Vedge duo to open Fancy Radish in D.C.

Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, riding high with the landmark Vedge and its vegan siblings V Street and Wiz Kid, are heading to Washington, D.C., with a new restaurant that will meld V Street and Vedge.

Fancy Radish — after a Vedge signature dish — will open in late February or thereabouts in the Apollo development at 600 H St. N.E.

The couple says Fancy Radish, seating about 60 people with a full bar, will pull a bit of the grit and spice from the street-food bar V Street while relying heavily on the elegant, serious cooking at Vedge. "The greatest hits," Landau told me.

It will be open for dinner every night. Weekend brunch will be added later, and adding brunch on the weekends.

Landau described the aesthetic as "industrial garden." It's a raw, new space, unlike the homes of Vedge/V Street, which were set up in historic buildings.

For the Washington crowd — the news first appeared in the Washington Post — the couple explained the concept further:

"The signature Vedge dish, the Fancy Radishes, which captures perfectly our approach to vegetable cooking: elevating humble vegetables to prove how versatile, inspired and delicious they can be. Think toasty soft pretzels dipped in velvety rutabaga fondue or braised tempeh with crunchy kimchee slaw. Whole roasted carrots with pumpernickel and sauerkraut puree or slick dan dan noodles twirled with slivered zucchini and succulent oyster mushrooms.  Silky white chocolate custard with poha and preserved kumquat. This is what's so interesting in cooking these days."

The couple had thought of naming the place V Street, but the fact that D.C. has a V Street made them rethink the notion.

Other Philly restaurateurs with D.C. presence include Stephen Starr (Le Diplomate), Larry Cohen and Barry Gutin (Cuba Libre), Urban Outfitters (Pizzeria Vetri), Nicole Marquis (HipCityVeg), and Brian Harrington and Gary Cardi (City Tap House, et al.).