Review: Shaw gem serves up stuff of vegetarians' dreams
Vegetate Restaurant & Lounge
By Andrew Gardner on 2/14/08
Media Credit: Bryan Whitson
VEG
OUT - Hidden in a quiet location between Logan Circle and the
Convention Center, two-year-old Vegetate serves up some of the best
vegetarian cuisine in the District. The swanky décor coupled with a
delicious yet simple menu make this worthy of a repeat visit. Be sure
to check out the low-key upstairs bar, pictured above.
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Vegetate Restaurant & Lounge
1414 Ninth St. N.W. (at O Street)
vegetatedc.com
202-232-4585
Metro: Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center or Shaw/Howard University (green and yellow lines)
Plates: appetizers, $5-$10; entrees, $12-$16
It's
not easy being green in D.C. That is to say, eating green. Fortunately,
for vegetarians in the city, there is an option. Discreetly located in
the Shaw neighborhood, roughly between Mt. Vernon Square, Logan Circle,
the U Street corridor and the Washington Convention Center, Vegetate is
an herbivore's fantasy come true. It's easy to miss passing by on
seemingly barren Ninth Street, but once found, diners know they have
run into something very special.
The dining room is split into
two levels, with the bar on the second floor. Vegetate is small, but
they don't overcrowd the place. It has a chic, metropolitan vibe,
though lacks the pretension that so many other places of this caliber
seem to get caught up in.
The upstairs bar is on par with some of D.C.'s nicer joints, but has the added bonus of being laidback and inviting.
The
first thing diners will notice is the simple, yet elegant, list of
house cocktails. The bar menu incorporates inventive juice combos and
house-made sodas. Looking for something sans alcohol? Try the delicious
house specialty, rosemary lime soda, which comes smartly disguised as
one of the restaurant's super-cool concoctions.
With drinks
decided, it's time to move on to the menu, which is separated into
three different categories: bites, small plates and large plates. This
is the kind of place where literally everything is fair game and
anything could be delicious. Everything is, obviously, vegetarian. But
for vegan diners, Vegetate denotes every vegan-friendly menu item - and
there's plenty of dishes here for those on a strictly non-dairy diet.
Plus, to maintain sustainability efforts, the rotating menu
incorporates as much local produce as possible, basing its seasonal
menus around the freshest of ingredients.
The friendly wait-staff is happy to recommend dishes, but the short
menu makes deciding relatively easy. This is a place for sharing, where
trying anything and everything is the most practical and worthwhile.
For
a party of two, sharing different samplings from the bites menu is a
good way to start off. Try the divine Vegetate Burgers, made of tender
seitan and topped off with greens and citrus aioli. The poblano pepper
and bean fritters, fried to crispy perfection, are another highlight, a
perfect introduction to what the rest of the menu has in store.
Depending
on one's hunger level, sharing a few small plates and one or two large
plates is also a must. The small plates offer up a creamy and delicious
butternut squash soup, perfect for the recent onslaught of cold
weather. The twice-baked sweet potato rounds are equally delicious, but
nothing matches the surprising (and insanely delicious) house-made
black olive flatbread. Topped with an array of grilled vegetables, this
surprise treat is so good, it's worth coming back just for this.
Stuffed?
Too bad, because the large plates are, bar none, some of the most
interesting and magnificently inventive all-vegetable entrées served in
D.C. restaurants today. Nothing beats the root vegetable noodles,
topped with creamy cashew sauce and roasted sweet potatoes - and it's
vegan. Another highlight: The sesame-crusted wild rice cakes, which are
served with gingered cabbage and marinated shitake mushrooms.
Finish
it off, if there's room, with sinful dark chocolate ganache, infused
with Sencha green tea, lime and aged balsamic vinegar - it's absolutely
to die for.
If it all sounds too vegetarian, remember there is
something to be said for mastering the art of truly complex, delicious
and inventive vegetarian cooking and Vegetate has it down pat. With
décor and service to match, this is definitely worth a look, and can
count at least one person among its ranks of repeat customers.
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