Well, I finally made it last evening to the new restaurant, Thoreau - Vegetarian Grille. It was my birthday and Thoreau had been on my "must try" list ever since it opened a couple of months ago. I had heard fabulous things about their original spot, Blue Sage, in Huntingdon Valley and was ready to give their new center city location a try - my mouth watered at the thought of it. My husband and our daughters joined me. I had been in my hour for almost four hours carpooling and was ready for a relaxing couple of hours. I didn't think to bring a bottle of wine because their website said they had wine and beer beginning in April. Unfortunately, Thoreau hadn't received their liquor license as of yet so no wine to be had (and no mention when the reservation was made). I was very willing to let go but nonetheless a bit disappointed not to be a able to enjoy a glass of wine for my birthday.

The menu was very interesting and everything sounded beyond delicious. We each ordered an appetizer and entree. The waitress did not give us any warning that the appetizers would be so large! My husband's dish was large enough to feed a table of 10!! When the waitress came over to see how we were enjoying our appetizers, we told her how surprised we were with the amount of food. She responded with "everyone usually takes home part of their entree." We would have appreciated a "heads up" while we were ordering rather than be forced to take home food. We would have definitely ordered less, had we had fair warning. None of us were able to eat more than two bites of our entrees. They sit in plastic containers in my frig.

The presentation of the dishes was impressive - each dish looked like a work of art.
I hope Thoreau will be able to improve and join the other delicious vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Philadelphia who get it right, such as Horizons.

Despite it all, we had a fabulous evening filled with lots of laughter - and that's what's most important...