Vegan Barbecue Sandwich at Khyber Pass Pub

When I visited Khyber Pass Pub for a tasting of their preview menu prior to opening (Khyber Pass Pub has now been open in it's new, Southern food inspired reincarnation since November 2010), I lamented that there wasn't a vegetarian/vegan barbecue sandwich on the veg-friendly menu.

The owners and chef of Khyber Pass Pub rectified that situation very quickly — I believe I saw a tweeted picture of the vegan barbecue sandwich a few weeks or so after their opening — but it took me a little while longer to pay a return visit for some 'cue.

The vegan barbecue sandwich comes with a heapin' mound of soft seitan stands drenched with vinegar-tomato sauce, topped with sweet coleslaw, all on a soft, but substantial roll. This sandwich is a dripper, but, oh, so good. The barbecue sauce is extremely tangy, and a bit spicy, so it's hard to taste the coleslaw, especially since the neutral-flavored seitan doesn't counteract the vinegar in the sauce like pork would.

I was especially wooed by the side of vegan collards — perfectly braised with bits of garlic and celery cooked to sweet oblivion in a flavorful potlikker that would give traditional ham hock potlikkers a run for their money. Really, some of the best collards I've had in this town.I'll also recommend the big-ass Mason jar of Bourbon and lemonade, which I believe is called Louisville Lightning on the cocktail list. Makes me wish I were at a real barbecue, sitting outside soaking up the sun.

Khyber Pass Pub
56 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-5888
Bar: every day 11am-2am
Kitchen: every day 11am-1am

Kennett

It doesn't matter how lauded a chef is, or how loud the hype is surrounding the opening of a new restaurant, the way I decide if I'm going to check out a new restaurant is to look at the menu — and it better be available online!

So often it's the case that restaurants have one vegetarian appetizer and one vegetarian entree on their small and concentrated menus. Upon seeing that my dining choices are not a choice at all, I click the menu closed, and never think of the restaurant again.

Kennett, the new restaurant and bar that opened this past Saturday on 2nd St. in the previous home of Lyons Den in the Queen Village neighborhood, had me excitedly waiting for their opening because of their menu alone. The fact that the beautifully dark and casual upscale Kennett is a hop, skip, and jump from my home is also a perk.

Sure Kennett's vegetarian entree offerings of a veggie burger, risotto, and wood fired pizzas (pizzas aren't available just yet, but should be up and running in about two weeks) are pretty standard, but at least there are a few choices.

What really got me excited were their small plates.

With the exception of Brussels sprout and sunchoke with bacon, all of the small plates are vegetarian. The addition of pork to vegetables is a too-easy, flavor cop-out for uncreative chefs, in my opinion, and I hope Kennett continues showcasing vegetables' glory without the help of meat.

Kennett's small plates also show a bit of creativity, too. Roasted chickpeas in a yogurt sauce, braised butter beans on toast, red wine braised lentil salad, and roasted parsnips are a welcome sight to these arugula salad and french fry tired eyes.We were so happy to see a salad of kale chiffonade with candy-striped chioggia beets, roasted squash, and feta dressed in vinaigrette that we ordered two for the table. A perfect winter salad. We just love beets, so ordered the marinated beet and feta salad with dill, mint, chives, and parsley. Tangy vinegar and dill made these beets irresistible.Our server said to think of the roasted parsnips with Parmesan as french fries, but I need no convincing of this pale root's sweet roasted flavors. So simple, and so good.
A warm plate of roasted chickpeas in a mildly spiced paprika and citrus yogurt sauce was perfectly hardy and satisfying on a cold winter evening, and the sauce was plate-licking good. The house-made veggie burger of wheat berries, red beans, walnuts, and sunflower seeds has just enough spice to be interesting. The hefty patty is served on a toasted brioche bun with Thousand Island dressing, lettuce and thick-cut roasted red onions. A pickle and collards are included.

Those collards were the only thing I ate at Kennett that I did not like. Though they were cooked perfectly, they were braised with Bourbon, I believe, which added an additional bitterness to a green that can sometimes be bitter on it's own.A bit of a sticky toffee pudding fiend, I was not going to leave Kennett without their version of the British date cake covered with toffee sauce. Kennett's rendition gets a thumbs up and will be ordered again, but would get two thumbs up if they could make the by-no-means-dry cake even moister. I just like my sticky toffee pudding to be ooey-gooey.

I'll take this moment to comment on the professional, ever-smiling, and eager-to-please staff and front of the house at Kennett, because that's what they were, even on opening day.* All of our questions were answered, and our special requests were accommodated. And, in an overly generous gesture, we were offered on-the-house the other two desserts on the menu and a round of drinks when we waited a bit too long for the sticky toffee pudding, which was also comped.

I'll also take this moment to comment on the drinks at Kennett. They have 16 taps of mostly local and craft beers, and about an equal number of small and large bottle craft beers, as well as a thoughtful list of 25 wines by the glass. As a non-beer drinker, I'm always thrilled to see a good cocktail list, and Kennett has a great one — prohibition-themed cocktails developed by local bartender phenoms Phoebe Esmon and Christian Gaal. If you like ice cream, go for Kennett's bourbon and vanilla ice cream topped with dark chocolate almond bark. Although, I could not taste the bourbon, the vanilla ice cream was thick and rich.And if you like fruit or rich puddings, go for Kennett's honey drizzled parfait of raspberry jam with semolina and mascarpone pudding.

I am so, so, so happy to have Kennett as a new addition to my neighborhood. They blew me away with their simple yet creative vegetable small dishes, a great cocktail list, friendly staff, and comfortable but mature atmosphere. Except for the fact that I don't like collards that are bitter, there was not a single dish that did not impress me. And this was achieved on their opening night! Bravo.

*Did I mention that the staff of Kennett is friendly and eager to please? After I wrote up this post, I went back to take a picture of the outside of Kennett, and Kennett's managing partner, Johnny Della Polla (the same guy who stopped by our table at the beginning of the meal to make sure we were happy, and the same guy who comped us desserts and drinks), ran outside to introduce himself when he saw me taking pictures, even though he did not recognize me from the night before since I was bundled up in my coat and hat. Johnny then invited me inside Kennett for a little history lesson, where he proudly showed me the black and white photos of the Kennett family hanging on the barroom wall. I learned that the Kennett family ran the Kennett Cafe as a bar and restaurant from 1924-1986 — and even made moonshine in the basement in Prohibition days — at the same location that has once again been christened Kennett.

Kennett
848 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-687-1426

Kyber Pass Pub Preview

Walking into Kyber Pass Pub, I wondered if anything had changed. Same dim lighting, same bar, same tiled bar floor, same jukebox. Feels like the Kyber I know, a dingy Old City bar and music venue, except, peek into the adjoining room where bands used to play, and the stage is gone and candle lit tables fill the long, narrow room.

Starting today, the Khyber reopens as Khyber Pass Pub, a gastropub serving grub with a Southern bent. The pub will be serving food and drinks in soft-opening mode until the grand opening on November 18. Thanks to the fine folks at Khyber Pass Pub, I was treated to a preview of the menu, which you can peep here. The menu features a mash up of normal pub food (wings, burgers, fries, onion rings), Cajun (po-boys on imported Leidenheimer rolls, gumbo, and fried oysters), barbecue (North Carolina-style pulled pork and brisket sandwiches and platters with choice of Kansas City, South Carolina — holla! — and North Carolina-style barbecue sauces), and soul food (Memphis-style fried chicken, biscuits, and collards).

Vegan and vegetarian options are clearly marked on the menu. While the meat-eaters plow through bacon grease popcorn with Cajun seasoning and oyster po-boys, vegans can order their own non-porky Cajun seasoned popcorn and seitan po-boys. There were a lot of vegan and vegetarian options, but the following is all we could manage to put away in one evening.
Bright and thick vegan tomato bisque was actually a special of the day, conjuring up memories of dreary winter days, and would have perfectly paired with a grilled cheese sandwich.Thinly sliced fried green tomatoes were piping hot, perfectly breaded, and topped with a tangy and spicy remoulade. The best dish we sampled.
The grilled vegan sausage sandwich had a bit of pep from the roasted poblanos, red onions, pickles, creole mustard. The side of mac and cheese was bland and dry.The vegan fried seitan po-boy seemed so similar to the grilled vegan sausage sandwich, that I'd like to see one of the two omitted from the menu, and a barbecue pulled seitan sandwich on a soft roll make it onto the menu, since there currently isn't a vegetarian or vegan barbecue option.

The side of sweet potato fries were on par.
Bourbon, pecans, and red velvet were all over the dessert menu, but we only had room to split one, so went with the maple bourbon creme brulee. A thick, crackly sugar top gave way to a smooth, bourbon-heavy, but thin custard. The taste and texture was all there, just a little thickening was needed.

Obviously an initial run through of the menu with the staff, and a gracious preview for the guests, Khyber Pass Pub has some expected, initial-opening kinks to work out. I think the Khyber probably made a wise choice to keep the venue a bar, as they have such a loyal following — and apparently mostly men, 'cause it was one hot sausage fest up in there!

For those living on the northerly end of town, you'll be pleased to know that Khyber Pass Pub reads like a more spacious Royal Tavern, a sibling bar in South Philly . . . and that's not a bad thing.

Khyber Pass Pub
56 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-5888
Bar: every day 11am-2am
Kitchen: every day 11am-1am

Kraftwork

With the help of some friends, I worked my way around most of the vegetarian offerings of Fishtown's industrial beer den, Kraftwork, the new sister bar to Graduate Hospital's much-loved The Sidecar Bar and Grille. It's not hard to work your way around the menu, since it's on the small side, and even briefer if you cut out the meat.A huge bowl of thin-cut garlic and herb fries with mustard aioli were just the sort of thing to pair with a drink — try one of their 25 rotating beers on tap or one of their 6 specialty cocktails.

Ricotta dumplings covered with roasted red pepper harissa sauce were light with the first bite, then became a chore.

Squishy falafel balls brought down the lone veggie main. A side of sweet and wet apple and cabbage slaw was so large we suffered fatigue.

For brunch, there are no veggie meat substitutes, so you'll be paying full price for that egg and cheese biscuit minus the meat.

All of the dishes above were just fine, but nothing to write home about — or include a picture of. There is one item on the menu that I would like to write home about, though — the vegetable board.Kudos to Kraftwork for creatively and beautifully revamping the boring veggie humus plate into something wholly unrecognizable as such, and creating something simply delicious. If it weren't for this dish, I'd say skip Kraftwork if you're hungry, but I enjoyed the vegetable board so much I made a return visit.

Down the center of the board is a colorful line of seasonal vegetables (and perhaps not so seasonal, but who doesn't love a Brussels sprout or asparagus spear year round?) cooked until just tender, but still snappy, with nothing more than a little salt to bring out nature's flavors. Brussels sprouts, asparagus, beets, roasted red peppers, baby carrots, radishes, and green beans are represented. On a previous visit sweet corn payed a visit.

In the top right corner is a square of roasted eggplant and squash terrine topped with tomato sauce and tofu ricotta tasting like the healthiest cold lasagna you've ever eaten.
The nutty, white sesame puree is a tad salty, but is just right paired with the large wedges of olive oil and rosemary-brushed crispy flat bread.The piece de resistance is the slab of seared faux gras siting in the lower left corner. Faux gras! Did you catch that? Cute, huh?

Chickpeas, butter, garlic, and truffle oil go into the faux gras, and it is just about the tastiest chickpea puree I've ever had. My guess is that it's the butter that's so delicious, which brings us to a little problem . . .

If it weren't for the butter in the faux gras, vegans could go to town on the vegetable board, which, really, like a traditional hummus plate should have their name all over it. Maybe Kraftwork can whip up a tiny batch of vegan faux gras so as not to deny any diners, because this vegetable board is at the top of my list of best veggie humus plates ever.

Yes, I said ever.

Kraftwork
541 E. Girard Ave, Philadelphia. PA 19125
215-739-1700
Mon-Fri: noon-2am
Sat-Sun: 10:30am-2am, brunch 10:30-3pm

Swift Half Snacks

We recently stopped by Good Dog Bar's newer and more northerly sister, Swift Half Pub, located at Northern Liberties' Piazza at Schmidts to grab drinks and ended up noshing on some $3 bar snacks, as well.

I cannot compare Swift Half to Good Dog because I've only had drinks at Good Dog (can't eat Good Dog's famed blue cheese-stuffed beef burger, anyway), but I'm wishing I had done the same at Swift Half and stuck with the drinks.Of course, I ordered the deviled eggs. A plate of four arrived with a scary pool of water around the deviled yolks, which leads to questions of how the eggs were stored and/or prepared. I should have sent the dish back instead of letting them languish on the table, but I decided to eat the egg with no water only to find a bland filling.
Next up on the bar snack menu were the Yards Porter pumpernickel bread squares topped with a hefty plop of unnoteworthy spinach dip.
The fried sweet pickle chips were the best out of three bar snacks we ordered. Ultra crispy breading and sweet (not the usual dill) pickles are perfect for soaking up alcohol. The oddly translucent pink, thick, sweet and sour dipping sauce was, well, odd. I'd rather almost any dip — ketchup, mustard, aioli — than the pink glop provided.

Swift Half does have a good beer list and a fun little cocktail menu. Pair the drinks with the outdoor seating on the piazza right next to the oft Philly-sports-playing outdoor jumbo TV, and you've got a recipe for relaxed afternoon success. Or crowded mayhem. Thanks to an overcast day with off-and-on rain drizzle to keep the outdoor crowd at bay, we found success. Success with our drinks and relaxing, that is.

Swift Half Pub
1001 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-923-4600
Open daily 11:30am-2am; food til 1am

Cooperage

Back before Cooperage opened in April of this year, I was excited for the "gastropub meets Southern Soul" wine and whiskey bar, but was a little miffed at the first peek of the almost vegetarian-hostile Southern influenced menu. I bit my tongue and waited to see what developed from the Curtis Center's first floor bar and eatery. While not a vegetarian haven, the menu (a tad different than the online version) turned out to have a few items to choose from, although mostly in the bar snacks, sides and salad section.
While the interior is dark and modern, overall the feeling is of a chain restaurant or hotel restaurant (I'm sure I felt this way because the restaurant is in the interior of an office building and business types were happy hour-ing). Cooperage does try to bring the down home feeling with small touches like Mason drinking glasses and dish towel napkins.
What got me initially excited about Cooperage was the fact that they serve boiled peanuts. You won't find boiled peanuts on the menu, but take a seat at the U-shaped bar or one of the dining room tables and you'll be presented with a complimentary ramekin of hot, salty, boiled peanuts cleverly placed in a tub with room for discarding shells. Who gives you complimentary anything sitting at a bar anymore?!
My mint julep flavored with the fruit of the day (blueberry and peach on my visit) was strong and served in a silver cup (no silver straw, though) as juleps should be, but I'd skip the fruit flavors next time and just ask for a regular ol' julep.
Sit down for dinner and not only will you get complimentary boiled peanuts, but you'll get complimentary cornbread. The red chili flecked cornbread straddled the line between sweet cornbread (a no-no in the South) and non-sweet cornbread, but leaned more so to the traditional Southern non-sweet cornbread. A smart move on their part, because people around these parts just complain when there is no sugar in cornbread.
Hushpuppies with blueberry jam were up next. Now hushpuppies are savory bites of cornmeal batter usually studded with onions and sometimes other savories like green peppers, and often times fried in fish grease. I do appreciate the absence of fish grease since I don't eat fish, but was not happy with what seemed to be the exact same cornbread batter (minus the chilis) fried up with no savory seasonings. And the blueberry jam just took this dish farther into the land of sweetness. These are not hushpuppies.
The cobb salad comes topped with charred corn, pistachios, avocado, marinated jicama, tomatoes, and fried okra. A hearty, filling, interesting, but unrefined salad I could see many Curtis Center employees eating as a lunch entree from the small, to-go Cooperage Cafe located right next door to the restaurant. The only flaw: the okra was fried to an oblivion, so much so that the okra actually lost moisture and shrank.
The sweet potato tots were also fried to an oblivion. These are poor, dimly lit pictures, but in real life the grated sweet potato balls were also black. The grease also did not taste fresh. One bite and we just said no. The green tomato chutney was sweet and spiced like apple pie filling. Even if the sweet potato tots were edible, I'm just not sure about this dish. It's like someone said, "Hey, sweet potatoes and green tomatoes are cliche Southern ingredients, let's put them together somehow." Even if the tomatoes in the fried green tomato sandwich weren't fried to oblivion black in old grease, I don't think this sandwich with seasoned chips would be much to write home about. Some mayo, Burrata cheese, poorly cooked tomatoes, and lettuce on a hoagie roll that did not taste like it was from one of Philly's finest bakeries. It was a lot of bread and some poor fillings. Even though the tomatoes are red and the heritage is Italian, you'd find a finer fried tomato sandwich at Chickie's in South Philly.

Oh, Cooperage! You kinda made me sad with your Southern influenced offerings — at least the veggie offerings. You did make me very happy with the complimentary boiled peanuts, though. My suggestion: stop into Cooperage for a drink to discover just how good boiled peanuts are. Then carry on.

Cooperage
601 Walnut St., in Curtis Center building, Philadelphia, PA, 19106
215-225-COOP
Mon-Fri: 11:30am-10:30pm
Sat: 4pm-10pm
Sun: 4pm-9pm
Cafe hours: Mon-Fri, 7am-5pm

Making Paula Deen Proud

If you're ever in Asheville, NC, you have to (this is a command) hit up one of my favorite bars in the city, The Admiral, which is a casual, dark and dingy-looking bar that serves food more than a few notches above your regular grub pub fare. Reservations are recommended. Really.
With my last visit there was actually a vegetarian entree on their daily-changing menu, but this go round there was nothing besides salads and soups that were veg. Knowing that care, love, and yum goes into all of their food, I went with a plate of all the side for that evening perched atop one another — sprightly pickled fennel atop roasted baby carrots, smoked fingerling potatoes, lentils, and bathed-in-butter barley. Butter really does make everything better.
And there is no way I was not ordering the bread pudding made with, not day-old bread, but day-old Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Dessert is already a calorie and fat bomb, might as well do it up right and with no reservations.

The Admiral
400 Haywood Rd., Asheville, NC 28806

The P.O.P.E.

I like the P.O.P.E.

Everybody likes the P.O.P.E.

Not that aging Catholic with the tricked out ride, but The Pub On Passyunk East -- that divey bar with a great jukebox and good time vibes on E. Passyunk Ave. in South Philly.

Even though some kind reader suggested I eat at this bar a few years ago, I just never imagined the food would be stellar at a bar with stained couches. Drinks at the P.O.P.E? Hells yeah! Food? Um...

When I got word of a new consulting chef and menu featuring a few hearty veggie items, and saw a glorious picture of one of those new items -- a house made veggie burger -- given a nod by a guy I trust, I rethought dining at the P.O.P.E.I went with the seitan cheese steak, which comes with either fries or house salad. I ordered the salad, but received fries, and just decided to go with the flow. The fries were a little well done and cold by the time I got them, but the spicy aioli covers many flaws.

The peppery, grilled seitan and onions and your choice of cheese was perfectly flavored and generous, but the firm, whole wheat bun (kinda dark in the bar, but it looked like whole wheat) ruined the sandwich. The bun wasn't stale. It wasn't rustic. And it wasn't dense. It just managed to seem like all of those things without actually being any of those things. Change the bread out to a classic white bread Philly hoagie roll, and all will be good with the seitan cheese steak. Hard to believe, but the above veggie burger made with a kasha patty, your choice of cheese, red onions, deep fried tomato slice, and basil mayo is the same as the one in the picture that wooed me into dining at the P.O.P.E. She's really let herself go!

My partner ordered this burger (with house salad, as well, but you can see that those are fries), and after one bite thought something was odd. I took a bite, and instantly declared that the burger tasted like plastic. He took another bite, and confirmed. Don't know what happened here -- rancid oil, old cheese, bad burger, off mayo -- because the boy wouldn't let me investigate further with my taste buds, nor would he investigate further, but something was very wrong. This burger went uneaten.

And, yet, I still like the P.O.P.E....for drinks!

The Pub On Passyunk East
1501 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-755-5125
open for lunch at 11 am
full menu til 1 am
happy hour 4-6 pm

Local 44

How did a non-beer-drinker who rarely visits West Philly find themselves at Local 44, a West Philly neighborhood craft beer bar with eighteen beers on draft and two beers on cask? Chance. And I was in the mood for bar food.

Local 44 opened at the beginning of 2009 by the owner's of Memphis Taproom - another pub-grub establishment I've heard glowing things about (specifically their veggie menu options) but have yet to visit because it's not in my 'hood.

We visited on a weekend around lunchtime, and found the corner bar nearly empty and lonely feeling, but I've heard the joint is a mad house in the evenings. Since I wasn't there to drink beer - although their beer offerings did not go unsampled by my partner - I found the empty bar to be just what I was looking for.

Local 44's menu is small, but they have enough veggie options to make one's choosing difficult on the first visit: spinach croquettes with vegan garlic dill cream sauce; vegan frito pie; tofu tacos; oyster (mushroom) po' boy; veggie burger; and, of course, salads and fries.

Veggie burgers are usually what I order as a last resort at bars that have no other veggie options, but this day I was feelin' a veggie burger. Good thing we asked if the veggie burgers are housemade or frozen before ordering, because they're frozen at Local 44. Movin' on.Instead, I made the wiser choice by ordering the trio of tacos with breaded and fried tofu, cabbage and jicama slaw, and avocado pico on housemade corn tortillas topped with a spicy, smokey (chipotle?) sauce. The tofu had a nice thick, crispy breading that contrasted well with the soft tofu, and the avocado pico and smokey sauce lent the tacos a good punch of flavor. The slaw could have punched up the already great flavors if made with a heavier hand on the acid, but this is just nit-picking. I thought Local 44's tofu tacos were great, small bites of bold flavor, but they were just that - small bites. The trio of tacos alone is not going to fill you up if you're starving.What will fill you up is the mushroom po' boy with a side of hand cut fries. The mushroom po' boy consists of a roll filled with breaded and fried sliced mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and vegan remoulade, and is a great greasy sandwich to soak up beer. The filling to bread ratio was spot on, but there could have been more remoulade to lend more flavor. Be sure to ask for an extra side of sauce if you order this sandwich. I might even ask for the peppier sauce that comes with the tacos.

And the fries? Fries can be hit or miss on the same night at the same establishment, and this plate was a hit - not grease-logged!

Local 44 nixed dessert after hardly anyone ordered dessert when they first opened. But that's OK; I'd rather not have dessert than be served dessert that has languished for a week in the cooler. Local 44 is about the beer, after all. And some simple pub-grub.

So far so good on the veggie food front!

Local 44
4333 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-222-2337
11:30am-2am, everyday

Devil's Den

This past Friday evening we stopped by Devil's Den, a relatively new (within the last year) pub-n-grub on 11th St. in South Philly. I had no idea what to expect, since the reviews of the food have been mixed to poor.

We sat at the bar in the main room. A fireplace divides the smaller dining area from the spacious, but cozy, main bar area. Even with a fireplace, Devil's Den lacks personality; it's just a nondescript, but nice, bar. On the plus side, the bar was full on Friday evening, but not obnoxiously full like so many other popular bars -- no shouting required to hear the person next to you!I asked the bartender to make me a girly drink of his choice (I always draw a blank when ordering drinks). He indulged my annoying request without one bit of 'tude. The bartender was a pleasure all night long - taking time to go to the kitchen and find out about the special, and generally just being more than a bartender. Oh, he made me a Cosmo with strawberry and basil infused vodka. Very good! I had to restrain myself from having a third.
I had the Hot Brie baguette sandwich with Brie, grapes, sliced apples and pears, and honey mustard drizzle. With hot in the name I was expecting melted Brie, but the Brie was not melted. My sandwich was cold, which made the baguette a bit too much to chew. Halfway through the sandwich I figured out that eating it open faced was much easier.

The honey mustard was the only ingredient that added any real flavor or kick to the sandwich, but by drizzling the plate with mustard and then setting the sandwich on top, the eater ends up with mustard all over their hands when they pick up the sandwich. Design flaw! Put the mustard in the sandwich or in a ramekin!

The accompanying salad was nothing but undressed mixed greens, and went untouched. Gotta have dressing if I'm gonna eat a pile of lettuce! The couple of thinly sliced homemade bread and butter pickles were a pleasant teaser.My partner ordered the veggie Monte Cristo from the specials board. This is the first time I've seen a vegetarian Monte Cristo in a restaurant since I discovered what they were. The sandwich was a fluffy twist of bread and cheese that tasted, oddly, like pepperoni pizza. We couldn't figure out where the pepperoni flavor was coming from, since our vision was impaired by low lighting. Also, most Monte Cristo sandwiches come with either maple syrup or jam, but Devil's Den skipped the sweet element of the sandwich. Everyone has their own version, I guess.

The Monte Cristo came with a side salad of microgreens, shaved fennel and pine nuts. Again, I don't think the salad was dressed. If it was, it was dressed very lightly, but at least the pine nuts and fennel gave the salad flavor. A cup of creamy, chunky, onion soup also came with the sandwich.

In conclusion, the food at Devil's Den is neither here nor there, good nor bad. The Hot Brie was a simple sandwich I could see making for a picnic. The Monte Cristo was good, but disappointingly missing the key sweet element.

Devil's Den will do you right if you simply need to fill the belly while getting your drink on (they have a decent beer menu).

Devil's Den
1148 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-338-0855
Open daily, 11 a.m.-2 a.m; Sunday brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Abbaye

Somehow, my adventures on the veggie cheesesteak trail (see sidebar) got lost in the woods for the past seven months. But I recently laced up my wedge sandals and trekked up to The Abbaye in Northern Liberties to check out their gastropub grub, which just so happened to include a cheesesteak.
The Abbaye's seitan chees steak sandwich is filled with not-too-chewy, just-perfect, cubed seitan made in house, along with garlic aioli and Gruyere. The seitan was great, the garlic aioli was not garlicky, and the filling to bread ratio was way off. I ended up pushing the filling to one end of the sandwich and not eating the other half of the roll. I don't understand not filling a roll up. Fill 'er up and put some garlic in the sauce, and The Abbaye's cheesesteak sandwich would be my favorite cheesesteak as of yet.

I'm not a fry person (I prefer to save those calories for other things), but as far as skinny fries go, I had no complaints with The Abbaye's fries. They weren't nubbins, weren't floppy, weren't overly greasy. I ate a few, and called it good.
My partner ordered the seitan bbq plate, again, with seitan made in-house. I loved The Abbaye's bbq sauce - tart, tangy, slightly spicy, and not too sweet. The bbq sauce is like the best of tomato, mustard, and vinegar bbq sauces all in one.

The coleslaw is another story. See all those red specks in the slaw? How about all the pepper seeds? Click to enlarge if you must.

This was the spiciest, hottest coleslaw I've ever eaten. I like hot food, but coleslaw is not supposed to light a fire in your mouth; it's a cooling food. Underneath the hot pepper was what seemed like a pure vinegar base. The coleslaw went uneaten, except for the forkfuls we kept eating in pure disbelief that someone made coleslaw so spicy. I'm sure some will love this spicy rendition, but it should come with a warning.

The seitan bbq plate came with fries, and a few spears of asparagus that seemed like an afterthought, but we should all eat more asparagus.

On my next visit, here's what I would love: a half-sandwich filled -- filled -- with their awesome cheesesteak seitan, and another half-sandwich filled with their tangy bbq seitan. Oh, and a few asparagus spears on the side.

The Abbaye
637 N. 3rd. St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-627-6711