We should feel privileged to be living in Boston, a city known for its long history, though perhaps not as much for its history in the culinary arts. Few may be aware of the fact that the first culinary school was founded in Boston, counting Fannie Farmer (of the cookbook fame) as one of its first pupils. Also, Harvard was the site of the first ever keg stand in 1834 by John Adams II (son of John Quincy Adams)*. And finally, Boston has America’s oldest German restaurant, Jacob Wirth, in the Theatre District, which has been around since 1868.

Being that Jacob Wirth is quite proximal to my workplace, I would often frequent it to watch UEFA Champions League games as well as Euro 2008 and World Cup matches. This year was particularly special for early morning World Cup matches, as Jacob Wirth would offer a free breakfast – basically eggs, homefries and bacon.  And all you had to do was minimum order a two dollar crappy cup of coffee (or beer, if you were so inclined at 9 AM).  However, for a vegetarian there are quite a few options if you were to order off the menu.

As soon as you sit down at Jacob Wirth, you are offered cornbread and butter, which is actually superior to cornbread available at more traditionally Southern restaurants in Boston. And it goes very well with their house brewed root beer (they have many house brewed alcoholic beers also, but I was going back to work, so I tee-totaled). However, it was a little to cakey and sweet for my liking, but I don’t think of cornbread when I think Germans (I think pretzels, though I must admit, I don’t often think of “Germans”).

While German food is notoriously sausage-based, Jacob Wirth provides many a sandwich option for the vegetarian. There is a delicious Caprese sandwich, as well as the veggie Reuben, which I had to order (it being a German restaurant and all) with sweet potato fries. By syllogism, I was eating the oldest veggie Reuben in America, which is ironic since the last meat dish I ate intentionally was a Reuben. I did like this veggie Reuben, though they used a Gardenburger patty, and it was not dissimilar from the veggie Reuben at Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge. However, the Russian dressing was provided separately instead of on top. I initially didn’t care for that, as I do not care for table assembly of dishes (including sandwiches with dipping sauce). But I did shortly appreciate the fact that I didn’t have Russian dressing dripping all over my hands, which was part of the reason I stopped eating the original disgusting meat Reuben those many years ago.

Jacob Wirth, considering it represents a culture not well known for catering to vegetarians is a testament to successful restauranteering. I can’t even think of another restaurant that has been around 50 years, let alone 140. And considering there are abundant vegetarian options, and all the food is made fresh and in house, there must be some example to glean from how Jacob Wirth’s is run.  I would like to believe that catering to dietary minorities such as vegetarians is one such example.  For that, and so many more, I give Jacob Wirth four and a half cheese sandwich. I would give it five if it could recreate the sausage experience for vegetarians, as I have recently been enamored with vegetarian sausage. And since it can be done well, I say go for it and create that German dining experience for vegetarians!

*Probably not true, but tell your friends as if it were.

Jacob Wirth
31 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116, United States
(617) 338-8586

When I was in High School, I took a statistics class that was very poorly taught by a Ms. Kiley. Since I was a smart-alec senior, I would give her a very hard time, as did a fellow classmate named Griff Van Meter. While I would disrupt class asking pointed, yet completely irrelevant questions, Griff would just hit on Ms. Kiley and fluster her. After a few months of that nonsense, and Ms. Kiley refusing to acknowledge my existence, I eventually dropped that class. That was the last I saw or heard of Griff Van Meter. His name reappeared when I discovered that he was one of the people responsible for reopening Stella’s Deli as Stella’s Kentucky Deli, a café destination for locavores (eaters of locally grown food).

The story behind Stella’s Kentucky Deli is actually quite interesting, as it was founded as a function of Griff just needing a place to stay. The ethos of Stella’s is serving local farm food, a necessary cause in this current agricultural climate. Perhaps if more restaurants emphasize locavorism, this will smooth the transition for farmers from tobacco farming to crop farming. On top of this, while many locavore establishments I have seen in Boston charge exorbitant amounts for the right to have locally grown food, Stella’s prices are cheap, even by Kentucky standards.

There are vegetarian options at Stella’s, including various sandwiches: apple and blue cheese, house-made pimento cheese, and a grilled veggie sandwich, just to name a few. I was torn between the vegetarian hot brown and the lentil burger, and decided to go with the veggie burger, since it was cheaper ($6.25). Using that extra money, I got a house-made soda. My soda was supposed to be jalapeno flavored, but ended up being a rose-pomegranate syrup. I corrected the waitress, and realized I probably should have gone with the rose-pomegranate, as the sweetness of the rose complemented the soda, while the spicy sweet jalapeno syrup just tasted bizarre.

When the lentil burger arrived, I was initially concerned that it was going to be very dry and flavorless, and was amazed when I took my first bite by the juiciness of the lentil patty. It was a little spicy, though packed with flavor. It went really well with rose soda until I made the mistake of switching to jalapeno. The chips seemed like standard Ruffles potato chips, so I won’t comment too much on that.

Stella’s Kentucky Deli is actually everything that I wish restaurants would be – veggie friendly, made from fresh locally grown food, and cheap. It appears that Griff and I share the same values, much as we shared the same disdain for Ms. Kiley’s statistics class. As a result, I will give Stella’s Kentucky Deli five cheese sandwiches, mostly out of principle that more restaurants in Kentucky should emphasize locavorism.

Stella’s Kentucky Deli
143 Jefferson Street
Lexington, KY 40508 
(859) 255-3354

I feel I should admit that many times I am mentally formulating a review of a restaurant before even eating there (I can already tell you I will not enjoy my meal at K-O Prime). Irish pubs traditionally have very little on the menu that is vegetarian friendly (perhaps vegetarianism is anti-Catholic?), which is why I usually avoid eating at Irish pubs. Once I discovered that Phoenix Landing was an Irish pub, I immediately presumed that I wouldn’t be able to get anything there. So, on my first excursion there, I ended up getting a soup and an appetizer, as I didn’t see anything obviously vegetarian on the menu. It wasn’t until I went to the Phoenix Landing website to double-check the menu did I realize that they had both a grilled cheese club as well as a Portobello sandwich. Thus, my menu choices may seem strange, as this review encompasses two trips to Phoenix Landing.

On the first trip, I couldn’t find anything vegetarian (due to my blinding hatred of Irish restaurants*), so I ended up ordering the hummus plate and a cup of cream of Portobello soup (which was a special that day). The hummus plate was quite tasty and was a combination of veggies and pita chips served with: red pepper hummus, artichoke pesto, and olive tapenade. I must say that this plate was pretty special, as most hummus plates are just celery and carrots (maybe broccoli), but this really ran the gamut of vegetable options including: zucchini, squash, red peppers, as well as the standard carrots and celery. Also, the dips weren’t too salty or oily (as is often a concern when dealing with tapenades, pestoes, and hummuses). So, I would definitely rate it as a great appetizer for a summer day.

The soup was tasty, though I didn’t really detect that many Portobello mushrooms in it (it seemed laded with white mushrooms), but it was a special, so I can’t speak to much about it (specials are typically hit or miss, as the chef is either trying to repackage leftover food, or they are trying out a great new idea for a menu item).

My redemption trip to Phoenix Landing after I discovered that they do have veggie sandwiches that seem interesting (Guiness-marinated Portobello sandwich?!), but I actually became intrigued by another special – veggie burger sliders. I’ve loved the concept of sliders (little mini-burgers) ever since I first went to a White Castle at the age of six. And these veggie sliders were fantastic. Served on a brioche bun with mozzarella and a pesto-mayo, it was an interesting combination of caprese and veggie burger. The fries were a little undersalted, but I’m sure my doctor is fine with that at this point. I believe that the veggie burger sliders are a great new option to add to the menu of Phoenix Landing permanently. However, since they are only a special, I have to take that into consideration.

The main reason I never noticed the veggie sandwiches was that they were listed in a section called “burgers”, and I didn’t see the keywords Portobello or Veggie Burger as the menu title. Instead, the veggie sandwiches have stupid names like “Neo”, or “Grilled Cheese Club”, which initially made me think of a grilled cheese turkey club, so I didn’t give it much thought. But the fault lies definitely with me, not Phoenix Landing (See? I can be magnanimous!). Phoenix Landing has quite a few veggie options, though I’m surprised that they don’t have an out and out veggie burger option (possibly veggie burger sliders in the future?). And the options that exist are quite tasty, and I rate them highly among the Irish restaurants. Phoenix Landing is hands down the most veggie friendly Irish restaurant I’ve seen in Boston, and for that I’ll give it four cheese sandwiches (on the caveat that they include a veggie burger/slider option in the future).

*I don’t really hate Irish restaurants, but you, my devoted reader, probably think I do, and I don’t want to argue with you.

Phoenix Landing
512 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4029 
(617) 576-6260