salt for dessert.

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As he took a bite, Sam said “this is as good as any pot de crème I’ve ever had, or better.” It was my first pot de crème, but I’m sure he was right. I cannot imagine surpassing this delicious, indulgent, rich treat.

Except, perhaps, with the five ice cream and sorbets that Kate Jacoby kindly sent us! What a treat:

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The sorbet was a rich, vibrant citrus (I forget which kind); the ice cream flavors were chocolate chili, pineapple with lime, “Manhattan” (like the cocktail), and saffron. The saffron was most innovative, but the spicy chocolate was absolutely my favorite. I loved the combination of warming spice + cool ice cream!

After dinner, Sam and I retreated to the lounge for drinks, where we reflected on the good food, among other things. I finished my wine (I almost never drink, so a glass of wine can take me hours!) and we admired the cool windows in this stately room, which feels like somebody’s “study”:

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As well as the chandelier, made of spoons:

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I’ve had the pleasure of a great many exceptional vegan dining experiences. Millennium, Candle 79, Pure, Portobello last summer—you guys have read about the highlights! This dinner easily ranks alongside the five or six best restaurant dining experiences of my life as a vegan, and probably my life as a whole. It’s a big statement, I know, but what is even bigger is that Sam—who had never eaten at a vegan restaurant before—echoed it exactly. I know that vegan food is amazing; Sam didn’t. For him to call it one of the best meals in his recent memory was quite a big deal, and I think it’s a testament to the wonderful chefs, owners, and staff at Vedge. They are not only pleasing their loyal vegan diners, but also introducing eaters of all inclinations to the beauty and power of plant-based food.

Thank you to Kate and the Vedge team for such an exceptional dinner. I hope to return soon and try everything else. Readers, take note: Vedge is definitely worth a Philly pilgrimage! I hope you have a chance to experience it soon yourselves.

And with that note, it’s back to the usual grind I go. I’ll have some of my own, humble food for you tomorrow!

xo

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    27 Comments
  1. I’m so glad you had such a phenomenal meal, and got to practice some culinary activism! My boyfriend often says that he hates the heavy feeling he gets after he eats meat. He hasn’t stopped eating it yet, but acknowledging is (hopefully) the first step!

  2. So glad you made it to Vedge! It’s my new favorite restaurant ever, actually. I think you need to go back and get the dishes that my friends and I die over – this ridiculous braised kale souffle, bahn mi sliders, and the best dessert on the planet, the sticky toffee pudding.

  3. If just one, just one, of these dishes showed up at a restaurant in Canberra, oh I would proclaim it to the heavens! I can’t understand why Canberra is so lacking in vegetarian and vegan restaurants (we have none, except for two cheap faux-meat vegan places) when Australia has such gorgeous produce and Canberra is such a highly-educated area full of well-paid public servants. Mope mope mope! At least I can wait for your recipes to recreate 🙂 And wow! You even had dessert! 😛

  4. Thanks so much for the tip. I’m heading there from DC for my birthday in a few weeks!

  5. We are fortunate to live in the Philly burbs. My husband and I took a rare night out recently and dined at Vedge. It was one of the best meals we’ve ever had. Art in my mouth! So glad to hear you liked it as I’d love to see it live long and prosper!

  6. So happy for you that you got such a nurturing, fulfilling break! Especially sweet that your friend enjoyed it too.

  7. I stumbled across Vedge online a while back and bookmarked it in case we ever get around to visiting Philly. After reading this, it sounds like we need to make that visit a priority! Thanks for the review. 🙂

  8. Hi Gena,

    That sounds AMAZING. Don’t know when I’d ever make it to Philly, but we need to push for a place like that in MN. Or anywhere in the midwest…

    Anyway, I was curious about your views on drinking. I remember reading some time ago here that you did not drink, and now you do. Just curious, as someone who loves drinking but struggles to do it in moderation.

  9. I wish there was a restaurant like this closer to me! I first became vegetarian primarily because I hated meat, so I can’t stand faux meat either. It’s hard enough for me to find vegan food at restaurants, but when I do it’s usually some kind of faux meat or uses a lot of avocado and eggplant, both of which I can’t stand. So it’s nice to see a menu with tons of things to choose from, even for this picky vegan.

  10. So glad that you were happy with your meal there! I am lucky to have Vedge a few minutes away from me and try to dine there at least every week. With the rotating dirt list and seasonal changes, there is always something new and wonderful to try. As much as I loved Horizons, I find the smaller portion sizes at Vedge allow me to try more things, and the sophistication and focus of the plates has grown significantly. And the inviting interior and atmosphere is unlike any other vegan restaurant that I’ve visited. It’s so incredibly charming. Rich and Kate have nailed it!

  11. Philadelphia is my home town, and I periodically return to visit relatives and friends. I’ve been to many vegetarian restaurants, but next time we’re there, I will definitely head to Vedge. It sounds like exactly the kind of restaurant I long for. (I’ve dined at Horizons when it was in Willow Grove, and it was amazing.) Thanks for such a wonderful review.

  12. Ah this place looks stunning, Gena! If I ever have a reason to be in D.C…my brother is in Baltimore and they do have some fun veggie restaurants…have you ever made it there or are your studies too consuming?

  13. Wow, I am drooling. Philly here I come! Thanks for the recap and all the mouthwatering pics and descriptions. And glad you had a chance to relax a little bit before getting back to the grind.

  14. I’m so glad you had an amazing experience and loved it! It’s truly on my top 5 list of best meals ever! I’m looking forward to a return visit!

  15. Hi Gena,
    Like yourself, I am a post-bacc premed student and a vegan, and am very proud to say that I live a block away from Vedge.
    I eagerly awaited its arrival this summer making sure to walk by ever other day to monitor its progress : )
    As much as a post-bacc’s schedule is jam-packed with classes, studying, and volunteering, I try to treat myself at least once a week to meeting a friend at Vedge for happy hour or an impromtu dinner when a table miraculously opens up! Their Happy Hour menu is perfectly priced for a student on a tight budget. I don’t know anywhere else one can get such a good quality glass of cabernet for $5!
    The food is delic, the atmosphere swanky yet welcoming, and the people that work there are awesome.
    It is such a treat and I am so grateful that I can consider it a part of my neighborhood.
    I am so glad that you enjoyed your experience at Vedge as much as you did. Rich and Kate are an awesome duo.
    ~Veronique
    P.S: Am actually very excited to be meeting a friend for happy hour there tomorrow evening after class!

  16. Amazing…I’ll add it to my list. Thank you for sharing the details or your evening, you made it all sound extremely enticing.

  17. I love it when meals measure up and leave you with that omgthatwasamazing feeling…and it carries with you for a very long time, years in fact.

    I have had a few meals like that in my life and will always remember those experiences. One was at the Bellagio and one was in Aruba. And when I am back in those places, I always go back to those restaurants for old times sake 🙂

    What a testament to the chefs’ skills and so happy you had this meal, Gena! I love dining experiences like that…I mean, it’s.the.best.

  18. what a timely post! im going to philly in may and i JUST sent my parents an email with vedge and blackbird pizzeria as musts.

  19. For the beans (I grew up eating them, they are a perfect drinking snack btw), you can just take a nip out of the skin then pop them out. So much easier than peeling!

    Your meal looks amazing, totally jealous!