Vedge, a review

Remember when I said I was no Ruth Reichl? Don't worry, I haven't started suffering from any grand delusions. However, the meal I had on Saturday was too good not to tell you about!

Vedge is a vegan restaurant housed in one of Philadelphia's historic buildings and is evidently hot right now. I hear one of the chefs won one of the cooking reality competitions (not my bag), and it definitely took about a month to get a reservation that wasn't for 10PM. Personally, I'll admit that I was a little worried. I'm no stranger to vegan food, but I really did expect to have to suffer a bit and leave hungry.


wood grilled sweet potato paté, grain mustard, jerk cashews, toast

As soon as the smoky flavor of the sweet potato hit my tongue, I knew I was in good hands. Was that bacon? I mean I know it wasn't, but that rich hint of campfire could allow me to delude myself. I can't explain it, but combining all of these things on a wedge of toast was pretty damn fine. Like I could eat it every day fine.


fingerling fries, creamy worcestershire

When I worked at the bookstore, a few of us would go to the local Fridays after work for an adult beverage and orders of fries with honey mustard. I used to love those fries. On Saturday, I discovered the grown up, more sophisticated version of this fry combination. I have this tell when I eat something particularly special. It's really sort of embarrassing. My cheeks flush a brilliant red, and there is a small smile that I can't keep off of my face. Despite my best attempt at a poker face, the fries (above) elicited that stupid blush.


spicy grilled tofu, gochujang, edamame, smoked miso, yuba cracklin

What can I say, even the spicy tofu was pretty fantastic*.

The restaurant, itself, was straightforward, modern and comfortable. The waitstaff were friendly and efficient. I'm not even holding it against them that our neighbors received a complimentary amuse-bouche, while we did not. The bottom line is that Vedge excelled at pulling off creative flavor combinations that didn't taste anything other than plain delicious. Vegans and non-vegans alike should make sure not to miss out when traveling to Philadelphia.


*Dude, descriptors for food are hard.