So often, people who write about restaurants are asked by readers: "Where can I take a date?," "Where can I eat healthy?," "What's new in town?," and "Where can I get a unique meal that's also reasonably priced?"
At the moment, there's a simple answer to all of those inquiries - Vee Vee, a new spot for creative cuisine on the main drag of Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.
Taking over the space that for four years was the Cha Fahn tearoom, the month-old Vee Vee is similar to JP haunts Ten Tables and Café D in that it's a small place best for parties of two to four.
Vee Vee's ambience may feel a bit cozier than the competition thanks to its lighting, which is so soft that the everyone looks as though they've been airbrushed (that can help on a date). The restaurant's orange walls are also soothing; it's like you're cocooned in the belly of a cantaloupe.
During our recent Sunday-night visit, Vee Vee was populated by a tame crowd, mostly women dining in pairs, but on a Friday night, you can expect to see people mingling at the bar and young-professional types making a night out in the neighborhood. The aforementioned bar at the front of the restaurant is tiny but functional with a diverse beer and wine list and a bartender, who on the night we dined, entertained us and happily offered up drink suggestions.
Owners Kristen and Dan Valachovic, who named Vee Vee after their hard-to-pronounce last name (they're often called Kristen and Danny V.), describe the menu as having a seafood focus with an emphasis on vegetables and grains. It's not technically a vegetarian restaurant, but strict veggie eaters will be pleasantly surprised by the number of options. Those who always wind up ordering red meat should go elsewhere.
We started with the roasted beet salad, which was like any old beet salad except for the soft and crumbly Gorgonzola croutons. A better option was the roasted acorn squash soup, which was hearty and delicious thanks to a small pouring of crème fraiche on top.
The favorite starter was the shrimp and scallop cakes, which were packed with a spicy punch thanks to a chipotle aioli that matched the restaurant's walls. If you're at the bar with a friend and looking for a plate to share, that's the one.
We were just as pleased by our entrees, especially the cornmeal-crusted skatewing, which was topped with tangy salsa verde and served on top of a creamy sunchoke puree.
Those with a sweet tooth should opt for the wild mushroom turnovers, which were 98 percent phyllo dough and 2 percent mushroom. It was dessert for dinner.
Healthier were the quinoa cakes, two patties of the fancy grain served on top of spaghetti squash. Don't order this dish unless you're a real granola person. It's got that Grape-Nuts feel to it.
The only disappointment of the meal, a mild one, was the linguine with goat cheese. It was too ordinary compared to the other dishes, the sauce tasting like basic light cream. We saved it by opting to add pancetta, the only real meat on the menu. A note to the restaurant: more goat in that cheese, please.
For dessert, we struck out with the espresso crème brulee, which was more pudding then creme - too soupy to share. The bread pudding more than made up for it. It was a huge mountain of dough that tasted like French toast. We only wished there was more of the sweet and sticky chocolate lining on the bottom.
We'll certainly recommend the dish when we hear one of the other most common inquiries made to people who write about restaurants, "Where should I go for dessert?"
Vee Vee, 763 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, 617-522-0145. veeveejp.com. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 5:30 to 10 p.m. Appetizers: $6 to $12. Entrees: $14 to $20. Beer: $4 to $11. Wine by the glass: $6 to $11. Wine by the Bottle: $26 to $62.
Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com.
