On our first day to Philadelphia, I wanted to surprise Jodi by making a reservation at Vedge, a vegan restaurant where Chefs Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby crafted a plant based menu that, even for a non-vegetarian, is mouth watering. I love this kind of place: located in a townhouse, you get the impression you are dining at a friend’s place, except for the bill that comes at the end…The service was very good, courteous and diligent as you would expect in a place like this, and I was surprised by the popularity of this restaurant that was packed for a Wednesday evening. The menu was split in three sections: the Vedge bar (small plates), the grille (I guess some elements of each item is cooked on their grill) and the dirt list. Of course, at the end of dessert, not displayed at that time, maybe so diners would not pace themselves to make sure they could get one.

The bar is interesting too: they have a bunch of drinks with interesting names like the “How did you get this number” that is the cocktail I ordered, made with rye, chartreuse, sherry and cynar (nice but strong), or “who’s Brian?”, that is the mocktail made with hibiscus, chamomile, cardamom and citrus that Jodi ordered.

We decided to start with three small plates, not being able to choose between few of them. The first one was the tomato tartare that was served with a nori (seaweed) toast and grilled sweet baby gem lettuce that were on top of a sauce that I believe was made with avocado. It looked beautiful and was quite refreshing, the highlight of the dish being the grilled lettuce in fact. The tartare itself could have been more flavorful, maybe with some herbs and acidity. Still, it was a surprising dish.

The second dish was stuffed avocado. Made with almond romesco, pickled cauliflower, crispy rice and black salt. This was superb! Flavorful, I loved the pairing of the avocado and pickled cauliflower: the creaminess of the avocado countering the acidity of the pickled cauliflower.

The last appetizer was the rutabaga fondue. It was served with a pretzel bread and some pickled vegetables. I was surprised about the creaminess of the rutabaga that was delicious with either bread or vegetables. Know in fact that if you are gluten free, they can replace the pretzel bread by veggies.

For the entrees, Jodi went for their Ssamjang grilled tofu that was pretty good, the tofu, that I believe was store bought, was nicely caramelized and had a delicious char from the grill. It was definitely not bland.

I tried the tofu after my own dish, that I could not not try and was very spicy. So, I cannot even tell if the tofu was spicy or not! Jodi did the same. That dish was the Dan Dan Noodles that is my go to choice when going to Hao Noodle in New York City. I was curious to see how they would make it without pork and was not surprised to see that they used mushroom. But, besides the name, spiciness and noodles, the similarities with the original stopped there. It was made with sesame, red chili and black vinegar glazed trumpet mushrooms. Creamy, it was very spicy, with some earthiness from the mushrooms. Although my mouth was on fire, I kept going at it! Definitely a good interpretation of a wonderful Chinese specialty.

Last was dessert that we accompanied with a peppermint tea.

Peppermint tea at Vedge in Philadelphia, PA

There were few choices that made us hesitate, but we finally settled for the chocolate pot de creme that was topped with white chocolate and a white chocolate bark, as well as candied clementine. What an amazing dessert! Not too sweet, it was surprisingly light, although not as airy as a chocolate mousse, and still very chocolatey. The white chocolate bark had this saltiness that enhanced the taste of the chocolate. I could not even believe this was vegan!

Chocolate pot de creme at Vedge in Philadelphia, PA

This was a great way to end an amazing meal. Vedge is quite a unique experience that can satisfy not just vegans and vegetarians, but also non vegetarians. The menu, that does not try to mimic meat (that is probably key), is mouth watering and the dishes not only tasty but also beautifully presented. I definitely recommend it!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Vedge - 1221 Locust street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Jean-Philippe Gerbi