vegan dinners in Philadelphia

Pre-cleanse, there I was in Philadelphia for conference, rooming with Martin and dining out with him. It was almost as if the cleanse had started early. Smack me if I run on too much about the cleanse, by the way. Anyway, two nights last week I enjoyed a couple of meals that I might aspire to while cooking at home. Give me some good produce and let me see what I can do.

Thursday night we dropped by a casual social for our fellow gays then headed over to Mi Lah. I found it through a quick Open Table search, and it turned out to be a good choice. When we arrived and were seated, and after I got back to the table from washing my hands, I found Martin chatting with the man at the next table. They'd crossed paths earlier that day at a conference session, it seems, and we ended up pushing tables together, enjoying food (until the guy, Jeff, left), and talking conference stuff. Good conversation throughout the evening. Oh, and BYO! Always a nice thing.

Mi Lah was interesting. The name suggested Asian cuisine, and the staff appeared to be Asian, too (Chinese? I regret not knowing better). The food, however, ranged about globally. There were a number of tasty-sounding options on the occasionally comically-spelled menu (cauliflower stake? dinner for Buffy?), and picking was not easy.

Appetizers: yucca tarts for Martin and sweet potato "pattie" for me. Substantial appetizers, and tasty.

Entrees: grilled seitan for Martin and African peanut stew for me. I couldn't finish the large portion, though it wasn't for lack of enjoyment.

We finished the wine, declined dessert, and headed back to the comfort of the hotel for a good night of sleep.

The next night was a more refined meal at a restaurant Martin had found out about, Horizons. We sat upstairs, Martin enjoyed a cocktail and I, a glass of wine. A tough menu - I wanted everything. Truly. Not a hint of meat or fish or cheese, but goodness it all sounded good. As much as I liked Mi Lah, Horizons was a better choice still.

Appetizers:
Martin's ramen bowl with grilled baby bok choy, pickled shiitakes, menma, pho broth.

My salt-roasted golden beets served chilled with smoked tofu, avocado, capers, house baked pumpernickel, cucumber dill sauce.

Entrees:
Martin's Pacific Rim grilled tofu with spicy gochujang, edamame pureé, royal trumpets, yu choy, smoked miso dashi.

My cauliflower and smoked eggplant braciole with roasted olives, english peas, grilled garbanzos, sicilian salsa verde.

Again we declined dessert, though given the sophistication of the two courses we ate, I am curious to know what the desserts would have been like. Perhaps another visit to Philadelphia. Contented, we enjoyed the cool night walk back to the hotel.