I am a liberal vegetarian, academic, environmentalist kind of guy. I really want to like the White Dog-- they make their dishes with organic food and send out this great vibe. And they have literally no competition in West Philly. I've succumbed to their siren song more times than I'm willing to admit. Unfortunately, my experience there never pans out very well. They have two veg entrees on the menu. The kung pao tofu is salty and doesn't come with rice. Once I tried to get them to add rice and they put the tofu on a bed of saffron rice-- it didn't work. The fried seitan (veg dish #2) couldn't be more greasy and unhealthy, although it does taste good. Even the setting fails-- it seems all warm and cozy, but the tables are too small and the chairs are darned uncomfortable-- last night my chair was downright lumpy!
I would say they get an A for effort, but I actually think they could try harder.
One saving grace: Their desserts are creative and fantastic!
They're not so bad as two stars, but they don't deserve 3. I'd give 2.5 if I could.
