restaurant review: sprig & vine

It’s New, Fresh, and Ever So Green…and It’s Happening in Pennsylvania

I heard a lot about it. Sprig & Vine is the creation and first independent venture of Ross Olchvary, the restaurant’s chef as well as its owner, and the former chef de cuisine at Horizons gourmet vegan restaurant in Philadelphia.

On the review site Yelp, Sprig and Vine’s innovative dishes--consider grilled oyster mushrooms with carrot-cabbage slaw, or seared coconut risotto cakes--were heralded with enthusiasm:  “ Jeez, if someone cooked for me like that all the time I could easily become vegan…”  

So I set out to meet an Allentown-based friend at this new spot--located in, aptly, enough, New Hope. W e were not disappointed.

The front-of-house manager , Bob Little, greeted us at the entrance. The wait staff is alert yet calm, devoted to the place, and happy to discuss topics from vegan beer to knowing when, and when not, to bother with the parking kiosks. The chilled tea is soothing (and you’re free to BYOB). The place might well be full, as it deserves to be, but at no point will you be rushed.

The food, however, comes promptly. And it’s absolutely delicious.

We started things off with a tofu satay with a coconut-peanut glaze and pickled mango ($8) and a stunning golden beetroot salad ($9). And of course I could not resist ordering the watermelon-tomato gazpacho with basil-avocado sorbet, made with local, farm-fresh produce. Good call. Of all the dishes I tried at Sprig & Vine I did love this gazpacho, with its little sorbet wedge in the middle, most of all.

But there was more to delight us. For our main dishes, my companion and I shared a rosemary and balsamic-grilled portabella with roasted cauliflower and orange cauliflower purée ($18) and the five spice-blackened tofu with sautéed asian greens and a lemongrass and autumn squash sauce, accompanied by an edamame-radish salad ($18), and a side-order of roasted sweet hakurei turnips with their tops.

New dishes have continued to make appearances on the menu. Depending on the season, you might see dishes featuring beautiful produce from Gravity Hill Farm in Titusville, New Jersey, such as arugula salad with watermelon radish, and sauteed tatsoi and bok choi...

We studied the Sunday brunch menu, too. Its offerings are as diverse as chocolate chip pancakes, a caraway-crusted tempeh reuben sandwich, or a grapefruit brûlée.

Whether you’re in a casual mood or want to show off exquisite pure vegetarian food to out-of-town guests, Sprig and Vine is highly recommended. 

Sprig and Vine
Location:  450 Union Square Dr . (in the Union Square complex, off Bridge Street) in New Hope, Pennsylvania 18938. Just across the river from Lambertville, New Jersey.
 
Website: www.sprigandvine.com
Information: info@sprigandvine.com
Reservations: 215-693-1427
 
Hours:
Tuesday - Dinner 5pm-9pm (no lunch on Tuesday)
Wednesday & Thursday - Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm - Dinner 5pm-9pm
Friday & Saturday - Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm - Dinner 5pm - 10pm
Sunday - Brunch 10am-2pm

Parking by kiosks which issue dashboard receipts. Menu is 100% vegan.