What I ate Yesterday (in DC)

In comparison to where I live, DC roars with vegan options. It only seemed necessary for me to update my blog on what I ate there yesterday, and how I felt about it.

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Saxby's

First, I stopped into Saxby's to grab some caffeine to get me through the day. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when I didn't see matcha on the menu, but I decided to get a cold brew with oat milk.

More on: https://www.saxbyscoffee.com/

Chaia Taco

Chaia Taco is a completely vegetarian taco hotspot that has an array of vegan options by leaving off the dairy. I decided to order one roasted butternut squash taco (no goat cheese or yogurt) and one chipotle sweet potato hash (no feta). At first glance, I was a little concerned that the lack of dairy would leave my tacos bland. However, I was taken back by the burst and blend of spices. I would definitely say I enjoyed the chipotle sweet potato hash taco more, but I would reorder both tacos in a heartbeat.

More on: https://www.chaiatacos.com/menus/

Fancy Radish

Throughout the past few months, I have been dying to go to the all-vegan sit-down restaurant called the Fancy Radish. Usually when I get vegan food from restaurants, I don't expect much. But after spending probably way too much time reading yelp reviews, I had high hopes. As Fancy Radish's plates are small/medium, my mom and I were told to order 4-6 options. Honestly, this was probably the most difficult time I have had in ordering food in the entire time I've been vegan. I have actually found a lot of vegans to become quite indecisive when given such a large array of options, as we are usually used to only a sparse amount. Here were my four noteworthy items:

For our first dish, I knew we had to order the fancy radishes. I don't think I have ever eaten a green meat radish- let alone a radish in my life; they kind of looked liked scallops and tasted like potatoes.

Second, we ordered the rutabaga fondue with a pretzel roll and veggies. Don't get me wrong- I think vegan fondue sounds pretty odd, but I just felt like I had to try it. Usually how I can tell if vegan food is up to par is through my non- vegan family members- and my mom agreed that the chefs absolutely nailed this fondue.

After watching the Thrillist video promotion/ review on the Fancy Radish, which focused largely on their spicy dan dan noodles, I was so excited to finally try them. The noodles were coated in a thick, creamy, and spicy sauce with five-spice glazed mushrooms. I'm usually not a huge fan of mushrooms, but they had a crisp exterior and almost took place of the meaty aspect one would usually find in this type of dish.

For dessert, I have never seen such an extensive list of unique vegan options. I decided to order the blackberry peanut butter cup. It was parfait style with layers of pretzel crust, chocolate ganache, PB custard, blackberry jam, peanuts, and blackberry sorbet. I'm pretty sure I could live off of that dessert for the rest of my life. It was painfully fantastic.

More on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xe3CKBGw2c (Thrillist video), https://www.fancyradishdc.com/#home-section (website)