DCVegEats

I make things from scratch.  I shop the outside aisles of the grocery store.  But.  A recent trip to Trader Joe's had me spying this new entry -- "Outside-In Stuffed Gnocchi".  Your basic frozen gnocchi with tomato sauce and mozzarella on the INSIDE.  It's a novel idea and I just had to try it.  Heating instructions included a stovetop version and a microwave version.  Since I'm not a fan of mushy gnocchi I went with stovetop.  Directions were a tad oblique.  Most of the steps are broken down into "1 or 2 minutes" or "3 or 4 minutes".  If you follow all the shortest guidelines it is five minutes of preparation but could be nine minutes if you go with the higher end of timing, which could make for a significantly different dish.  Nonetheless, I followed the directions.  First, you can saute in olive oil or butter.  I chose both -- cuz, duh, it's good that way.  Then you add four tablespoons of water.  Which is silly.  Four tablespoons is 1/4

Another of Ballston Quarter's new offerings is the Bollywood Bistro Cafe.  I'm pleased -- no food court should be without an Indian cafe (it IS my favorite cuisine).  Bollywood Bistro has a wide selection of offerings, including enough options for veg lovers that you can come back time and time again.  They also note which dishes are Vegan (a smaller number of offerings but still a nice gesture).  On the plus side the food is generally very good and not at all greasy (as is sometimes the case for "fast food Indian").  I chose the Samosa appetizer, three classic curries and two breads to try out on my first time.  The ordering app allows you to select seasoning levels -- I picked medium on each but got a variety of actual heat, which makes sense given the dishes.   Best of the bunch was the Channa Masala, a standard dish one should try out at every Indian restaurant.  In this case the chickpea curry was smoky and spicy, a nice combo of flavors and textures.  Next up wa

With this new version of a middle-eastern inspired "bowl/pita/wrap" meal the Ballston Mezeh has a lot to praise and a few things it could do better. On the plus side is a ton of options.  For a base they move beyond the simple rice or greens selections to specific greens options/mixes and then they have three kinds of rice (including Riced Cauliflower with Bulgar Wheat for the Keto crowd).  After that there are two different protein options for veggies -- Falafel and Veggie Kofta.  I selected the Kofta just so that I could have something new ... and loved it.  But you aren't done there.  You can choose up to 12 toppings (TWELVE) out of 27.  Then there are the dressings.  Again, the choices are overwhelming with eight -- each sounds amazing.  I went with the Spicy Mango and was not disappointed.  I ordered a bowl and still got a nice big slice of warm pita which was just yummy. The challenge however, is that the bowl I ordered online wasn't really full.  There were lot

Another new entry to the Ballston Quarter Food Hall is Zofia's Kitchen.  First and foremost, I like me a good pierogi.  I was thrilled when French Creperie Oby Lee added them earlier this year.  Zofia's gets major snaps for their unique creations and wide selection of dipping sauces and prep style.  They have two veggie and two vegan offerings.  On the vegan side there is Mushroom Herb or Beet/Ginger/Lemon Zest.  The two veggie choices are Spinach Feta or Everything Bagel.  One can order the pierogis "crispy", sauteed, steamed or "made for sauteeing at home" (I was sent specific directions for this last one but nearly burned the pierogies trying to follow it.)  Other offerings for veggies include their one-of-a-kind Latke Doughnut and usually a soup (the selections change frequently).  The good news -- these are quite good.  The strongest offering was the Beet, which was surprising, even refreshing.  Combined with a number of the dipping sauces it was hands

Ballston has several new offerings, including bartaco, which opened yesterday.  Much like Taco + Pina there are some deeply creative options here.  For veggies, there are three soft tacos -- Mushroom (not my thing), Cauliflower and ... wait for it ... Falafel.  Yeah, I had my doubts but the two I tried were quite delightful.  Small soft tortillas with a plethora of fillings they were remarkably complex on flavor.  I can honestly say that ordering a pack of these (the boxes come with four little holders) would not be out of bounds.  The Falafel had a wonderfully crunchy outside with serious zing from the siracha sauce.  The Cauliflower had a nice variety of textures with the addition of nuts.  The Romesco sauce was also quite zingy.  I additionally got the three pack of Guacamole, Verde and Roja salsas.  The Roja had a nice underpinning of some sort of fruit, with the Verde sauce herby and simple.  As with Taco + Pina, the only slight disappointment was the Guac.  While replete with ni