I may no longer be mostly vegan, but I definitely still enjoy a vegan meal. A few months ago I purchased a Groupon to V-Note, a vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side, so tonight I tried it out with Liz and Sarah, two NGI classmates.
V-Note had a pretty good entree selection, but there were a ton of delicious-sounding appetizers so we decided to just split a bunch. First up, a black-eyed pea cake:
Crispy Yukon gold potatoes and black-eyed peas with a chipotle aioli. This was actually our favorite dish of the evening; it had a good texture that was crispy on the outside and soft but not mushy on the inside. The aioli sauce really added a good punch, too.
We also had mushroom scallops with potato crisps:
Sauteed trumpet mushrooms served with cauliflower cashew puree and potato crisps, topped with onion raisin jam. I’ve mentioned many times before that I’m not a fan of mushrooms, but for a mushroom dish, this was actually quite good to me. The trumpets didn’t have a strong flavor, so the texture was the only fungus thing I had to contend with, and the sauce was more than good enough to make up for it. The potato crisps were interesting, too- like a thicker potato chip.
Next came the seitan schnitzel:
Breaded seitan medallions served with potato salad, cheddar crisp and blueberry reduction. These were decent, but nothing special. We all agreed that while the breading on the seitan was well done, the seitan itself was kind of dull and needed a marinate or some seasoning. The potato salad was excellent, though, with lots of dill and parsley.
I had the highest hopes for the roasted pumpkin & sweet potato gnocchi:
Hand-made sweet potato gnocchi over a bed of sauteed kale, golden beets in a sage cashew cream. I wanted to love this dish so much, but it kind of fell short. The gnocchi had a good texture but no identifiable pumpkin or potato taste, and they definitely needed more salt. I liked the sage cashew cream on its own, but with the slightly bland gnocchi it didn’t have enough punch. They were generous with the portion of kale though, which I liked- I’ve been slacking on my veggie eating lately and needed some greens.
To up the veg factor, we also had a side of grilled asparagus:
Good texture, but again, not enough salt. Our guess was that the restaurant is mindful of the salt they use because they want to keep things healthy, but one thing a lot of the chefs have drilled into us at school is that salt is necessary not to give a “salty” taste, but to bring out flavor. We thought all of the sub-par dishes could have been way better with a little more added.
Our meal ended on a good note, though: chocolate ganache cake with peanut butter center.
Oh yeah. Layers of a sweet cookie crust, a chocolate mousse type filling, peanut butter and a dense, fudgy chocolate frosting-type layer, all served with vanilla soy ice cream. So good.
All in all, we agreed that we’d give the restaurant a B grade. The food and service were good but not particularly memorable. If I came back it would probably be for lunch or brunch to try out the more casual menus!
What’s your take on salt in restaurant food? Do you expect it to be there, or do you appreciate when they use a minimal amount?
Once I learned about seasoning with salt at school, I always looked for it at restaurants. And now I can tell immedietly if a dish lacks salt.
You might be noticing the difference now that you’ve been in school for a while!
Salt is in almost all recipes for a reason - it’s necessary. As long as a dish isn’t overly salted (meaning, salt drowns out all other flavors), then I think it’s fine. My blood pressure is fine, and I have no reason to watch my salt intake, so I’m not too concerned.
I grew up on a diet very light in salt and have just adapted to that, so if something even has the slightest amount of salt I always feel like it too much. I bet I would have liked that restaurant for it’s low salt ideals. But alas, I think salt is necessary in some things to help bring out the flavors. It varies.
I guess I expect salt to be present and notable but not overpowering. It’s frustrating when a dish is noticeably under or over salted. Sure, it’s hard to find that perfect balance, but salt adds so much flavor!
Your meal looks tasty by the way! Peanut butter inside a ganache? Yummm.
“Do you expect it to be there, or do you appreciate when they use a minimal amount?” -
I expect it and do not enjoy it. I appreciate when they use a min amt but most restaurants seem to oversalt…everything. I use no added sodium/salt in my cooking b/c Im super sensitive to salt and so when I go out…it’s like a BLAST. I retain water for about a week and drink water like a camel to make up for it. lol
I expect a dish to be salted but I think they need to strike a balance so that it’s not too overpowering! I tend to eat quite little salt so if a dish is heavily salted, it’s very noticeable…and loses its appeal totally to the point I can’t even eat it!
That’s too bad that some of your dishes weren’t that great - but at least the dessert made up for it!
I definitely think a little salt is necessary to bring out the flavour - especially in vegetable dishes. I like it when my food is salted the right amount because it shows that the chef knows what he or she is doing!
At least the dessert didn’t need salt!
I believe that you can always add salt but u can’t take it away! I appreciate less saltier dishes so u can adjust to what u like
I definitely use a lot less salt than most when I am at home so my body can tell when I go out to eat and everything is a sodium bomb! I agree though - some salt IS necessary for good flavor.
i’m ALWAYS tempted to buy the v-note living social deal whenever i see it! i just feel like i would never have anyone to go with haha, glad you put it to good use lady!
I don’t know much about salt, but I do know that it is necessary in almost any given recipe, even if it’s just a pinch. But I used to be a server at UNO’s and they put a TON of salt in a lot of entrees. Sometimes, I would personally think it was too much, but a lot of the customers loved it. So I guess it’s all personal preference too, and what you’re accustomed to.
Usually, I don’t mind a lack of salt and while I do use salt when I cook, it is very rare for me to say that something is under salted.
I don’t know all that much about salt. I know that I don’t like a lot of it and if I eat something with a lot of it, my stomach hurts. I think salt should be in moderation.
Ahh that’s a shame about the salt, veg in particular really needs to have enough salt or the flavours just don’t come out!
The black-eyed pea cake looks tasty though, as does the dessert
I actually never notice if salt is there or not unless it is present in excess; i never add it myself so unless someone notes that its not on the table i dont even notice
Agreed re: V Note. It’s quite good, and not spectacular. I’d take Candle 79 or Blossom downtown anytime!
I too grew up on a diet fairly low in sodium and having lived in the former USSR now for several years where they over-salt everything, i suppose i kind of expect dishes to be salty now. Personally, i prefer less salt and in my personal cooking, i don’t use much, if at all, but I do agree that you need it to bring out the taste of certain foods.