Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Vee Veeeeeeeeeee


On Friday night I headed to the Boston area to have dinner and catch up with my oldest friend, who lives in Roslindale. Roslindale itself seems to be rather restaurant deficient, but fortunately, Jamaica Plain is restaurant-rich and right around the corner. We ended up at Vee Vee on Centre Street. Vee Vee describes itself on its website as a “new American bistro, and overall, my impressions were positive.
 
When we arrived at about 7:30, the small, stylish restaurant was full and the wait was slated to be about 30 minutes. But we were happily equipped with a place to sit and a glass of Tempranillo La Planta, a very nice Spanish red.
 
Once seated, we quickly arrived on 2 appetizers, the shrimp and scallop cakes, served with chipotle aioli, and the special mushroom risotto. These were good, but not overwhelming. The cakes were nicely fried and tasted like your basic fish cake – the actual shrimp and scallops didn’t make much of an impact. The risotto was better – creamy and salty, just like I like it, with nice meaty chunks of mushroom.
 
For our entrees, I chose the panko and dijon-crusted pollock, served with white bean puree, potato, leeks, fennel, and niçoise olive tapenade. I had never had pollock before, so I was drawn in by the idea of something new. I’ll definitely look for it again. Pollock is a clean tasting, flaky white fish. And I love the way panko bread crumbs function. They’re so light, and really seem to compliment whatever they bread, rather than weighing it down. In terms of plate presentation, I wish there had been more olive tapenade – the presentation was very… tan.

Meanwhile, my lovely friend ordered the spicy sambal tofu, served with ginger-coconut red rice, fried plantains and mango salsa. While tofu is not actually my cup of tea, I did sample one of her plantains, which was tasty and she seemed quite pleased with her selection.
 
Overall, Vee Vee was a nice choice. The company was wonderful, the atmosphere was a nice combination of cozy and hip, and the prices were reasonable. I probably won’t be back, just by virtue of the fact that there are a lot of restaurants in the Boston area that I’d want to try before I start recycling. But if you happen to be hungry in Jamaica Plain, Vee Vee is a strong option.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

VeeVee is indeed lovely for its small neighborhood charm and tastiness. Thanks for the compliments on their atmosphere and food (and company! I, too, very much enjoyed being there with you! And, very much appreciate your trekking up to Beantown!). Dan and Kristen are two of the loveliest people around and sure know how to keep their locals loyal!