{ 18 octobre 2005 }
tasty vegetarian eats in d.c.
one of the most important parts of any trip—at least for a foodie like me—is the food. after arriving in d.c. and resting for a bit, i ventured out for lunch. with the myriad of restaurants near erin’s house, i decided i would find a place to eat on connecticut avenue. since it was chilly outside, i was looking for hot, vegetarian-friendly food, so i stopped in taste of india.
i was excited to see they had aloo mattar on the menu because that is probably my favourite indian dish; i always order it at india garden in pittsburgh. and taste of india’s aloo mattar definitely lived up to my fond memory of the dish.
taste of india
2621 connecticut avenue nw
washington, d.c. 20008
202.483.1115
one day for lunch, erin, her housemate randy and i went to potbelly sandwich works. it was a nice place to stop for a quick sandwich that is a step above subway. i had the vegetarian on wheat and a vanilla shake, both of which i quite enjoyed. potbelly is nothing exotic or fancy, but it definitely hit the spot for lunch.
potbelly sandwich works
1400 new york avenue nw
washington, d.c. 20005
202.628.9500
after dropping erin off at the airport on sunday [she was traveling for work], randy and i went out for ethiopian food, which i had never had before. there are lots of ethiopian places around d.c.; we went to fasika’s in adams morgan. when asked what to expect, randy told me that ethiopian food is kind of like indian food and kind of like middle eastern food.
we started off with sambusas [pastry shells filled with lentils, onions, green peppers and herbs], which reminded me a lot of samosas. for our entrée, we ordered the vegetarian combination, which comes with yemisir azifa [lentil salad], yatakilt wat [vegetables in rich tomato sauce], kik alicha [vegetable dip], kik wat [yellow peas in red pepper sauce], miser wat [lentils in red pepper sauce], yetimatim selata [tomato salad], gomen [sauteed collard greens & onions]. everything i tasted was delicious, but i especially liked the lentil dishes.
ethiopian food is served on top of injera, which is a spongy fermented bread that looks kind of like a rubbery crêpe full of bubbles. you are also served extra injera on the side with your meal. you eat ethiopian food much like indian food: tear off a piece of the injera and use it to scoop up bites of food. i think i may have to eat ethiopian food a few more times before i get used to the texture of the injera, but overall the food itself was fantastic.
fasika’s
2447 18th street nw
washington, d.c. 20009
202.797.7693
i had read about a bakery called cakelove in my lonely planet d.c. book, and i really wanted to go there because i’m a fool for baked goods. cakelove was started by warren brown, who quit his job as a lawyer to follow his passion for cakes. i completely respect and relate to that sort of zest for baked goods. unfortunately cakelove had changed its hours since my guidebook was printed, and erin and i arrived there just after it had closed. but i will definitely be hitting up cakelove next time i’m in d.c.
cakelove
1506 u street nw
washington, d.c. 20009
202.588.7100
posted at 14.09