Veg Review
http://www.horizonsphiladelphia.com/
Horizons Valentine 9 Course Menu Tasting
This Valentine's day Horizons decided to offer a $65 per person 9 course menu tasting event. Because it boasts a completely vegan food and wine/beer menu, I took this as an opportunity to give the cozy looking restaurant a try. The menu was set up by main ingredient(as listed below), and small portions of each dish were sent out. I had an excellent time, and although the bill was rather large after drinks, I definitely recommend Horizons for those special vegan occasions.
Amuse bouche
Smoked Eggplant Crostini; This little delight, while not incredibly appealing to the eye, was an absolutely cravable spread, my other half said it was the best smoked food he has had since he had stopped eating smoked cheddar (which was quite a while ago). I happen to like smoked foods, and this little bite was no let down.
Cauliflower
Saffron puree & crushed with fennel confit; Being that this was my firs experience with saffron, I was absolutely impressed with this first dish. The puree had an almost soup-like texture that was reminiscent of butternut squash. Very delicious.
Greens
Creamed basil baked tomato, grilled zucchini and sweet pea broth; The highlight of this dish was the creamed basil, almost having a pesto-like taste.
Potatoes
Crispy with seaweed caviar and chive cream, baked wedge and salad; I am a potato lover, and for this dish a baked wedge sat next to a small serving of potato salad with a crisp on top, and a dollop of chive cream and caviar. The most impressive part of this dish was the chive a caviar flavors, absolutely delicious, and the caviar was very much like the real thing. Although the potato salad did not impress me, I enjoyed the dish very much.
Salad
Arugula Caesar and roasted romaine with a caper stuffed piquillo; Very delicious dressing on the lettuce, and the roasted romaine hid what it was very well, although we did not taste the capers.
Mushrooms
Maitake risotto hearts of palm stuffed with a truffle portabella broth; My favorite dish (aside from dessert) all night. The truffle broth was mouth watering, along with the delectable maitake risotto. I would eat this dish every day if I could.
Tofu
Macademia nut encrusted, smoked lomi salad, lemongrass corn sauce; While this was my partners favorite dish, it was one of my least. As any tofu can be, I found this to be a bit bland, and I did not like the warm tofu and corn sauce mixed with the cold lomi salad. I ended up giving him my portion, so I suppose to each their own!
Seitan
French dip over sweet onion red wine sauce, roasted shallot and baby carrots; This was another dish I would love to have on a regular basis. The small sandwich partially drenched in the onion sauce was a complete comfort food, and the finale in the procession of great entree bites.
Berries
Raspberry sorbet, fresh strawberries, cherry coulis; A yummy treat, especially for those of us missing the taste of cream atop a nice sorbet. Very nice vegan option indeed.
Chocolate
Bittersweet mousse, shaved white chocolate, and amocha sugar cookie; What better way to end an evening than with a good glass of vegan red wine and some amazingly decadent bittersweet chocolate. The mouse was very firm, and rolled into a white chocolate covered ball atop the chewy sugar cookie which was atop some more mouse and some melted chocolate. The chewiness of the cookie made it difficult to eat with a spoon, but the hard work was definately worth it.
All in all...
this was the best Vegan outing I have had to date in the city of Philadelphia. The service was very good, and friendly,we were hardly ever without a plate of food. The portions were perfect,I left feeling content and not overstuffed. The atmosphere is fun and romantic without feeling too fancy. Overall Horizons seems to be a great place for a nice romantic dinner for two and could be a great place to go out and celebrate a special occasion with friends.
