The Other Critics

‘Love For Vegan Cuisine and Delicious Eats’ Trumps Social Anxieties at Miss Rachel’s Pantry; White Dog Cafe Maintains ‘Pioneer Status’

• With the debut of a new veggie-focused feature this week, the good folks over at Phawker take a look at Miss Rachel’s Pantry. Social anxieties are trumped by a “mutual love for vegan cuisine and delicious eats” at the enormous Farmhouse Table where the four-course Saturday night dinners are served. Hearty seitan bolognese with tofu ricotta dumplings was “mind blowing,” potato and leek bisque was more like a “thick, creamy mashed potato dish in the best, most phenomenal, bowl scraping manner possible,” and a fluffy blueberry shortcake “closed the meal by magically satisfying the sweet tooth.” [Phawker]

• At University City’s White Dog Cafe, Brian Freedman reports that the farm-to-table, slow food trailblazer “maintains its pioneer status” and leaves guests feeling “socially responsible as well as sated.” “Cardamom-perfumed” beet and pomegranate puree accompanying the pan-roasted grouper came as “delicious surprise,” while a shareable charcuterie plate serves as a “harbinger of an exciting future” for the long-standing restaurant, and simultaneously shows just how “adept this kitchen is with meats.” [PW]

• Adam Erace says Blue Cat owners Luli Canuso and Guy Shapiro do “an impressive job replicating recipes from a melting pot of Latin cultures” at their Fairmount restaurant. The menu, he adds, is anything but “purely traditional.” Turkey albondigas (meatballs) are “tender,” grilled chipotle, orange and agave pork pinchons radiate “sweet, smoky heat,” and a “moist, featherweight” banana sponge cake was “the best” he’s ever eaten. [Citypaper]

‘Love For Vegan Cuisine and Delicious Eats’ Trumps Social Anxieties