Staff Blog
NOW OPEN: Mi Lah Vegetarian
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Mi Lah’s servers were making last-second preparations when I popped by Jason Lay’s brand-new bilevel vegetarian restaurant, in the former Pita Pocket at 16th and Chancellor, earlier today. They’re easing into their very first weekend of business. (I can’t get Pictobrowser to catch for some reason — growing pains — but check out more interior shots here.)
Head chef Tyler Black, a Florida native, started his Philly cooking career at the Four Seasons before becoming head chef at Govinda’s at Broad and South. He was last in the kitchen at Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby’s Horizons. Black, who’s been vegetarian for about three years, says he wants Mi Lah to fill what he feels is a void in the city’s mid-range vegetarian dining options. (Prices are appropriate for such a task, with entrées topping out at just $17.)
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Approach-wise, Mi Lah’s menu touches on numerous disciplines. There’s Mediterranean (grilled halloumi with tomato confit panzanella); African (sweet potato patties with harissa; a Tunisian chickpea stew called labi labi); Southeast Asian (braised lemongrass, ginger and coconut milk with brown basmati rice and banana leaf; tofu pad Thai); Caribbean (grilled seitan skewers in a housemade jerk made with Barbados molasses), etc.
Black wants to get away from the practice of simply swapping out fake meat for the real stuff and deeming the plate acceptable for herbivores. “Here, we want vegetables to be the focus,” he says. “Not a single thing on this menu could exist as a vegetarian option at a [non-veg] restaurant.” Almost all items are vegan and gluten-free, as well; those that aren’t can be tweaked to accommodate.
Mi Lah’s a BYOB, but they’re tinkering with the idea of offering premade rum and vodka mixers (see the second-floor juice bar).
Mi Lah Vegetarian, 218 S. 16th St., 215-732-8888, milahvegetarian.com
Open for lunch* Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner, 5-10 p.m.; closed Sun.
* Lunch kicks off next Tuesday, Oct. 14. They’ll begin serving lunch on Tuesday., Oct. 21.
[...] Mi Lah Vegetarian had their grand opening in Philly this weekend, to very positive reviews. [...]
[...] Mi Lah Vegetarian has taken over the Pita Pocket space at 16th and Chancellor and transformed the space into a white tableclothed vegetarian restaurant. [Meal Ticket] [...]
I stopped by on Saturday. Food was very solid. I love Philly’s vegan chinese places, and I love Horizons, but it is great to have something in the middle. I definitely will head back there.