Spring Break
The Scene
Review: Shaw gem serves up stuff of vegetarians' dreams
Vegetate Restaurant & Lounge: A
By Andrew Gardner on 2/14/08
|
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.
Please note: All comments are reviewed before they are posted. Do not press the submit button more than once!
Be the first to comment on this story