Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP
Vee Vee opened last night and it’s a nice addition to the Centre Street restaurant scene. I’ve never been to a restaurant’s first night and I imagine it can be fraught with mishap. Last night went as well as one could hope with a nice neighborhood laid-back feel. Kristen and Dan have redone the old Cha Fahn space with vermillion and charcoal and it’s sleek without being austere. We ate at the small bar at the front of the restaurant (presided over by Billy). There are also about 10-15 tables, feeling cozy but not crowded. The food is very good with moderate portions and prices. While not vegetarian, there’s mostly seafood and veggie options on the small menu (5 appetizers, 5 entrees) and the menu will be seasonal with some of the produce coming from Stillman Farms. We started with 6 Duxbury oysters which were yummy. My wife had the skate wing with sunchoke puree and braised cippollini onions and I had two appetizers: the shrimp and scallop fritters and a roasted beet, shaved fennel and goat cheese salad with gorgonzola croutons. The skate wing was cornmeal crusted with a gentle fry and tasty but the onions were the standout for her dish. My fritter (only one large one) was tasty and accompanied by micro-greens with a lemon vinaigrette. Salad was also good but the beets could have been roasted a tad longer. We closed the meal with a carrot cupcake with pralines and a taste of a pecorino white wine that we did not know courtesy of our gracious hosts. The wine list is interesting and a little risky in that it offers some good value wines but mostly unknowns. Nice to learn something new, but most people are insecure in choosing wine while dining (me included) and it’s safer to have a couple of the usual suspects for choices. The cited food 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.
gourmaniac
Feb 06, 2008 06:44AM
Thank you for your review. I walked by last night thinking of going in (I've never been to a restaurant's first night, either), but my dining companion didn't want to do it. I live about 2 blocks away, so I'm sure I will be there soon. Dan was associated with Zon's, and that bodes well for VeeVee.
Permalink | Reply
Can't wait to try this place - I adore sunchokes.
Sad to hear Cha Fahn is gone. I never got to try the food there.
Permalink | Reply
The food was always wonderful and unusual at Cha Fahn.
Permalink | Reply
Thought about a new post but i like my original title too much. We returned last night to Vee Vee and thoroughly enjoyed it again. We had the oysters again and tried the pastas this time. My wife had the fettucine with clams, bacon and broccoli rabe while I had the linguine with walnuts, blue cheese, carmelized onions and pancetta (a free option that I heartily recommend). The clams were fresh, a clean essence of the sea and the other ingredients complemented their sweetness. My linguine was delightful, rich without being excessive and a nice melding of excellent ingredients. For dessert, we had the expresso creme brulee with candied orange zest. Once again the flavors harmonized well. After two visits i would say that the food is honest with a respect for good ingredients. It isn't over the top can't- find -anywhere-else cooking (think O-Ya) but it is very good. When there are so many places that frankly serve 'dishonest' food to tourists or business account types, it's a pleasure to have this place in our neighborhood.
Permalink | Reply
I ate at Vee Vee this week, lured by the owners' past ties to Zon's, a favorite of mine in JP. I won't be going back. When you have Zon's, Cafe D, and 10 Tables, Vee Vee's prices are a bit high for the quality of the food they serve, as well as for the neighborhood. The bill for 2 (wine by the glass, apps, entrees and tip) came to $100. I find that a bit steep for an average mid-week meal in JP.
The shrimp/scallop app was very good and the standout of our visit. The romaine salad was not--it had large chunks of the inedible root-area of the lettuce and was scant on the toppings, while being overwhelming in the citrus category.
The skate entree was overdone--cooked to the point of oblivion. The quinoa pancake entree was very good, but at $16 for quinoa, it's not worth the ticket price.
I did like the room in orange and black hues. The bench seating, while adorned with pillows, was uncomfortable. The night we visited, I found it extremely distracting, not to mention annoying, that they had staged some kind of photo shoot during dinner service. The repeated flashes were intrusive, and no one stopped by to let us know what was going on or ask our permission to be included in candid shots of the dining room. The room itself was dimly lit for dinner, so this extended and repeated flashing was quite irritating.
I wouldn't be surprised if they recalibrate to a more neighborhood-friendly menu and price range.
Permalink | Reply
Sorry you're experience wasn't better. We have enjoyed it three times now and the skatewing dish was quite good the night we had it (opening night). i liked it better than the shrimp scallop fritter. We've also spent a bit less per visit and thought that it was good value. Checked over your previous posts and tend to agree with your assessments of other places including Ten Tables, CafeD and Zons. Perhaps you hit Vee Vee on a bad night. Recalibrating is an idea but i think we have enough places like Costellos and James' Gate and was happy with something in between pub food and Ten Tables. We're happy to have them in the neighborhood. Now we need a couple of decent Chinese and Italian places that we can walk to.
Permalink | Reply
I would LOVE a great Italian place in the neighborhood! I have often wondered how we got such an array of Cuban, Thai, Indian, etc, yet no pasta joints...
Permalink | Reply
We ate at Vee Vee last night after not being able to get a reservation for Ten Tables. After reading mixed reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed the cornmeal crusted skate wing with sunchoke puree and the cod served over wheatberries (though, the skate wing was definitely the favorite). Service was friendly and prompt and we liked the atmopshere. With 2 glasses of wine, 2 entrees and tip, the bill came to $60, which while not a bargin was reasonable for "date night".
Permalink | Reply
I was there last weekend and my group really liked it:
-very nice service. Not flawless, but well-meaning and happy to please.
-A great local beer selection, and the wine list looked interesting too.
-Great appetizers -- we tried 3... the squash soup, the scallop and shrimp fritter, and the beet salad. All were very tasty and I thought were a good value. The fritter was our favorite, and the beets were great but I wanted a bit more fennel in the mix. We sent back the squash soup as it was not hot enough at first -- and they remade it rather than microwaving the bowl. I really liked the flavor of the soup.
For mains, we had the skate, the cod, and the vegetarian pasta. Pasta and skate were quite good. The skate was not at all overdone when we ordered it. I wish I could say the same for the cod -- it was a nice piece of fish, but overcooked for my taste. When I ordered, I had thought about whether to ask for it on the underdone side, but decided not to bother. Next time I go, I'll make sure to let them know how I like it. the cod was also paired with a mushroom ragout and on a bed of wheatberries, and overall it lacked moisture. But had nice flavor.
I was talking with the owner after our meal and she said that they had gotten some comments that the cod was underdone, so she thinks the chef has started to cook it longer. So, if you like your fish less done, you may want to speak up in advance.
Permalink | Reply
Glad that the last two posters liked this place. We are working our way through the menu and n our third visit (a couple of weeks ago) I had the cod and my wife had the squash soup and raw oysters. The cod was a highlight that night, flavorful and perfectly cooked (perhaps predating the overcooking issues). A chocolate roulade that we shared was just OK. Our best dessert so far was an espresso creme brulee with candied orange zest. The short wine list has been interesting so far with the winner for me being a Sicilian red.
Permalink | Reply
Yes, that creme brulee rocked.
Permalink | Reply