DCVegEats

Visually intriguing, I have meant to visit this place for a while.  A series of unfortunate events landed me here today for a late lunch.  The inside, with plants on each table, was as engaging as the outside but the wide open dining room and spareness felt industrial and cold on a winter's day.  I imagine the aesthetics would play better in the spring and summer.  The menu is large and has clearly marked vegetarian and vegan options throughout.  The appetizers looked to be the most interesting.  My friendly waitress said the portions were on the smaller side so I ordered three of the "starters" for my meal.  I had the Kale Guacamole, the Edamame Dumplings and the Fig and Onion Tart.  The tart was delightful.  A magic mix of sweet, tart, chewy, creamy.  Just the way I like it.  The Edamame Dumplings were also quite good.  Subtle and soft they were clearly made fresh.  The dance of cilantro and green onion made for a nice...

Don't get out to the  Mosaic District  very often, so when I do it's always an adventure.  Today's trip was no exception.  I meant to check out "Four Sisters" which was closed due to a power outage so I wandered into Cyclone Anaya's, a "Mexican Kitchen."  Perusing the menu I discovered not a single vegetarian option.  Even the guacamole had bacon on it.  I ended up at True Food Kitchen (see review, above) and then discovered  Pastry XPO , which might be my favorite "hidden" Mosaic eatery.  As a district, Mosaic has grown a good bit from a year or so ago but it still hasn't realized its full potential as a foodie destination, IMHO.  There are a good number of decent chain restaurants (Cava, Cheestique, District Dumplings, Le Pain Quotidien, Matchbox, Naked Lunch, Nando's Peri-Peri, Sweetgreen and Ted's Bulletin).  Choolaah got good write-ups but I found it to be disappointing.  Jinya Ramen only has one veggie dish but it is de...

Self-billed as a place with "Indian Street Cuisine" there were two good signs when I visited this restaurant last week.  The first was that I could smell it a block away (it was cold and windy).  Made my mouth water.  The second was that the place was truly packed (I was told this was a typical Friday lunch rush).  I ended up at a communal table, which would have been fine, but the first waiter I dealt with struggled.  He didn't write down the orders and wasn't clear on who was with who.  Food items were delivered to the wrong parties and weren't correct.  He seemed to disappear mid-meal and was replaced with someone much more capable.  Even in the midst of a tremendously busy time, my water glass was kept full by waiter #2.  Much of the menu is designed as small or medium plates (high price points) and it clearly meant to be shared, so I was at a disadvantage eating by myself.  That being said what I got was mostly good but nothing kn...

The treats here are good.  Quite good.  But none are great.  In every case I enjoyed the treat but could name another establishment in the area who "did it better".  I tried out cupcakes, the Hello Dolly bar, a blueberry lemon scone, a chocolate chip cookie and a macaroon.  A good example of good but not the best was the scone.  The tart lemon glaze was a nice mix with the blueberry but the scones at Great Harvest are more moist and more interesting in their mix of flavors.  The Hello Dolly bar was the best of the bunch, nearly (but not quite) matching the yummy quality of the 808 bar at Buttercream , but the counter-service was pretty disorganized and slow.  That alone makes a second trip unlikely.  On the up side they do offer at least one vegan and one gluten-free selection each day. Counter Service Coffee and Baked Goods Several locations in the DC Metro Area https://buzzbakeshop.com/

The Women's March gave me the chance to grab a bite at British-backed "Leon", known for healthy fast food.  A menu replete with veggie and vegan options, I got the sweet potato falafel wrap and a baked donut.  The falafel wrap was amazing.  The sweet potato falafel was baked (all foods are baked rather than fried) and a terrific counterbalance to the heavily garlic-flavored hummus.  Wrapped in a warmed whole grain pita, it had crunchy onions and other vegetables mixed to create a deeply satisfying wrap.  It was very affordable (less than $10) and tasty but not huge.  Next time I will check out some of the appetizer options to round out the meal or get one of the Hot Boxes which seem to be for bigger appetites.  The baked donut was as expected.  Not bad but I would seek out dessert elsewhere.  Bottom line:  A nice addition to the growing number of healthy lunch options in downtown DC.  Absolutely would visit again.    C...

On my list for a while I finally got to visit this Greek Mezza restaurant as part of Restaurant Week .  A place where vegetarians and vegans can eat very well I found so much on the menu to try that one would need a half dozen more trips to sample it all.  The Mezza, like Spanish Tapas, are small plates and ideally you should go with friends so that you can experience different dishes.  Unfortunately my restaurant mates are on the road so solo it was.  I wasn't disappointed.  The Prix Fixe menu allowed me to get three plates and a dessert.  I selected the Fattoush, Piyaz and the Falafel with Turkish Delight for dessert.  The Fattoush was just the kind of dish I like -- an amazing mix of flavors and textures which dance with every bite.  There was the tang of the dressing and onion, placed over paper-thin slices of radish, combining with the crunch of the green peppers, cucumbers, pita chips and the sweetness of tomatoes and pomegranate seeds....

Shhhhh ... don't tell.  This is, IMHO, the best Italian in the area for pasta.  It's not flashy, upscale or even a place tourists hit.  It's purely locals and that is just fine with me.  There is handmade pasta, spongy fresh mozzarella and a plethora of sauces made on the spot with local ingredients.  You can have salad with a wonderful collection of dark greens, pizza which is authentic, all for an extremely reasonable price.  It's a small place with Italian music always playing in the background, paper napkins on the faux marble tabletops and roosters painted on the walls.  I love it.  It can be busy on weeknights as it fills a great little void between Courthouse and Rosslyn.  Chefs will cook to order and have often fulfilled my request for off-menu items, like pasta aglio e olio arrabiata (garlic and olive oil, spicy).  Attempts have been made to update the offerings a tad.  Appetizers have become "small plates" and the desser...

Critics are correct -- this is the best Chinese restaurant in the DC Metro area and one of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever been to, period.  Chinese food is not, by its nature, particularly veggie-friendly but the expansive menu at Peter Chang provides enough options for your average veggie/vegan to get full on.  Favorites include the much mentioned Dry Eggplant (kind of like spicy eggplant fries), Grandma's Noodle (served cold but I typically get take-out and warm it up) and the Mapo Tofu (three peppers!).  Food is particularly spicy and it is worth asking your server about the heat as one companion spent a meal scarfing down water glass after water glass (hint:  go for rice, rather than water, to quench the heat).  Yes, the sauce is a traditional "hot and numbing" sauce, which means that your tongue will taste the flavor before going ever-so-slightly numb.  It's a nice tingling sensation.  Vegetarians can peruse the two pages of appetizers...

Followed up Shouk by visiting this oft-mentioned bakery for a variety of treats.  Turns out Georgetown Cupcake finally has some competition.  Rich with the aforementioned buttercream frosting these large, filled, yummy cupcakes are a true delight.  The buttercream means they aren't overly sweet and the fillings can be inventive and unexpected (a vanilla cupcake had a blueberry filling).  Don't stop there.  My favorites also included a chocolate cookie with solid chunks of chocolate throughout and something called an "808" bar which was rich and chocolatey with a nice crunchy layer.  One of my favorites was the "Buckeye" which surpassed any similarly-named dessert items I have seen before.  The crunchy/creamy mix of chocolate and peanut butter was highly addictive.  Prices were extremely reasonable with six selections coming in under $25.00.  The store seems to have a gluten-free and vegan option each day.  I tried the gluten-free caramel...