Going Native

K-Last week I decided to head to Penn Quarter and grab some lunch. I had passed Native Foods Café a couple of times and really had wanted to try it but was a bit tight on time due to meetings.  However, they have the option to order online and pick it up, so I did.

Native Foods Café claims they make everything fresh daily—from their homemade tempeh and seitan, to their Native Cheese, sauces and drinks, dressings and desserts. Their entire menu is 100% plant-based and they are very eco-friendly.

I ordered the Greek Gyro Bowl that had the sliced Native Peppered Seitan sautéed with shallots on quinoa, steamed vegetables and kale with lemon-garlic sauce and hummus; Native Fries and the lavender lemonade.

Ordering online and picking up my order was pretty easy and no issues. The people at the counter were very friendly and helpful. For the lemonade, they give you a cup and you fill it up at the condiment/drinks bar.

Once back at my desk, I took out the eco-friendly “bowl.”  The portion was huge, definitely enough for two lunches and same with the fries. The vegetables looked and tasted fresh, kale done nicely and the lemon-garlic sauce, which seemed like it was mixed with the hummus was very garlicky and good.  The seitan added a nice flavour and wasn’t too salty, which sometimes happens at other establishments. The fries were crisp and seasoned and the lavender lemonade was good but a bit too sweet for me. It did have the taste of lavender so if you don’t believe you would be too keen on that, I’d say skip it and go for something else.

If you are vegan, vegetarian or someone who just wants to switch it up on occasion I would recommend trying it. I was quite happy with my lunch and am looking forward to returning.

Hours: Sun 11:00am–7:00pm

Mon–Sat 11:00am–9:00pm

701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

202-347-1848

Out of the Blue – Woodward Table and WTF

C – At the corner of 15th and H there’s a restaurant that, I think, popped up out of nowhere. I’ve been there before (at least, to a restaurant in that space) but this was an altogether different dining experience. My friend and I sat at a high table in the bar overlooking 15th. Really fun to do at lunchtime as you can watch the mix of workers, residents and tourists zipping by — the latter looking like ducks in a line on their Segway tour of the city. In the interest of time we skipped directly to entrees. I had the POTATO CRUSTED SALMON with Chesapeake oysters, swiss chard, leeks, portobellos, lemon, chives. It was shockingly flavorful, each bite punctuated with a very rude “MMMMMM!!!!” from me. My friend had the CHESAPEAKE ROCKFISH with fennel, olives, kale, blood orange-tarragon vinaigrette. He seemed equally happy with his, though perhaps not as emotive. We shared the MAC AND CHEESE cheddar, ritz cracker topping. I scraped that bowl clean. I’d definitely like to go back and try more. I’d also like to stop by WTF (Woodward Takeout Food) — their amusingly named takeout joint attached to the main restaurant.

K- WTF (Woodward Takeout Food)!  I went the takeout route. I dropped by WTF and ordered the wild mushroom flatbread and grabbed a lemon bar.  There was no wait to order, which was great for me (I went around 1:15 p.m.). The order itself didn’t take too long either although on the menu it says to expect a 12 – 14 minute wait, I may have waited about ten minutes. Or maybe it didn’t feel long because I was perusing the custard and baked goods they had on display that looked absolutely yummy! Anyway, as I was walking back to work with my order (I must admit it was very poor planning on my part logistically as carrying a boxed flatbread and lemon bar, my purse and holding an umbrella due to the rain wasn’t the easiest thing) and was getting hungrier by the minute. The smell emanating from my flatbread smelled divine! Once I got back to my office, I quickly took photos for this post and began inhaling my lunch.  I kept pushing it further away hoping that it would slow me down – it did, but not by much. The plan was to eat half for lunch and the other for dinner – yeah, that didn’t happen. The wild mushroom flatbread with garlic confit, creamed spinach, fontina  was a bit oily but it was still crisp with a peppery, garlic flavour. The mushrooms were  meaty and the fontina added a nice taste. The lemon bar – the crust on the bottom was a bit soft so there is no way I could’ve eaten it without a spoon or a fork. It was very lemony maybe a little too much, I’m uncertain if I would get it again. I will definitely  return for lunch again, perhaps try the restaurant too.

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Woodward Table
1426 H St NW