DCVegEats

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Dera

Was looking for a good Pakistani restaurant in Springfield and this one had some of the best reviews, so I gave it a shot. Arrived for an early dinner to find some regulars around a table in a cavernous room. The restaurant staff looked at us like we had interrupted a private party. We sat and were grudgingly given menus after asking. Tepid water in questionably clean glasses were eventually brought. One member of the party ordered a salad. It arrived in a large mixing bowl and was mostly iceberg lettuce. A plastic basket of cold bread was literally "dumped" on the table, then the waiter disappeared. Eventually we were able to get someone to take our orders, which included a curry, a biryani and a kebab. Portions were huge and the rice, again, came in what looked like a mixing bowl. It was enough to feed ten. The food wasn't bad. Sometimes the seasonings were a bit heavy handed (particularly for the rice) but it was filling and decent. Problem is I couldn'

First Watch

Meant to invite some family members here but a friend beat me to the punch. We compromised and went together. Unfortunately, this is a place where it looks better than it is. Across the board. The funky design scheme makes it an echo chamber and, with the pumping music, very loud. Conversation was difficult. The menu is covered in glossy photos and descriptions of the food but ... I started with the Morning Meditation Fresh Juice, a pretty blend of citrus and beet. Or I tried to. Took three reminders to the waiter and when it finally arrived, halfway into the meal, it was 90% ice and 10% juice. My companions opted for coffee. It was ice cold. Another long wait (about 20 minutes) to get new coffee -- and included a reminder to staff that they wanted fresh cups as well. I ordered the Vegetarian Quinoa Bowl, which was described as having up to 12 ingredients. It had three. The quinoa, an egg, maybe two teeny slices of tomato past its prime. It wasn't hot or cold, just r

The Union

This McLean restaurant opened a new branch in Arlington and I went to check it out. The best news is the food, which is truly impressive. There are lots of areas for improvement, however. First, the good stuff: I got the red lentil soup -- which was actually a yellow lentil soup. It was creamy and had a delightfully fresh, lemony taste. I also got the Mumbai Panini, with a side salad instead of fries. I was a bit surprised at this -- it was on two regular slices of bread, not a panini roll, and not as large as I imagined for a $14 sandwich. It was also a bit greasy, which is not typical in Paninis. Nonetheless, there are a plethora of unexpected ingredients in the dish, and they all seemed to be there. And it was truly delightful. Every bite was slightly different and the many items "danced" well together, creating something original and bursting with flavor. The side salad was fresh, and replete with a nice mix of greens, as well as carrot spirals, cubed cucumber

RASA

The popular grain bowl trend gets a twist with this Indian-inspired takeout bowl place. Same concept -- a base, greens, toppings, etc., but the options are mostly Indian inspired and the majority of offerings are vegetarian (although not vegan, given the heavy use of Ghee in cooking). My take is mixed. Some of the items were outstanding, some less so. I got the Lemon Tumeric Rice, which was delightful. Fresh and tangy, with a little bite, it was one of the best rice dishes I've ever tried. On top of this I got the Tofu/Cauliflower protein. It was half and half. The cauliflower was perfectly roasted, the roasted onions delightful, and the nuts were a beautiful added crunch. The tofu, however, was watery, and the green and red peppers well past prime. Next, I added sauteed spinach, which was incredibly bland, and the peanut sesame sauce, which was "okay" but forgettable. I didn't do additional toppings, although there were plenty. I did get two of the mini s

Olive Lebanese Eatery

What a find! This is the closest I've come to liking something over Lebanese Taverna . The Baba Ghanoush and Hummus were light and airy, filled with lemon and very fresh. The pita had a puffy softness and was gently sweet. The grape leaves were smooth, creamy and had a nice tang. The falafel isn't as crispy as I like but the essence was perfect with full-bodied seasoning and a nice kick. The tahini was equally yummy and layered in taste, I just would have liked more of it on the Falafel Bowl I got. I also treated myself to the Grilled Halloumi Cheese which had the perfect saltiness to balance against the other offerings. It wasn't perfect. I felt that the "greens" were overwhelming in what was supposed to be a rice bowl, tomatoes where supposed to come with some of the appetizers but were paltry. The Chocolate Croissant had a good amount of chocolate but was too bready and a bit leaden. Ideally, a croissant should be flaky and buttery, so that you can f

Junction Bakery & Bistro

Everything here was good. My party got a Tofu Stir Fry, Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich, Crispy Flounder Sando, Sweet Potato Fries and a Chocolate Cream-Filled Croissant. The food took a while but arrived literally hot off the grill. The two sandwiches came with a plethora of side salad and a great homemade dressing. Portions were large and all of us took home enough for a second meal. The bill, with tax and tip, came to just under $75. As mentioned, it was good. Very good -- but not great. Everything came close to being great it just didn't cross the line. The cross-cut sweet potato fries were extremely munchable but the "Harissa Sour Cream" had a lot of sour cream and very very little harissa. The Tofu Stir fry had a nice mix for a cold day but needed a little more oomph (I borrowed salad dressing from my companions). Everything, including the Tofu and Flounder, were breaded and fried but didn't seem greasy until later. Driving home I could smell the gre

Palette 22

I had gone to this place for brunch years ago when it first opened. I didn't care for it. But I thought I would give it another try. And so he we were at an early dinner on a Friday night. There are limited options for veggies. Although they bill themselves as "New American" most of the options are Tapas or Tex-Mex. There are five veggie small plates and a couple of salads. I opted for three of the small plates. The first was the Patatas Bravas. I've had better. A large plate of overcooked, dried potato squares shows up with a paltry amount of aioli and ... oddly ... corn nuts??? Next up was Korean Cheese Corn. Mostly melted cheese with chunks of corn. But nothing to eat it with. No crackers, bread or even crudites. Just a pot of melted cheese. I picked at it with my fork but was a bit perplexed. Not sure what I was supposed to do with it. Finally, the Hummus. Which was incredibly salty. Insanely so. The cheese had also been salty. So, here we ar

Favorite Snack

Trader Joe's, which has a habit of eliminating popular offerings, did exactly that with my new favorite snack pick. I had barely discovered the Corn, Pea, Bean, Quinoa Crisps -- healthy, flavorful and low calorie -- when they went bye-bye. And so I embarked on a strange journey to find a replacement. Enter three contenders: 1) Mozaics Popped Veggie Chips, 2) Snacklins Crisps, 3) Off the Eaten Path Veggie Crisps. The Mozaic and Off the Eaten Path came closest to the ingredients in my original guilty pleasure. Mozaics have the advantage of having only 80 calories per bag and the sea salt flarvor wasn't bad. But ... the low calorie count is, in part, a result of a fairly small serving. And their other flavors, BBQ and Salsa, were overseasoned and odd tasting. Enter Off the Eaten path. They are delicious, with a larger serving size than Mozaic. The larger size, however, plus added sugar (absent in the other options), make this treat a whopping 160 per bag. So, that was

Lapis

Billed as the best Afghan food in the DC area I'm glad to say the hype matched the quality of the food. Getting in, however, was a bit of a challenge. Arriving at 5pm, just as they opened, on a Wednesday night the hostess seemed confused that we didn't have reservations. She flustered about a bit and then called over a supervisor who insisted on "giving us" a reservation as if we had done it online. The gentleman couldn't get my name right after three tries and then insisted on taking my phone number ... at which point I was a tad unkind. Eventually, we were seated in the downstairs room. They apologized for this, something I didn't understand until an hour and a half later, when the place was full and the noise levels so high that conversation was impossible. All of this unpleasantness was rectified by simply fabulous food and an outstanding server. Between the three of us we ordered: Aushak (veggie dumplings), Nask (yellow lentil soup), the Beet and

Zenebech

Had this on the "to visit" list long before Covid. There was a fire that shut it down for months on end, they re-opened, and then the plague hit. And so there was a certain amount of anticipation in finally being able to go there. Much like my tour of Columbia Pike I got a veggie combo and Sambusa. The Sambusa was outstanding. Complex, layered textures and flavors with a delightful dipping sauce made it something to savor. There was crunchy, soft, spicy, warm, sweet and a slight tang. The veggie combo was more so-so. Portions were small and some items had nice seasoning but nothing stood out as being memorable. I tried getting the standards. There was the Atar, a yellow split pea dish. It was listed as mild but was so mild that I tasted only the split peas and none of the ginger or turmeric. I got the Mesir, a spicy Berbere red lentil dish. It had nice heat and was, as usual, one of my favorite picks. There was Tikel Gomen, the cabbage/potato dish I usually li

Ruthie's All-Day Diner

This new addition to Glebe Road has been a darling of the local food critics and a favorite of some friends and family but I have to say that a recent visit made it clear it is neither veg-friendly nor a particularly good choice for those wanting to eat healthy. The menu online doesn't reflect what is on the actual menu and on the day I arrived the only sort-of healthy option on the menu was the yogurt. I paired this with Hash Browns, figuring I could count that as both my carbs and fats for the day. The other options were either loaded with sugar or had meat. As we sat there a large truck drove up to the back. After getting my food I realized this must have been delivering the food. For a diner they offer no fresh eggs and it was clear that the kitchen was mostly about reheating pre-made food or adding water (for things like the oatmeal). My yogurt with "strawberry, local honey and granola" was a cup -- much like what you buy at DCA before flying. The "strawb