Charming, rustic, organic, farm-to-table restaurant. Chef & Proprietor Jerry CP Yu delivers “guilt-free & comfortable food.” The interior features reclaimed wood, well-worn brick, exposed ceiling rafters, and vintage Edison lighting. Expect bursts of spice, deeply concentrated flavors and plays on familiar comfort food from the plant-based menu that is designed for passing and sharing.
Vegetable – established April 1, 2015
At Vegetable (stylized /vege•ta•ble/), a rustic 50-seat organic restaurant in the shadows of Universal Studios, Chef & Proprietor Jerry CP Yu preaches the gospel of “guilt-free & comfortable food.” This tagline was purposefully chosen as Yu hoped to reinvent comfort food to where upon eating, one still felt comfortable in skinny jeans. The logo also features a stylized phonetic version of the word “vegetable” to convey the literal definition as the motto and reference standard.
The interior features tastefully reclaimed and repurposed wood on walls, tables and booths. An aged brick wall dominates one side of the dining room. The ceiling features exposed original pre-war rafters with industrial chic metal shop fans. A long high-top communal table extends from a chalk wall featuring punny vegetable artwork. All this is lit by the soft glow of Edison bulbs in various vintage lighting fixtures.
A labor of love, Yu not only designed but also completely overhauled the dining room over a four month renovation period, personally reclaiming all the wood on the walls and crafting the booths and furniture from repurposed wood and crates. Rafters were exposed and hand-sanded and aged brick was laid one piece at a time. The sleek dining space is not adorned with nick-knacks or unnecessary cliché artwork on the walls as to not detract from the artwork on the plates. As much attention and detail was put into the design of the dining space as into the thoughtful menu.
Expect bursts of spice, deeply concentrated flavors and a big mix-and-match menu that’s designed to be passed around and shared. The vegetable-focused menu is dominated by bold flavors such as slow-roasted parsnips & sunchokes, fire-charred Brussels sprouts, blistered sweet potatoes with a spicy dry rub, and cast-iron pan-seared rainbow heritage carrots. A unique and fun food experience awaits all foodies as Yu focuses the menu on changing with the seasons and is not afraid to try new things often. No meat-substitutes are allowed on this menu; no easy “go-to” soy-protein or reworked versions of meat-centric dishes. The menu, along with the space, is built from the ground-up as a showcase of the restaurant’s namesake: Vegetable.
Place Categories: Contemporary American, Cuisine, Dog Friendly, Farm to Table, Featured Restaurant, Features, Gluten Free, Organic Restaurants, Outside Dining, Vegan Restaurants and Vegetarian Restaurants