Founding Farmers, Washinton DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

I remember seeing that Founding Farmers

had a vegan menu that looked tasty so we stopped by for a late lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Not much was open in the area and it was packed. Luckily it was nice outside and I just wanted to sit and visit with a friend so we decided to sit outside and wait for a table. I am so glad we did! The food was amazing. First up we had the vegan patty melt – a gardein burger patty, caramelized onions, vegan cheddar, and homemade agave mustard on toasted rye bread. We chose asparagus as the side as well…asparagus is tasty! The sandwich was incredible! We had a patty melt the weekend prior at a place in Seattle and it was nowhere near as good as this one.  The bread was delicious and toasted perfect, the onions and mustard lent a nice flavor, the cheese was not overpowering, the burger was juicy and delicious. The asparagus was also amazing - sweet and tender and still crisp. It was cooked with a little olive oil with salt & pepper seasoning it and it was really really great.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also tried the Chocolate Stout Farmhouse Waffle – cocoa waffle made with Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout topped with fresh banana slices and homemade vegan caramel sauce. The waffle by itself was not very sweet which was good. It paired nicely with the banana and the caramel sauce so they were not overpowering either – they all worked well together. The banana and caramel added the sweetness (the caramel by itself was incredibly sweet, but there wasn’t much of it so you just got a little bit sweet), the waffle mellowed it out…it was amazing.

Overall – Even if there is an hour and a half wait I would eat here again. The food seemed simple, but they did an amazing job of making the simple items better than any I have had before, like the side of asparagus. My non-vegan friend who ate with us was complaining about how long we were waiting, but even he thought it was worth it. Definitely go here if you can.

Hello Cupcake, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

On our super tour of the Washington DC area the last cupcake place we tried was Hello Cupcake.

Again there was only the option of vanilla or chocolate cake and a few different frosting flavors. I really don’t know why cupcake places cannot figure out how to make a vegan flavored cupcake. I mean they had normal cupcakes in fun flavors like chai, and caramel apple. Is it really that hard to put some chai flavor in your vegan batter? I mean I make them at home so it is not that difficult…it is like vegans can only have chocolate or vanilla. I often joke how I should start a bakery so vegans can have better options (even the all vegan bakeries don’t have fun flavors like Sticky Fingers! Disappointing). Anyways we tried the peanut butter chocolate cupcake. It was alright. Not the best and not anything I would make a trip for.  The frosting was good – light with a light peanut butter flavor.

Overall – Another cupcake place that has the standard so so cake with different flavors of frosting. If I were in the area I would rather got to Red Velvet or Bakeshop (even though they are farther away from downtown)

Mellow Mushroom, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

We almost skipped Mellow Mushroom  as we were way too full the first time we stopped by. The following day however we were going to be walking by so we stopped and got a pizza to go just to try it. We ordered a pizza with BBQ Tofu, broccoli and vegan cheese. It was so nice out we walked down to a park and ate in the sun. The pizza was amazing! Definitely the best we had in DC. The dough was very chewy and really really good. The BBQ sauce was sweet, the tofu tasty, and the broccoli was still crisp. It looked like a mess, was kind of a mess to eat, but was so tasty I didn’t mind. Definitely stop by for some pizza if you are in the area.

Overall – If you want pizza in Washington DC definitely stop by Mellow Mushroom. It was the best pizza we had on our visit (a close second was District of Pi).

Sticky Fingers Bakery, Washington DC, Brunch

From Vegan Gastrobot

While picking up treats from Sticky Fingers Bakery we saw that they have brunch on the weekend including biscuits and gravy which is one of my favorites. There are a few food items that if a restaurant has it I like to try it and this is one of them. I never had non-vegan biscuits and gravy so I am not 100% sure what it should taste like, but I know what I like in the breakfast food. You can get the biscuits and gravy by itself or as a platter with cheesy grits and tofu scramble. We decided to go with the platter to try a little bit of everything. The cheesy grits were…not my thing. They did not have any flavor and I don’t know that I have ever had grits before. Maybe if you like grits you would like them. The tofu scramble was alright. It had a very light flavor and was not bad. The biscuits and gravy were delicious! The biscuits were light and fluffy, the gravy was very meaty and like a dinner gravy, but it was good.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also picked up a Mini Berry Pie to eat later. We heated it up and it was really tasty. The crust was flaky and delicious, the filling quite good.

Overall – Sticky Finger I found to be hit and miss. The biscuits and gravy were delicious, the mac and cheese amazing, the pie and cookies good everything else we tried was just not so good. I am still so disappointed that they only have chocolate and vanilla cake bases….and that the cakes were very dry. Would it hurt to add a little flavor and make it fun?

District of Pi, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

We walked into District of Pi to pick up a pizza to go and good thing – it was crazy busy! I guess it doesn’t help that it was Fri at 5pm in downtown DC. We ordered a thin crust pizza with vegan meat and cheese, spinach and green peppers. I wasn’t really expecting much from this as well…I didn’t think it sounded amazing. They use Daiya cheese which normally if you use too much of it is way too much. Raymond doesn’t really like it, though the mozzarella he can handle. We opened the pizza box and there was so much cheese on it! I though this is not going to be good…but it was super delicious! The cheese was not overpowering even though there was a ton, the crust was thin and crispy and really really good. The toppings paired well with the cheese and crust, the sauce was tasty. All in all I would definitely go back for this again if I were in the area.

Overall – Definitely check out District of Pi. Be warned that it gets really busy at peak times, but the wait is worth it.

Kabuki Sushi and Teriyaki, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Seattle is like the home of teriyaki. I remember when I moved out here there was a Teriyaki place on every corner and I ate it all the time. Unfortunately, though, it is hard to find tofu teriyaki and when you do it is disgusting. It is one of my favorite foods, and I don’t really know how they mess it up so badly. Usually the tofu is super soft and disintegrates when you try and pick it up with the chopsticks...not good. We were walking around downtown Washington DC and needed some food and saw a small food court. We went exploring and found Kabuki Sushi and Teriyaki…with tofu teriyaki listed so I had to try it. It came with some rice, a salad with a peanut dressing (I think) and the teriyaki was lots of tofu and veggies. I really enjoyed all of this except the salad. The dressing was….not good so we didn’t eat it. The rice was sticky and rice, the sauce was sweet and tasty and the veggies and tofu were cooked surprisingly well for a food court. If I worked in the area I would stop in for lunch.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also tried one of the asparagus rolls to try out more sushi. It was good – just rice, seaweed and asparagus. The rice was on the outside so I was good (I don’t like the seaweed on the outside as I think it is disgusting when it is the first flavor to hit my tongue) and the asparagus was still crisp.

Overall – I wouldn’t make a special trip to get this, but if you work in the area of just need a quick bite to eat it is a nice option.

Dama Pastry & Cafe, Arlington VA

From Vegan Gastrobot

When searching for vegan treats in and near Washington DC I found Dama Pastry and Cafe  listed as having vegan desserts. I put it on my list and it was a little bit out of the way, but also near the Pentagon and Air Force Memorial so why not? I had never been over on that side of the river site seeing so it would be fun to explore. Well we got off at the Pentagon subway station and walked out past the Air Force Memorial to Dama. We were walking and I just kept thinking is this right? It doesn’t look like there is anything out here…then we came upon it – there are really four different stores on the same lot – a bread shop, a restaurant, a grocery store and the bakery/coffee shop. The parking lot is completely full of taxis – I don’t think there was a non-taxi parked anywhere near here. We walked in and everyone was hanging out watching Ethiopian tv and drinking coffee – It was just full of Ethiopian taxi drivers. I take that as a good sign as it must be somewhat authentic if all the people from that country are eating there! So they have a half case of vegan cakes to choose from – coffee, chocolate, fruit, etc. We went with the fruit cake even though I was a little worried it would be lemon flavor. The lady working however told us the fruit was just on top so we tried it. It was sooooo moist, not too sweet and completely delicious! There was a light lemon flavor, but not too bad. The cream was super good, like whipped cream, just light and fluffy and delicious. The jellied fruits on top added a nice sweetness.

Overall - Really amazing and if I am in the area again I would go back for more (and try the restaurant out as it smelled really good). The chocolate cake it probably incredible!

Red Velvet Cupcakery, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Red Velvet Cupcakery is one of a variety of places to get a vegan cupcake while in Washington DC. After the very disappointing cupcakes from Sticky Fingers, an all vegan bakery, I did not have high hopes that Red Velvet would have a good cupcake. They make a lot of non-vegan varieties, but always have a white velvet (vanilla) and black velvet (chocolate) which are both gluten free as well. Raymond is particular about gluten free baked goods - he usually finds them too grainy and won't eat most of them. These cupcakes however were great! The White Velvet was very moist and full of flavor. The frosting however was way too sweet for me and a very buttery butter cream. Raymond enjoyed it, but I am particular with frosting - I don't like most frostings. The Black Velvet was super moist as well and the frosting....the frosting was amazing!! Very light and fluffy with a light chocolate flavor and I could eat a bowl of it! I've always heard of people who will just eat a container of frosting with a spoon and it always made me cringe, but if it were this frosting....I would definitely go for it! It was like a whipped mousse and just amazingly delicious. Both cakes are amazing, and you would never know they are gluten free.

Overall - definitely stop by here for a Black Velvet Cupcake. The frosting itself is worth the price.

Soul Vegetarian, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Soul Vegetarian is a tiny little takeout place with one table to sit at. If not for the mac & cheese offered daily we probably would have just walked right by this place without giving it a second glance. Even with the promised mac & cheese I almost bypassed it as...it didn't look like much. We went inside and the lady working was incredibly friendly. She helped up pick out a few things to take with us and eat later. We ordered some of the mac and cheese and the BBQ twist. The BBQ Twist I really enjoyed - it was chewy and like BBQ meatloaf - delicious! The mac & cheese was different...I cannot put my finger on what it tasted like and what was different, but it was so good mixed with the BBQ sauce. We got the take out with the BBQ Twist on the bottom of the container and the mac & cheese on top. Next time I would definitely get the mac & cheese on the bottom so the BBQ sauce would mix with it better.

Overall - I would definitely go back here. The food was cheap and pretty tasty.

Amsterdam Falafel Shop, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Normally I wouldn't go to a falafel place on vacation in the US as I can get good falafel in Seattle. I saw that Amsterdam Falafel Shop had a toppings bar that you could use to doctor up your sandwich however you would like I put it on the list.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We ordered a small white pita with cucumber salad, hummus, cabbage, beets and a few other salads on it. This was very disappointing. The toppings were really good - the beets very sweet and pickled, the cucumbers crisp and tasty, but the falafel...the falafel did not have much flavor except hot spice, and it was incredibly greasy. Raymond made the comment that they left them in the oil too long or left them sitting in oil or something...they were just spicy hot grease balls. I really don't know why people like this place. We spoke with numerous people about falafel while we were in DC, and overheard people talking about it, and the common consensus was that you have to go to a place where that is all they make - like Amsterdam Falafel - for good falafel. I just don't get it. Maybe they just have never had an actually good falafel sandwich and everything else is worse than this in DC? That is the only thing I can think of.

Overall - Skip Amsterdam Falafel. The falafel is greasy and lacks flavor and it just not good.

Smoke & Barrel, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Smoke and Barrel was the restaurant I was most excited to try in Washington DC. They have smoked foods which I love! I use my smoker all the time at home. We ordered the smoked vegan wings served muddy (wet and rub). These were so good! Just the normal vegan drumstick, but so much better. The BBQ sauce that was served on the side was incredibly spicy so I did not use that, but the BBQ spice rub was perfect. I would definitely go back and get these again.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also ordered the BBQ Smoked Tofu Sandwich (Hand pressed, rubbed with our house bbq rub, cold smoked, then grilled and served "all the way" - coleslaw and a pickle slice - like a traditional bbq sandwich). This sounded delicious, but it was sooo disappointing and gross. The roll was not good - mushy and not tasty. The tofu was mush and had no flavor. The coleslaw...I don't even know why they added it as it tasted like nothing. The whole sandwich was like eating mush with no flavor. It was really not good. I would not recommend ordering it....I still can't get over how bad it was. How can smoked tofu and BBQ spice rub and coleslaw equal no flavor?

Overall - I would go back here as I really liked the atmosphere and would just hang out with some drinks and smoked seitan wings and a few friends. We sat on the porch which was open to the outside and it was perfect as it was a beautiful day. Just don't get the smoked tofu.

Radius Pizza, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

We had a full day of eating in Washington DC so while we were walking to Radius Pizza I mentioned how I wish pizza places had personal pizzas all the time, or slices of vegan pizza as I we couldn't eat a whole pizza. We walked in to Radius Pizza and what do you know? You can order a slice of any pizza until 7pm! Perfect! We ordered a slice of the Giler made vegan - onion, spinach, red pepper, and Teese. Pizza Pi in Seattle uses Teese and it is my favorite vegan cheese. On this pizza however...there was too much of it. I would have preferred no cheese and just veggies. The crust was really thin and tasty - not really filling like a tick crust pizza. They have a special 5-7 every day - $5 for a slice of cheese pizza ($1 extra for vegan cheese) and a pint of beer. Pretty good deal and I would check it out next time we are in the area.

Overall - This was pretty good pizza. I say skip the cheese and just get veggies.

Julia's Empenadas, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Julia's Empenadas always has one vegan option. The have multiple locations throughout the city so you can stop in and pick one up. We shared one of the vegan options of the day - broccoli, sweet potato, onions, spices.

From Vegan Gastrobot

I was really excited to try this. I make empenadas at home and I love foods I can eat on the go like that - hand pie type things. This was...VERY disappointing. The dough was very thin and crispy like a cracker. The insides were like curry, but just an okay curry. Really if I would have like the crust better it would have been good, but unfortunately it was just lacking. I am not sure if that is the way the empenada dough should be as I have never had it out, but if so then I just don't like empenadas as much as I thought.

Overall - I would skip Julia's Empenadas. It was just not that good.

Sticky Fingers Bakery, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

I was very excited to try out the baked goods at Sticky Fingers Bakery. I mean they won cupcake wars so the cupcakes have to be good right? Unfotunately not. We ordered a bunch of treats to try a little bit of everything. We got a slice of the chocolate mousse cake, Cookies & Cake Cupcake, and a Peanut Butter Fudge Cupcake. The cake...well the mousse was really good, creamy and delicious. The cake itself was very dry and just blah. The cupcakes...the cakes were very dry and just not good. The frosting's were not very good either. The peanut butter one had a bad aftertaste, the cookie one was better, but still not good. If this is the caliber of cakes they make how in the world did they win Cupcake Wars? They were not even close to the best baked goods we have had. I could make better. Definitely not worth the price tag.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also ordered a Sweet & Salty Cookie and Jenny's Brownie. The brownie was also dry and way too cake like, not gooey and fudgy and chewy like it should be. The cookie however was really good. The best baked good we got there. I would try another one. I liked the salty chocolate chip cookie - I will have to try it at home.

From Vegan Gastrobot

The last thing we ordered was the mac & cheese. I always try mac & cheese if it is an option just because there are so many different ways to make it. This was probably the best vegan mac & cheese I have ever had. I loved it! It was similar to the ones at Hillside Quickie and Bang Bang Cafe in Seattle, but not nearly as greasy and just was better. No commercial fake cheese used, I wish I knew how they made it!

Overall - Skip the cakes. They are dry and just not good. The cookies were tasty. Definitely try the mac and cheese as it was delicious!

Busboys and Poets, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

I loved Busboys and Poets.  I loved the atmosphere, the waitress was very friendly, it was very artsy and the food was delicious. It was like a combination of coffee shop, restaurant, book store, art gallery, performance space, everything all combined into one (and very popular). We stopped by around 3 in the afternoon on a weekday and it was packed. We were seated at a short table with a very long couch on the one side and comfy chairs on the other. Very relaxed just hang out and sip a coffee all afternoon and when you get hungry have some food kind of feel. I loved it. We tried the vegan pepperoni calzone (vegan mozzarella, veggies, vegan pepperoni in a whole-wheat crust). This was really tasty, though not as good as the calzones we get in Olympia, WA. They used mozzarella daiya cheese with pepperoni and lots of veggies. If the crust would have been amazing this would have been a top contender for best calzone. The crust was really thin and good, but not great. Overall I would order this again.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also ordered a Peanut Butter Banana Panini (peanut butter, banana, and agave nectar). We opted for the sweet potato fries as a side. The panini was delicious - very creamy and sweet, but really how can you go wrong with peanut butter and banana? You really can't. The sweet potato fries...well they are one of my favorites! These however I did not like that much. They had a lot of cinnamon on them and I just did not like them. A lot of people like their sweet potatoes with sugar and cinnamon and marshmallow and all kinds of sweet thing on them, but I find them way too sweet that way and prefer them plain and simple. Just fried and a little bit of salt would have been perfect. I wish I would have known they were dessert fries as I would have ordered a different side. This is the only item that I was disappointed in.

From Vegan Gastrobot

They also had a vegan brownie so we had to try that. It came with a scoop of vanilla coconut ice cream and a sliced strawberry. This brownie was amazing! It had mousse on top of it and was very rich and chocolaty. The ice cream did not have a strong coconut flavor and was really smooth and creamy. The combination of the ice cream, brownie and strawberry was perfect - just a small piece of each with each bite was wonderful. I would definitely order this again.

Overall - I highly recommend Busboys and Poets. The food is delicious, the service friendly, the atmosphere very relaxing and artsy.

Chez Harag Pastries, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

I read about a vegan French bakery in DC and I knew we had to stop by. They didn't have croissants, but they did have all kinds of cookies and treats that I have never had before. Chez Hareg Pastries was a small shop with a full case of vegan cookies. We tried a few different items - the Vegan Palmier, Raspberry Sprtiz Cookie, Pecan Snowball and a Napoleon.

From Vegan Gastrobot

The napoleon was light and flaky and not too sweet. Layers of puff pastry that was flaky like philo with a light lemon custard in between. This did not have strong lemon flavor which is good as I do not like lemon that much. Not too filling and not too sweet so not a very heavy dessert which was good since we had so much walking to do.

From Vegan Gastrobot

The Pecan Snowball is one of my favorite cookies and this one was buttery and delicious just like it should be. I had never had a spritz cookie before so we had to try one of them and it was really good. Very light and buttery, though I would have prefered it without the jam. The Palmier was my favorite - these were so light and flaky and lightly sweetend and just perfect. Like eating lightly sweetend airy crispy pasty. We took a dozen of these and the plain spritz cookies to go to share with my freinds we were staying with. My friend was hesitant - she said she really liked spritz cookies, but made with real butter. She tried these one and conceeded that they were just as good - surprisingly buttery for a vegan cookie.

Overall - definitely stop by here and pick up some Palmiers and Spritz cookies. They were so good. Now I wish I had some to snack on...

B Cafe aka Brooklyn Cafe, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Our first day in Washington DC we decided to start our day of eating at B Cafe aka Brooklyn Cafe. They have a vegan sampler so we ordered that. It is such a good deal. For a dollar more than a sandwich you can try three different items - a burger patty, chicken patty, and shrimp. The sampler usually comes with cole slaw, but since I do not like cole slaw we switched it out for potato salad. We also ordered a side of spinach to get some good veggies in as we don't always get a lot of them on our food vacations. The people working there were a little scattered the day we were there, but they also had opened late as they had something break in the morning and they waiter was very friendly and nice so it was fine. The vegan burger was really good - Veggie Burger made from Carrots, Beets & Potatoes (the dark pieces on the top of the plate). The beets gave it a very nice color and it was a little bit spicy and sweet and seasoned very well. The chicken patty was like fried chicken and I loved it. Probably the best fried chicken we have had. The batter was light and the chicken was meaty. The shrimp were better than I thought they would be. I never liked seafood, it was one of the few things I always refused to eat. I have tried vegan seafood before and it always has that fishy flavor that I really do not like and the texture is just....not something I like (though I am told it is like real shrimp). These did not have an overwhelming seafood flavor, but the texture was there and still was not something I particularly liked. The potato salad was delicious! This is another item that is hit or miss for me - I do not like mayonnaise or mustard and most times potato salad is too mayonnaisey. This was not - it was very creamy, but still had chunks of potato in it and I would definitely go back and get it again. The side of spinach was just steamed with some peppers and such mixed in. This was plenty of food for the two of us to share. We were not super stuffed afterwards, but full.

Overall - I really enjoyed our vegan sampler here and I would definitely go back again.