While a typical discussion of South Philly cuisine may not go far beyond a plate of red-sauced pasta or a cheesesteak at Pat's, that will change if Michael Luongo has anything to say about it. The executive chef at Vesuvio was brought in by the ownership to aid the three-year-old restaurant's transition to a more continental menu.
This shift from a traditional Italian menu was the result of Luongo's realization, "We can please more people with a more diverse menu." A crucial part of this mission is Vesuvio's addition of a full vegetarian menu alongside its standard menu.
"There are a lot of restaurants that think of vegetarians a certain way," Luongo notes in reference to establishments that rarely have more vegetarian options than salad and pasta. "We have a lot of vegetarians in house, and we respect their wishes," he says, which includes having separate kitchen space for preparing vegetarian and vegan meals.
In a sampling of some items that will soon be on the expanded vegetarian menu, begin your meal with vegan crispy tofu and wild mushroom skewers ($6), which truly come alive when mixed with the surprisingly flavorful and mildly spicy root vegetable slaw.
A must-try is the celery root soup ($8). While the celery receives top billing, the velvety soup's poached pears steal the show. Along with just enough of a taste of pine nuts to let you know they're there, the soup's pleasant aftertaste creeps onto the back of your tongue, the perfect comfort food on a brisk winter night, or anytime at all.
A bruschetta ($8) is emblematic of Vesuvio's balancing act in its attempt to maintain the Italian character of the restaurant while appealing to more diverse tastes. Rather than the usual bread base, the dish is successfully reinvented with a warm, crisp polenta topped with cooled eggplant caponata, feta cheese, and a balsamic reduction.
The most ambitious dish, certainly in presentation and arguably in ingredients, is the rigatoni timbale ($15). While the artichoke and spinach alfredo topping the upright circle of rigatoni renders the pasta a tad gummy, the complement of the grilled squash offsets this minor inconvenience and allows you to focus on the decadent sauce. To round the presentation out, fried basil leaves and a parmesan crisp add to the gorgeous array of springtime flavors.
In a night full of bull's-eyes, the one dish we found that falls short of the mark was the stuffed Swiss chard ($15). The bitter taste of the leafy green has a veritable bar-room brawl with the pomegranate red wine reduction on your tastebuds. While the flavors of both are great on their own, their combination overwhelms the shitake mushroom, white bean and basmati rice filling.
Redemption comes quickly, however, in the form of dessert. Lightly fried cheesecake, a vegan brownie sundae and white chocolate bread pudding ($8 each) all warrant saving a little room for.
In addition to its vegetarian selections, Vesuvio offers an equally diverse standard menu, featuring highlights such as a mouthwatering filet mignon with a 72-hour red wine demi-glaze ($25). If you don't feel like eating in the elegant upstairs dining room, a bar downstairs also serves sandwiches and other lighter fare (though only for your wallet, not your tastebuds). On Friday and Saturday nights, the upstairs becomes a bar and dance floor, with the menu available until 1 a.m. With the restaurant also able to accommodate private functions, Vesuvio has something for your next fraternity date party, a romantic dinner for two or just a place to enjoy a gourmet take on bar food while you dance your Friday night away.
