Horizons

I wrote about my most fave casual dining spot in Philadelphia over at Vegan Favorites recently, but I thought my birthday meal was more of an EWWO post, what with all the pretty pictures and multiple desserts. Yes, that is how I roll on my birthday. And where did I have such fantastic eats? At Philly's only high-end vegan restaurant, of course: Horizons.

Don't get it twisted - just because it's the only high-end place in the city doesn't mean it ain't as good as other fancy vegan restaurants. In fact, in my opinion Horizons rivals all the best food you can get in NYC or San Francisco. I mean, just look at that beautiful shaved asparagus and arugula salad. It hit all the right flavor and texture notes and was frankly one of the tastiest ways I've eaten my greens in a long time. Perfect start to my celebratory meal!

My entree choice was the grilled seitan. I was a little apprehensive because I'm more of a tempeh girl myself, but this seitan was cooked to perfection and wasn't chewy (my main seitan complaint) at all. It had a perfect char to it, and the horseradish cream and silky smooth potatoes is sat upon were out of this world good. If there hadn't been some delicious bread on the table for sopping it up, I would have licked that cream sauce off my plate. No joke. It was that good... and I have no shame.

Next up was dessert number one and it was INSANE. What you're looking at is a deep dark chocolate tart with some blackberry jam and PEANUT ANCHO ICE CREAM. Good lord, Horizons. You have killed me for all other desserts. The ancho chili added just the right amount of warmth to this dish and when it all came together in the perfect bite, it was euphoria. But then, oh then....

...there was dessert number two! To be fair, this was my husband's dessert. One of the things that I love about that man, however, is his complete lack of a sweet tooth. This means he always orders dessert, takes a bite or two, and then hands the rest over. In this case, that meant chocolate-filled beignets for me! These bad boys were melt-in-your-mouth perfection, from the sugar-coated, fluffy, exterior to the warm dark chocolate inside. Heaven on a plate.

What a birthday meal, eh? The saddest news ever is the Horizons is actually closing up shop sometime soon so this was my last meal there. I look forward to checking out their new venture next time I'm in Philly, as it sounds Ubuntu-esque (focusing on the veggies rather than the proteins), but will miss Horizons for sure. Meanwhile, I'm still out on the east coast and finding more great food all the time, so I promise to post more soon. I hope your summer is off to a great start!