Food.Fun.Stuff: Vegetarian Take Over

Tis' the season to be...vegetarian. The District has taken a sprint in the Vegetarian menu options and many restaurants are realizing not everybody wants a big hunk of meat to be the base of a great meal. There are options out the wazoo for patrons to enjoy a seasonal, flavorful meal without having to simply resort to tofu and eggplant dishes. While dining with a vegetarian (*of 20+ years) recently, we were sad to find that the vegetarian menu option is usually only one dish (*That is on a menu that will contain fifty other non-vegetarian menu options...) and says something like "Vegetarian Platter", which is pretty vague and usually contains some dried up vegetables accompanied by over/under cooked starches. Glad to see the areas top chefs saw a need to fix this problem.

The Source Executive Chef, Scott Drewno, has twisted his Spicy Tuna Tartare dish into seasame-miso cones with house-made vegetable tartare, avocado (*We have a thing for avocado after visiting Rosa Mexicano on the National Harbor...very weird for us...) and asparagus. Proof has created some cool meatless dishes that include Spring onion/ramp soup and Warm Hen of Woods mushroom quiche (*Watch it with quiche if you're on a diet, it Will win the weight gain war...). The Evening Star Cafe Executive Chef Will Artley (*We love this chef, his personal style matches his cooking style: funky fresh cool) has created a delicious housemade wild mushroom ravioli served with market fresh vegetables and a brown rice and tofu burger served with a fresh herb aioli and marinated tomatoes (*If this wasn't a creation of Chef Artley, we might question the taste of this eccentric dish...). And for vegetarian pizza options that are not just the normal Margerita style pizza's, Rustico has a Roasted Mushroom Pizza with Swiss chard and goat cheese. What better time to be a vegetarian than now?? There are a myriad of different restaurants flooding the area with fresh, delectable vegetarian food options. Wonder if we should convert...

Picture source: http://www.avifresh.com/nutrisource/nf_veg.html