Adam Erace Goes Crush-Heavy for Veggies at Vedge

Adam Erace sings the praises of Rich Landau's Vedge, noting that it's not so much a great vegan restaurant, as it is just a great restaurant, period. While Landau's Horizons was also a vegan restaurant, the focus was on proteins, and not veggies, so don't think this is a redux of their previous success on South Street.

"The larger focus at Vedge is vegetables, beautiful vegetables, from the humblest rutabaga to the fanciest radish. Find the former roasted and sliced thin as carpaccio, an earthy-sweet place mat for Dijon vinaigrette-dressed designer greens, pistachios and chewy farro. The latter appeared in a dish called, fittingly enough, "Fancy Radishes," comprising no less than five heirloom firecrackers, some as dark as ink (Spanish black), others pink as punch (watermelon). "

Not too many complaints here, and a nod to the beauty of the previous restaurant, the architecturally inimitable Deux Cheminées, litter Erace's litany of love. You should go.

Our friend and yours Phyllis Stein-Novack heads to the Italian Market to Al Zaytouna, with nothing but good things to say about her Mediterranean meal. Her apparently unadventurous dining companion Sandy experiences her first chopped salad and hummus. No, really. Novack goes on to praise the low prices and serious portions, and name-checking that delicious hummus at least four times.

Since the platters were so generous, much of our dinners were carefully packed to go. The hummus was placed into a heavy, plastic container and served as a tasty lunch with the kofta, chicken and salads.

Look out Zahav, they're coming for you. Ok, not really.

THE BLOGS: Bridges, Burgers, and Beer hits up Dim Sum Garden for the steam buns, but finds a long lost love in Sheng Jian Bao, a crispier, fried version of their soupy cousins, Fidel Gastro heads to the Big Ass Beer Fest, drank a lot and took pictures of a Pauly D geek doppelganger, Holly More gives five big 'ol grease stains for the amazing goods at Federal Donuts. Good work this week, guys.