Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby opened Vedge in 2011 in a handsome rowhouse on Locust Street and have been making the case ever since that vegetables, cooked with classical French technique and treated as the point rather than the accompaniment, can sustain a serious fine dining restaurant. The case has been well received: Vedge appears regularly on national best-of lists and has influenced vegetable-focused cooking across the country.
The menu changes constantly, but the philosophy is fixed: no meat analogues, no fake cheese, no apology. Rutabaga fondue, mushroom carpaccio, celery root in hay ash — the dishes are built on technique that happens to use vegetables rather than protein. The dirty toast, a thick slice of bread spread with mushroom mousse and topped with something rich and unexpected, is a permanent fixture and worth ordering whenever it's available. The wine list is excellent and the cocktail program is thoughtful. The restaurant has no strict dress code but feels celebratory enough that most people dress accordingly. Book well in advance.