April is when many of us start thinking about the fresh tender greens, crisp carrots and other nutrient-rich veggies that give so many dishes a splash of color and texture while marking the start of spring.
Mike Godlewski thinks about vegetables every single day, no matter the season.
That’s because veggies from Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio farms like Coldco Farm in Verona and The Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio, are the star at his North Side restaurant, EYV (shorthand “Eat Your Vegetebles”).
The Luzerne County native opened the 45-seat eatery on East Ohio Street in 2022 after working at restaurants in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area early in his career and in Pittsburgh since 2009. Surprisingly, he’s not a vegetarian — hot dogs and chicken nuggets are among his favorite noshes — but he does love the challenge of turning vegetables into meals that are as filling and satisfying as they are gorgeous to look at.
“I always wanted to do my own thing, and to push myself,” he says on a recent Tuesday in the sunny, minimalist space that can pull in as many as 60 diners on a busy weekend night. As he grew as a chef, that meant focusing less on meat and more on the farm-fresh produce that is so widely available (and celebrated) in and around Pittsburgh. “That’s what I like to cook and get most excited about.”
A graduate of Luzerne County Community College’s culinary program, Godlewski got his start in restaurants at age 15 as a dishwasher in a pizzeria. He had originally thought about going to law school, “but Food Network was still going strong” when he graduated from high school and becoming a chef, he says, “was just one of those things...it was the instant gratification and culture.”
Following a stint as a sous chef at the Duquesne Club — a job he says he knew would make him a better cook because of the high-end club’s attention to detail — he helped open The Foundry Table & Tap on the North Shore in 2016. While he was developing tasting menus for its six-course chef’s table experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided he wanted to open a restaurant of his own.
Part of the fun of focusing on vegetables, he says, is the challenge of taking, say, a head of cabbage or big stalk of broccoli, and making it “craveable.”
Sometimes all it takes is roasting or braising it with a little salt and pepper; other times it’s pickling what’s coming out of season to preserve it.
Consider this favorite dish for both chef (it was one of the first he created for EYV) and diners: A bountiful, multi-layered salad dressed in a bright and herby balsamic vinaigrette. A culinary snapshot of what the restaurant is getting from local farmers on any particular day, the ingredients are always changing depending on what’s in season and readily available, even though the various components — greens, veggies, creamy ranch dressing and balsamic vinaigrette — stay the same.
A salad built with kale or mustard greens one week might be crafted with red-veined spinach or dark leafy mizuna, a peppery Asian green associated with traditional Japanese cooking, the next.
Customers have to dig through an array of seasonal vegetables prepared three different ways — shaved, blanched and pickled — to get to the crispy fried potatoes underneath that a Pittsburgh salad is known for. (He turns the spuds into tater tots instead of fries.)
Goat Rodeo’s chevre is “whipped up nice” into a creamy mousse that mimics the thick, white dressing made with buttermilk you often find on Pittsburgh salads, and the dish is finished with a sprinkle of edible “dirt” the chef crafts from earthy vegetables including potatoes and mushrooms, olives and ground pistachio.
“All the ingredients are as local as can be,’ Godlewski says, which forces him to be creative in both sourcing, cooking and plating. “Whatever we’re using is the star of the plate and makes everything else shine.”
Customers are sometimes hesitant to order the salad, which has been on the menu since day one, because it seems so simple. “But once they do, they can’t stop thinking about it,” he says. “It’s beautiful.”
The long list of ingredients might make the recipe seem unapproachable at home. And, yes, it will take time to pull it together. Yet, none of the recipes with the recipe are difficult and much of it can be made a day of so ahead.
“It’s a bit,” Godlewski concedes with a laugh. “But all of our recipes are like that. It doesn’t seem like a lot on the plate.”
Godlewski, who is currently using watermelon radish, pickled crones (Chinese artichokes) and blanched, overwintered carrots advises using whatever is best available seasonally for the salad; if you’re not sure, “ask the farmer at the farmers market,” he says.
“You can mix and match,” he says, adding that the salad recipe “is good for cleaning out the fridge.”
EYV Farmers Salad
This recipe admittedly has many steps, and includes several different recipes for the various components. But each is fairly easy on its own, and most can be made ahead, so the salad is easy to assemble when you’re ready to eat.
Leftovers can be used in a variety of ways — the goat cheese mousse, says Godlewski, is particularly good on crackers.
Cook’s note: All of the ingredient amounts have been converted from metric to U.S. standard measurements.
For soil crumble
14 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, diced and blanched
1½ pounds red beets, diced and blanched
14 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
¾ cup shelled pistachios
2 cups maltodextrin
Salt and black pepper, to taste
For tater tot potatoes
2½ pounds Idaho potato, grated
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
½ teaspoon MSG
2 teaspoons salt
For salad
8 ounces seasonal vegetables, such as carrots, radish, artichokes, leeks or kale
Seasonal salad greens, for serving
Dilly bean pickling liquid
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
2½ teaspoons salt
2 or 3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup julienned white onion
2 dried bay leaves
1½ teaspoons each mustard seed, celery seed and whole black pepper
½ teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoon dill seed
1½ tablespoons fresh dill
For ranch mousse
22 ounces goat cheese
6 teaspoons onion powder
5 teaspoons granulated garlic
4 tablespoons minced chives
3 tablespoons minced dill
1¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon MSG
Pinch of ground black pepper
For agave balsamic vinaigrette
5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1¾ cup agave nectar
1¾ cup balsamic vinegar
1¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup basil, chopped
1½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
A day or night before serving, prepare soil crumble and tater tot potatoes: Place potatoes, beets, mushrooms and olives on a baking sheet and bake in a 265-degrees for 12 hours. (This can be done overnight.)
Combine dried ingredients, maltodextrin and salt and pepper in food processor and pulse until it has a course texture, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add pistachios to the food processor and pulse until they resemble the size of very small rocks or pebbles. Add to other ingredients, mix to combine and adjust seasoning as needed. (Store in an airtight container.)
Prepare potatoes: Line a quarter sheet tray with parchment paper, spray with oil and set aside.
Place potatoes in a heavy bottom pot and cover with neutral oil.
Cook to 210 degrees, stirring often, or until potatoes are translucent and cooked. Strain oil, and let potatoes drain for a minute or two.
Add potatoes to mixing bowl and mix with herbs and seasonings. Transfer to the greased sheet tray and spread evenly with pallet knife. Place parchment on top of potatoes and top with another quarter sheet tray. Chill overnight, then unmold from the sheet tray and portion into uniform squares.
Wash and peel vegetables, and divide into thirds.
Prepare dilly pickling liquid by combing all ingredients in a saucepan and bringing mixture to boil. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, then strain.
Shave ⅓ of the vegetables into very thin slices using a mandolin or very sharp knife, then crisp in cold water for 30 minutes. When chilled, drain and reserve.
Cut remaining vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and bring a pot of salted water to boil. (It should be seasoned with enough kosher salt so it tastes like the ocean.)
Briefly submerge ½ of the cut vegetables in boiling water (it should immediately come back to a boil), then remove and immediately place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. (They should be tender but not mush, with a bit texture.) Drain well, then reserve.
Place remaining ½ vegetables In a very clean airtight container. Bring enough of the prepared pickling liquid to cover the vegetables to a boil to in a small saucepan. Pour over the vegetables and cover tightly. Let cool to room temperature, then move to the refrigerator. (They will keep up to 3 months.)
Prepare ranch mousse by combining all the ingredients in a food processor except the herbs. Pulse until smooth. Fold in herbs and store.
Prepare vinaigrette by combining all the ingredients except for the oil. Blend until smooth, then slowly blend in oil to emulsify. Season to taste, label and set aside.
When ready to plate the salad, spoon the ranch mousse to a disposable pastry bag. Pipe a ring of the mousse onto a chilled salad plate, leaving enough room in the center for the tater tots to sit comfortably.
In a fryer or pan, fry sliced tater tots in hot oil until golden brown on both sides. When crispy, carefully remove and place on a sheet tray with a cookie rack or a tray covered with paper towels to drain. Season both sides with kosher salt.
While the tater tots are frying, add the pickled, raw, and blanched vegetables to a mixing bowl and lightly toss with the vinaigrette then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange the vegetables on top of the mousse equally spaced. In the center, add a small amount of dressing followed by the fried tater tots.
Arrange the dressed greens on top of the mousse and veggies, then sprinkle with soil crumble, and serve.
Serves 4.
— Mike Godlewski, EVY Restaurant
First Published: March 22, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
