The Buzz: Vee Vee

Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It’s too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

Folks in Jamaica Plain are pretty excited about Vee Vee, the new bistro on Centre Street (it’s located in the old Cha Fahn space). There sure seems to be a lot to like: the pedigree is great (owner Dan Valachovic comes from neighborhood favorite Zon’s), it’s reasonably priced (appetizers go for $6-10 and entrees will run you $14-20), vegetarian-friendly (always an important consideration in JP), and the menu is widely appealing (we’re particularly intrigued by the wild mushroom pate and the linguine with goat cheese, caramelized onions, and walnuts…and the cornmeal-crusted skate wing…and the stuffed Delicata squash…okay, really the whole menu). The buzz so far is quiet but positive. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The Good: Chowhound gourmaniac stopped by Vee Vee on its first night and had plenty of nice things to say: “The food is very good with moderate portions and prices. … The cited food [two apps, two entrees, and one dessert] plus two glasses of Prosecco and an Oregon white beer and tip came to $90. All in all, Vee Vee is the kind of place I’ve always wanted to have within walking distance after a long, too-tired-to-cook day.” ‘Hound BarmyFotheringayPhipps seems hopeful as well: “There is not a single thing on that sample menu that I wouldn’t eat, and at popular prices. Good graphic design, too. I am intrigued.” Blogger D-in-Beantown also stopped by on the first night: “I had linguini, with goat cheeze, onions and pine nuts. It’s perfect when the pasta craving can’t be tamed. So much for dieting. They decorated in brick and shale colors, and it still had the feeling of the tiny little tea house. Dinner was good, staff was kind and relaxed, and the wine was delicate and perfect.”

The Slightly Less Good: Per gourmaniac’s report, the shrimp and scallop fritters are, in fact, one fritter and the beets in the beet salad “could have been roasted longer.” These are clearly small issues. To our mind, the larger issue is that some folks might take a while to warm up to Vee Vee as Cha Fahn was such a favorite of many. We suspect, however, that Vee Vee is going to become an important part of the JP dining scene.

The Punny: From the inevitable DailyCandy writeup: “So, ur BFF wants u & the S.O. to take the T to J.P. for some V.V. Np, right?” We must say that here at MenuPages, the city editors typically communicate via instant messenger. As you might imagine, abbreviations abound. Recently, without thinking about it, we’ve begun to say “NP” out loud whenever someone thanks us. It is very embarrassing. In further pun news, the major Chowhound thread on Vee Vee is entitled “Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP”. Shockingly, no one has yet said anything like “I’m v.v. excited about Vee Vee.”

Vee Vee [Official Site]
Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP [Chowhound]
Notes from a Stroll Tonight [D-in-Beantown]
Cha Fahn is Now VeeVee (in JP) [Chowhound]
Short and Sweet [Daily Candy]

The Buzz: Vee Vee