Washington DC VegStyle Adventure

Full Picture Gallery Here

Hi everyone, just got back from short vacation to DC and wanted to recap some of the vegginess we experienced. First stop after leaving the airport was straight to Adams Morgan area to check out the legendary Sticky Fingers Bakery (all vegan). I can sum it up with Y-U-M! They have brownies, big huge cinnamon buns, cake, cheesecake, oatmeal creme pie cake and so much more. To our delight they even had Silk Coffee Creamer on hand. Why haven't other establishments including Starbucks realized yet that people who drink coffee don't want soy milk they want soy creamer! Sorry for the rant. Back to the goodness.... Another great thing is we picked up a copy of "The Vegetarian Guide to Washington DC." Nice.

Overall Rating Food & Price A-

Dinner found us still in Adams Morgan and in front of Amersterdam Falafel Shop. For $5.00 you get a huge pita filled with falafel and you get to dress it with as much fixins as you want. This includes hummus, tabouli, baba ganoush, salsa and so much more. So filling and so good.

Overall Rating Food & Price A

Along our travels we also happened to notice a "I'm not a nugget" PETA sticker on a roadside water pipe. I yelled "Score!" and took a picture. We also came upon a vegetarian starter kit stand right next to the newspaper. Wahoo!

The second day of the journey the destination was PCRM headquarters (Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine), birthplace of the Vegetarian Starter Kits, and other wonderful literature, media, and scientific research promoting our cause. We met up with Vanessa Jones in the elevator and she was kind enough to take us around. She brought us to the fun media room where we scored a huge handful of starter kits and other materials.

A quick metro ride back had us back downtown and on our site-seeing adventure. I couldn't help but stopping by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture.) Naturally, I was disappointed as even the lobby is compromised by corporate sponsors (see photo) and the factsheets they were giving out were touting the grades of beef. It was like a billion degrees out so I was greatful for the free water cooler but yet another disappointment by the styrofoam cups. And to think the EPA is just down the street. Don't these people talk? grrr...

After a long day playing tourist we headed on the outskirts of the city to a town called Vienna. There we visited the Whole Foods to load up on snacks for the next day's long bus trip. There weren't many vegan options on the buffet so we headed to a vegan restaurant called, Sunflower, we found in our "DC Guide."

It was quiet and it smelled good and there were literally sunflowers everywhere you looked. Sunflower nightlight on the table, sunflower tablecloth and draping from the ceiling. Very cute and fun. I was so impressed with the menu and so starving at the same time. As vegetarians we are use to having literally no options. Give us a hundred different choices on a menu and it's nearly overwhelming. I settled on the "fried chicken appetizer" and the Eggplant Medley with brown rice. Yay for gourmet vegan food!

Overall rating of the food and service A+

We took some pictures of another vegetarian restaurant up the street called Amma Vegetarian Kitchen. We ran in to grab a menu and it sure smelled good. Indian fare and fast food style dining room.

That was all we could squeeze in the 2 days we were in DC before we headed up to NJ. Not a lot to report vegwise there except for one amazing meal we had at a vegetarian place in Red Bank.

Down To Earth was the name, gone to heaven is how I felt when we rolled out of there. The menu there was so gourmet I'd have to say I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. There was an extensive selection for the raw folks too. We had the "Live Lemonade" to drink and the "Live Leaf Wraps" as an appetizer. (Sundried tomato, black olive nut pate, guacamole, tomato and shredded lettuce with a sprinkling of cheesy raw nut topping filling a green leaf wrap.) Ummmm WOW? I dunno does life get better then this? Yes, it did... it just kept going. We had another appetizer, the Raw Maki (Nori filled with a creamy brazil nut pate, layered fresh veggies and a sprinkling of sundried black olives. Served with wasabi miso dipping sauce.) On to the entree, the Seitan Bordalaise served with mushroom red wine sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed kale. And if that wasn't enough to make me bust we proceeded onto desert which may have been the best dessert I've ever tasted. The amazing chocolate banana cake with hempseed. The waitstaff was so friendly we wanted to invite them to join us for dinner. Haha...Yeah I couldn't move for a few hours afterwards, but it was pure bliss.


Overall Rating, Food, Price, Service A++++

Last but not least I couldn't resist taking a photo of this shirt we saw in one of the shops. Hey it's me! hahaha... well that's it folks...
It's a dilly!


Dill

More info of places mentioned:

---

Amma Vegetarian Kitchen
344-A Maple Ave East - Vienna, VA 22180
703-938-5328

Amsterdam Falafel Shop

2425 18th St., NW DC 20009 - Adams Morgan
www.FalafelShop.com.com

Down to Earth
7 Broad Street - Red Bank, NJ
732-747-4542

Sticky Fingers Bakery
1904 18th ST NW DC
202-299-9700
www.stickyfingersbakery.com

Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant
2531 Chain Bridge Road - Vienna, VA 22181
www.crystalsunflower.com