Sunday, March 28, 2010

Veggie Planet / Club Passim

Club Passim
I've lived next to Harvard Square for over ten years. I can't believe I had not visited Club Passim/Veggie Planet until this past month.
Club Passim
Club Passim is a really intimate venue for small concerts. When you buy tickets for a show, your seat is actually a table. You can order dinner and drinks from Veggie Planet while you enjoy the show.
Club Passim
The space is tiny, and the chairs are squeezed really close together.  It's slightly uncomfortable, but in a way also adds to the charm of the venue.  The room is really small, which makes the concert that much more intimate and enjoyable.

Of course, having a perfect venue is only half the equation. The food has to be good.
I'm happy to report that I was quite pleased with the offerings from Veggie Planet.  The menu is completely vegetarian.  It's flavorful, healthy, and all around top notch quality.  The prices are also very, very reasonable.  I would definitely go back just for the food, even if there is no concert!
Veggie Planet
Chips & Dip - flatbread toasted, sliced and served with your choice of two of our
homemade dips: romesco sauce, salsa, black bean puree or hummus $5.50

We tried the romesco sauce and the salsa.  The romesco sauce was incredible rich and flavorful and all around addictive.  Although the salsa was perfectly fine (fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, and the like), the romesco sauce was by far everyone's favorite.

A brief search on the internet gave us a hint on why this sauce was so delicious.  Romesco sauce originates from Catalonia, Spain, and is typically made from ground up nuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and nyores (a type of red bell pepper).  No wonder this is so rich in flavor!
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Portobello Redhead - roasted portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, rosemary &
sage smothered in romesco (roasted red pepper & almond) sauce and topped with feta
cheese small $6.85 large $11.15

I really liked the pizzas here!  The individual sized pizza is plenty large for a person (I only ate half of mine!).  The crust is made out of a whole wheat flatbread, and bakes up nice and crispy. What makes this pizza really unique and absolutely delicious? It has that addictive romesco sauce on it!  Wonderful pizza.
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Safe & Sound - fresh marinated tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and asiago cheese (add spinach at no charge) topped with basil and fried garlic. "Unsafe" version has hot chili sauce small $7.15 large $11.35

I got the "unsafe" version, which was like a good Margherita pizza but kicked up a notch with spice.  It was good, though not particularly interesting. I kept eying my friend's Portabello Redhead pizza, which I liked better.
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Peanut Curry - coconut rice, broccoli and Thai peanut curry sauce topped with fried tofu croutons and peanuts

They also have a lot of vegan offerings, including this Peanut Curry dish above, which I thought was only OK, although my friend really likes this and orders it every time she comes.
Club Passim
I had a great time here. The food was delicious, the venue was perfect, and of course the band, Girlyman, was super talented and entertaining.  I would highly recommend coming here, either for a concert or just for the food.  It's a great place, and I'm so glad I finally "discovered" it after all these years!

Club Passim / Veggie Planet
47 Palmer St
Cambridge, MA 02138
Club Passim on Urbanspoon Veggie Planet on Urbanspoon

4 comments :

  1. i made romesco sauce on Thursday -- i'll bring you a sample tomorrow :-). hm, i should probably post it on my blog... =P

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  2. This is probably one place I would have skipped, mostly for its name...Veggie Planet? Kind of yawn-inducing. But I'm glad you gave it a chance...that Portobello Redhead is definitely sth I would dive into!

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  3. You've convinced me to go! Have been meaning to anyway. I'm very intrigued by the Rom. sauce, which sounds very much like the Muhammara that I had over at Casablanca and am currently addicted to and blogged about a couple of times.

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  4. Sounds great. I'll have to go check it out (with or without concert!).

    Justine

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