"Vegans and the occasionally plant-based will appreciate the multiple meatless options at Civico 2064. This cellar-esque Italian spot that’s originally from San Diego touts, “America’s first Italian-Vegan menu,” which really just translates to pomodoro and vegan cheese in various combinations. Save for a delicious parmigiana di melanzane glued together with smoked “mozzarella,” though, the inconsistently seasoned vegan dishes here aren’t going to impress omnivores—they’re better off sticking to the nicely grilled branzino with a refreshing fennel side salad, instead. Food Rundown Bread and Pesto Civico’s complimentary focaccia is fine. It’s a little too spongy, but, hey it’s free. The vegan pesto, however, tastes like unsalted creamed spinach. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Vegan Fiore Ripieno We appreciate that these fried squash blossoms come stuffed with mushy caponata rather than processed vegan cheese. That being said, the taste is one-note: bland and underseasoned. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Vegan Rigatoni Puttanesca A sprinkle of chile flakes in puttanesca is nice, but the amount of Calabrian chiles in this vegan version nearly scalds your tongue. It’s an off-putting amount of heat for a pasta dish that already needs salt. Vegan Parmigiana Di Melanzane Bear with us here: this gloopy, salty eggplant dish looks terrible but tastes good. The smoked vegan cheese gets lost in the sauce (literally) but, dare we say, tastes like real cheese. Pappardelle Brasato This bowl of al dente pasta has something many of Civico’s dishes lack: flavor. It gets a ding for the dry-ish short rib, though. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Branzino Civico isn’t trying to do something interesting here, just serve you a nice grilled fish. Respect." - Sylvio Martins
