Veda - Naanty-Naan Problems and This Ain't One
Veda opened January of this year with a somewhat ambitious and groundbreaking concept -- serving well-executed Indian food in a luxury setting with the prices to match. I definitely have at least a small soapbox when it comes to "ethnic cuisine" and it's place in America's culinary landscape. It grinds my gears when I hear my friends refuse to go to the amazing more upscale Chinese places in Philly because "Chinese food should be cheap." This sentiment is not limited to Chinese food, and it would be an interesting thing to dive into the history of what makes some cuisines upscale and others lowbrow, but this particular article is neither the time nor the place. Also it would be somewhat hypocritical considering I'm lauding Veda's heavily discounted happy hour menu. So I'll step off my soapbox for now and get on with it.
I first experienced Veda's happy hour about a month ago and even back then it felt like a bit of a secret. Happy hour goers were more sparse and service was attentive. When I went back this past Friday to take pictures for this blog (and get tipsy for less than $10), the bar area was standing room only. Although I can't be surprised at the rapidly increasing popularity of Veda's happy hour given it's menu.
Drinks include 2 cocktails for $6 each, one white and one red wine for $5 each, and draft beer for $4. The draft list is craft beer and rotating. This visit, I was drinking Dogfish Head Namaste, while the classmate I was catching up with had the Great Lakes Pilsner. With 16 oz pours, the beers were practically priced at whole sale.
Though Veda would score points with me with just it's generous draft craft beer deal, it wins all of the bonus points with it's happy hour food menu. The myriad of the choices are all priced between $4-6, and the portions are generous enough that getting 2 plates is definitely a meal. This time around, we sampled the Masala Hummus Platter, the Chicken Murmuri Rolls, and the Fish Peri-Peri.
The Masala Hummus Platter comes with Grilled Eggplant, Curried Hummus, fried chickpeas, and naan to sop it all up with. My favorite is the Grilled Eggplant, especially paired with their house hot sauce, which you should definitely request on the side. It has a nice amount of kick and goes great with pretty much everything.
The Fish Peri-Peri was an entire fillet. Both my friend and I were shocked at how large the portion was for the amount we paid for it. When ordering, you choose from a spice level from 1-5. We got a 3 and while I could definitely taste the spice, it wasn't overwhelming and didn't set my mouth on fire. Fish had some nice crisp pieces and was moist in the center. I wasn't a huge fan of the diced tomatoes it came with; they were the sort of bland, filler tomatoes I dread on off-season hoagies.
The Chicken Murmuri Rolls are a must order here. The chicken is well spiced and the rolls are so crispy and perfectly fried. Decadent without being greasy. And it all goes great with the two sauces that come on the side. The order actually comes with 4 pieces, but my friend got over eager and snagged one before the photo.
The happy hour also runs at the work friendly time of 5 - 7 PM rather than the dreaded 4 - 6 PM. Happy hour is limited to the bar area. If coming on a busy happy hour day (Thursday/Friday), show up earlier rather than later to snag seats before it gets crazy.
After 2 beers each and sharing those 3 dishes, my friend and I were pleasantly buzzed and very full for an extremely reasonable $21 each.
Though this happy hour is now definitely in my top 3, and one I will visit frequently, I will also go for their full dinner menu for three reasons. Because their dishes look amazing, the food I've already tried is delicious, and also to thank them for their amazing happy hour.
TL;DR - Get drunk and full on booze and Indian food for one dollar sign prices. A must visit if you love delicious food and budget prices and definitely order the Chicken Murmuri Rolls.
