DCVegEats

Inspired by articles of women-owned restaurants in the area I decided, a while back, to Goldilocks style it and try out three of the Ethiopian restaurants of the Pike, each owned and run by women.  The choices were:  Dama Pastry and Restaurant (1505 Columbia Pike), Bethel Cafe (3045 Columbia Pike) and Meaza Restaurant (5700 Columbia Pike).  A note:  Dama and Bethel show up with different names on a Google search -- Ethio and Ayana respectively.  The "Greens and Teff" vegan Ethiopian appears to have vanished or merged with Bethel/Ayana (???)  In any case, I got a veggie combo at each location and a Sambusa at Bethel and Meaza.  Each dish came with roughly the same items -- a salad option (often shredded cabbage), yellow and red lentil mixes, a veg option (potatoes and carrots or a dark greens dish), and cabbage.  All offered an extra piece of Injera (wonderfully squishy fermented Ethiopian bread) in addition to the Injera the food was on.  ...

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 sil...

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 fl...

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 re...

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 d...

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 slig...

I'm trying to be understanding.  This new version of Napoli (there is a restaurant version in DC) is what they call a "grab and go".  That meant the food I got, with the exception of the pizza, was cold and had to be heated.  My bad for not understanding that.  However ... the food wasn't great.  Neither was the service.  I ordered online and was told my order would be ready at 3:45.  I arrived at 3:55 and nothing had been assembled and packed.  Okay, they are new, still getting the hang of things, I told myself.  Then, it turned out one of the ice creams I ordered wasn't available.  Would I be able to wait an undetermined period of time for the manager, who had stepped out, to come back in so the charge could be voided?  No.  I selected a replacement ice cream, which the clerk hadn't thought to offer.  It was now 4pm.  As the clerk finally assembled the order (there was no one else there, so it wasn't, you know, busy...

I need sugar.  Face it, this lock-down requires a little (just a little) stress eating.  My attempts at baking Chocolate Chip cookies have not turned out well, so I headed to Georgetown to check out the new Levain Bakery.  The line was two blocks long.  So, I headed to Plan B, a new pastry shop in western Rosslyn.  Named Eclairons it doesn't have a website yet but is related to Pastry XPO , a cafe at Mosaic I had tried a year or so ago.  Despite opening issues (I was the only one there but the clerk took a while to ring up the order and almost overcharged me), the sweets here are better than the Mosaic version.  I purchased a lot of iems to get a sense of what worked and what didn't.  Visually impressive their "cookies" (two meringue wafers filled with a variety of fluffy stuffings) were the least yummy.  They are "okay" but not stunning and tend to crumble everywhere at the first bite.  More engaging were the cupcakes and eclairs which ...

It's the first of September, and while it is still toasty outside Labor Day is looming and autumn is likely right around the corner.  With the lockdown continuing forever, it seems, I continue to cook a lot.  Like, a LOT.  I've tried a "significant" number of new recipes this summer, just to get out of the rut.  Many have been good, some not so much.  There were four standouts worth sharing.   First was the Whole Lemon Walnut Pesto .  I used this stuff on EVERYTHING.  Pasta, of course, sandwiches and wraps, rice, vegetable mix-in, you name it.  I made two batches in one week.  It is one of those perfect dishes, where the balance is there of sweet and sharp and tangy and creamy and chewy.  It appeals to my sense that there should be no waste after cooking and was a delightful summer spin on a basic staple.  Brava to this one. Second was Mujadara.  There are a number of recipes online but they are all essentially the sa...

Okay, so I like things which are a tad crunchy in, like, everything I eat.  So, in my random-surfing-of-the-internet-while-very-bored I came across the Mealthy CrispLid.  I had to have it.  Apparently, everyone else wanted one too so it took a while to get to me.  Does it crisp?  Yes, and I really like the feature of being able to see inside.  Does it cook?  No.  And this is an issue, one I saw nothing about when reading other reviews.  I've come to believe that I might be the only person on the planet with an 8 qt Instant Pot.  The Mealthy lid fits both a 6 qt and 8 qt but I think the recipes are set for the smaller volume, as I have had to increase both time and temperature on every recipe to get the desired results.  As a veggie, I haven't had to worry about undercooked meat but I have learned to "half-cook" veggies in my microwave before putting them in the CrispLid or they are crunchy on the outside while raw on the inside (t...

Wow.  Actually able to try out a new restaurant which opened during quarantine -- and it was terrific!  Yes, I got take-out, but that was an advantage as I was able to sample a much wider range of menu options.  This place isn't just vegetarian-tolerant, it is downright friendly and the chef seems to embrace the idea of going beyond the expected in this type of cuisine.  A wide variety of dishes are marked as being vegetarian or vegan.  We start with the cheese dip which is not your typical electric orange stuff which echoes the artificiality of Velveeta.  No, this is a much less refined but far better tasting dip which seems to have a base of crema, cojita and roasted poblanos.  Honestly, I could have eaten it solo with a spoon.  The chips are equally nice being made onsite, and were still warm when I got them home.  Nothing here is what you would expect ... it is better.  The Empanadas are my favorites with light and fluffy exteriors...

If you love local restaurants as much as I do, the thought of all the struggles they are facing (along with their employees) is heartbreaking.  From the very beginning, I made a pledge.  In addition to donating to charities for out-of-work restaurant staff ( https://www.ramw.org/coronavirus-worker-relief-fund ) I would get takeout at least once a week.  I've stuck to that, trying to balance my choices so that the waistline didn't expand along the way.  So far:  Peter Chang's, Raaga, Mexicali Blues, Bethesda Bagels, Pupatella, Lebanese Taverna, Sweet Leaf, Oby Lee, Masala Express, Troy's Italian Kitchen, Silver Diner, Il Radicchio and two local Farmers' Markets.  Up next, Bakeshop, Livin' the Pie Life and True Food Kitchen.  Keep the faith, folks.  If we all pitch in (and what a huge challenge -- having to eat food you don't prepare!) we can help these places out.