black olive

black olive
24 east mount airy avenue
germantown, pa
(215) 247 8400
blackoliverestaurant.com

type of cuisine: vegan soul food
culinary excellence: 6
vegan friendliness: 10

another new vegan place has opened up without much of a fanfare - it's not even listed yet on any of the philly veg restaurant pages! going to black olive in germantown made me wonder if i actually have what it takes, emotionally speaking, to open a restaurant. this place has a great concept, appealing decor, good location (just off of germantown avenue) and clearly competent chefs, yet the 5 of us were its only patrons on saturday night. i don't get it. let's hope they're drawing more crowds for their "monday night live" specials or sunday brunches.

anyhow, i arrived with luca, little bear and the hens around 6 on saturday. a young and energetic waitress seated us and set us up with a grooving playlist of miles davis and john coltrane. the dining room had a spare but soulful atmosphere with photographs of african scenes on the walls. our crew ordered a few appetizers to begin: the tomato soup was light and savory with a generous amount of rice soaking up flavor at the bottom of the bowl. the steamed squash plate consisted of yellow and green squash as well as cooked tomato and plump asparagus on a bed of mesclun greens - a simple and fresh starter. the tofu crabcakes had a rather bland taste, but the texture was appealing, as was the spicy cocktail sauce that came on the side. mama hen and i both ordered the seitan steak for our entrees. olive's seitan tastes just like the seitan i make all the time from vegenomicon - nice spongy chunks full of garlicky, brothy flavor and grilled simply. on the side were very straight forward mashed yukon potatoes and more asparagus. luca was going to get the seitan steak too, but then decided on the bbq seitan sandwich after our waitress told him it was their best dish. it was indeed a good sandwich, if a bit lacking in nutrients - nothin' but seitan smothered in a tasty bbq sauce on a whole wheat bun. on the side were potato wedges and some peculiar cole slaw that seemed to have an almost soapy taste. papa hen got the veggie loaf, which he liked, though he found the consistency a bit unusual. i agreed that it was kind of mushy. little bear ordered the pasta salad, a cold ramen-like dish with an assortment of veggies and tofu, and a very berry natural soda. for dessert we shared a piece of german chocolate cake made by the same baker who provides govinda's with goodies. the cake itself was dense and tasty and the inner layer of coconut icing was delish, but i thought the chocolate frosting around the outside was off and there was really no need for that sprinkling of mint on top.

overall, i think black olive is a worthy neighborhood restaurant. the food actually reminded me a lot of my old haunt expressly vegetarian before they closed their doors. i hope this place will not meet the same end.