Vegetate

Vegetate on 9th

I have been to Vegetate 4 times now - twice for dinner & twice for brunch. The first time I went, I was so excited to try stuff…imagine, a vegetarian restaurant that I can walk to! The decor is very calming, I think. There is great art on the walls that will change occasionally. There are 3 floors…the 1st floor being tables, the 2nd floor is more tables, the bar, & the DJ spinning booth, & the 3rd floor is a table for about 14 people. The tables to me seem a little too easy to move (i.e. very lightweight), & the silverware is flimsy as well (it feels like cafeteria silverware).

We were waited on very quickly. There is no alcohol license, so diet coke had to suffice. The wait staff brings out a glass of pickled green beans on the house. They are very good, but on this visit they did not bring a little saucer to put the green bean stems on (I guess you are supposed to eat those?). For an appetizer I got the grilled romaine Caesar (as did my dining partner). It was good, but the portion was small, & I could have used more dressing (although I am sure if I asked for more I would have gotten it). We both got the same entrée as well: sesame crusted tofu with warm hosin-Dijon potato salad & bok choy. It was fabulous, & we both cleaned our plates. For dessert, I got the Vegetate peanut butter & jelly (coconut peanut butter bread pudding & fresh fruit jelly) & my partner got the chocolate torte. I think my partner’s was a little better, but I did eat all of mine. Mine was a little strange, but I could not stop eating it. On a scale of 1-10, on this visit I would rate Vegetate a

Vegetate Gallery Artwork

7.

For my 2nd visit, my partner & I decided to try their breakfast. I got the vegetable frittata & a side of the toasted country bread with apple butter. It was really good, but I left still feeling hungry. My partner got the Vegetate scramble (which you can get with real eggs or tofu…he got eggs), which comes with potatoes, &he also got a side of the smoked tofu “bacon”. I tried his bacon, & it was nice & crunchy & had that smoky taste. I wish I had ordered some. My rating for that visit would be 7 out of 10.

For my next visit, we joined some friends for a Saturday brunch (they have since dropped the Sat. brunch & now offer brunch only on Sundays). I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Since I thought the portions from the previous meal were a little skimpy, I ordered a lot for the brunch. I got the cornmeal pancakes with spiced syrup & two sides: smoked tofu “bacon” & creamy grits. The pancakes were light & fluffy (who would guess they are vegan?) & the grits were to die for. The bacon was good as well, although it wasn’t as good as it was the previous visit. I would rate this meal 8 out of 10.

My last visit was right after they changed their menu a bit (seems like they are changing it seasonally). For an appetizer I got the wild mushroom trio (wild mushroom baba, tempura oyster mushroom & enoki mushroom salad). All I can say about this appetizer is WOW! I enjoyed it so much that the next morning I was still thinking about it & I e-mailed Vegetate through their

Dining at Vegetate

Web site (www.vegetatedc.com) to tell them how good it was! My partner got smoky tomato bisque with balsamic reduction & grilled croustade, & he said it was pretty good. My entrée was jerked tempeh sweet potato latkes (optional), greens, & coconut jerk sauce. It was good, but was a little too spicy for me. The sweet potato latke was wonderful, but the jerk sauce was really spicy. I ate what I could. My partner got the Vegetate sliders, one with pickled tomato & onions, the other with spicy cabbage slaw, pomme frites & steak sauce. He said they were good, but the buns seemed a little hard. For dessert, I got the cherry-filled dark chocolate torte nut crisp & berry compote, which was very good & very chocolaty. I give this visit an 8.5 out of 10.

To sum things up, service has been excellent on all 4 visits. The food is very good, although the portions started out small. I have complained about this on the Web site (as have some of my friends), & it seems maybe the powers that be have listened. It looked like the portions have gotten a little larger. Try Vegetate…you will be amazed at how good vegetarian food can be!

Vegetate
1414 9th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001