Saturday, February 14, 2009

sketch

sketch
413 east girard avenue
philadelphia, pa
(215) 634 3466

type of cuisine: burgers and shakes
culinary excellence: 5
vegan friendliness: 8

i was super excited to learn about sketch, a colorful little burger joint in fishtown that caters to vegans as well as omni's. so last night luca, johanna and i ventured out to sample the goods. the space is small, with 3 wooden booths and a counter. everything is painted in vivid hues and there are chalkboards beside each booth for sketching. ordinarily, i would have done portraits of my dining companions, but it was so cold inside the restaurant that i couldn't bring myself to remove my coat and draw. a very nice woman with a nose ring and a kick-ass vintage floral dress explained the menu to us. you choose from 6 types of burgers, all homemade and fresh to order, then select from 3 sauces, all of which are vegan, and add an optional topping or two. i went for the vegan burger with harissa aioli, avocado and soy cheese. sketch also offers many types of vegan milkshakes using klein's ice cream. i got a cookie's and cream shake, luca went for pistachio. we also shared an order of fries with chipotle sauce. i was so pumped for our meal, thinking this was like an anarchist ruby's and that my memories of getting teriyaki burgers and oreo shakes from suburban square as an adolescent could be effectively upgraded and integrated into my adult lifestyle. sadly, the grub just didn't measure up. the vegan burger itself was interesting. i couldn't discern all the different flavors, but there was definitely some quinoa and lentils action going on. the problem is that it was so soft that it practically all crumbled and fell out of the bun (which was cold by the way) when i took my first bite. further disappointment ensued when i discovered that the thick tomato slice inside was unripe and the cheese was barely melted slabs of follow your heart cheddar. i hate follow your heart cheddar. so i removed the cheese, the tomato and much of the iceberg lettuce and for the most part enjoyed the combination of burger and avocado on the lightly aiolied underbun. the fries were great - no complaints there. i really liked the shape, texture and spiciness of them and the chipotle sauce was a nice alternative to ketchup. both of the milkshakes were a little sub-par. it pains me to say that since they are the only place in philly that i'm aware of to actually serve vegan milkshakes. the sweetness tasted artificial and the consistency was, well, inconsistent. some sips were melty, others frosty. i know it is possible to make a cruelty-free shake as good as hymie's black and white shakes or the tea house's white russian shakes or ruby's butterfinger shakes. i'm at the point where some of the ice cream i've made at home far surpasses anything i've ever bought at a store, but i just don't know how to do a killer shake. can anyone help out with this?

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