Short ribs and baby octopus may dominate many menus in the city, but that doesn't mean local chefs can't find love in an acorn squash. In our ongoing series, Chefs Veg Out, we'll prove D.C.’s chefs can play with more than just meat.

• Name: Orlando Amaro
• Title: Executive Chef
• Restaurant: Station 4
• Twitter: @Station4DC
• Cooking Since: I started 19 years ago. My mom is a pastry chef and I grew up in the kitchen making all types of cookies. I was born in Venezuela, but grew up in Barcelona and went to culinary school in Mexico.
• Random Fact: I'm a musician. I like playing the guitar and I used to play in nightclubs. My dad used to play piano, keyboards and drums. I grew up with music and I cook with music: Pink Floyd all day long.
• Favorite Vegetable: Beets. You can play with beets in the summertime and winter and all year. I love that it's sweet [with] natural sugar inside.
• Least Favorite Vegetable: I never use in my kitchen: Boston lettuce. I love fresh and I love crunchy. [Boston lettuce] is too hard to keep fresh.
• Memorable Meatless Dish: My grandmother is from Italy and she made eggplant parmesan.
• Best Vegetable Dish at Station 4: Catalonia spinach: sauteed baby spinach with cumin and toasted peanuts.
• Quick and Dirty Meatless Idea: I make a lot of squash. My daughter eats it every day, sauteed or grilled with peppers, yellow onions and marinated with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme and sea salt. [Add that] with mixed vegetables and it's like an antipasti.

Photo courtesy of Station 4

Short ribs and baby octopus may dominate many menus in the city, but that doesn't mean local chefs can't find love in an acorn squash. In our ongoing series, Chefs Veg Out, we'll prove D.C.’s chefs can play with more than just meat.

• Name: Ryan Fichter
• Title: Executive Chef
• Restaurant: Thunder Burger
• Twitter: @Thunderburger
• Cooking Since: I've been cooking pretty much since I was four and helping out with family dinners. Some people watch cartoons, I was watching cooking shows: Yan Can Cook and Julia Child. But professionally [cooking] since I was 16.
• Random Fact: I'm an avid fisherman. In Hawaii, I used to kayak fish and row out into the Pacific and try to catch big. The largest was a 45-pound amberjack. Big-game fishing on a little boat is quite a thrill.
• Favorite Vegetable: Zucchini. Growing up, my mom used to make these zucchini coins: brush them with butter and put some Parmesan, paprika, salt and pepper. It's versatile.
• Least Favorite Vegetable: Okra. It's slimy. It's just a funky vegetable.
• Memorable Meatless Dish: Moussaka, that a dear friend of mine used to make. The flavors, and the fact that I didn't have to cook it [made it the most memorable meal.]
• Best Vegetable Dish at Thunder Burger: Portobella mushroom sandwich that is marinated in Chardonnay wine, balsamic vinegar and  fresh herbs. It's topped with Swiss cheese and walnut pesto.
• Quick and Dirty Meatless Idea: Take an angel hair pasta. Saute garlic in extra virgin olive oil until browned. Throw in red chili flakes, a white onion, zucchini and, at the very last second, I hit it with fresh chopped tomatoes and white wine. Then I throw the pasta in. Finish it with a shave of parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Eating my way through your advice, an ambitious list of vegetarian sandwiches from 24 different restaurants.  More Comments Come True.

"It's the best cheesesteak outside of Philly," Kyle Bailey tells me over sandwiches from Yum's II on 14th Street NW. "Everything's better in Philly. Even the Wawa!" The executive chef at the heralded Birch and Barley, and Philadelphia native, often enjoys the food from the neighboring chicken-salad-subs-seafood-and-Chinese carryout.

At first, I was pretty nervous about heading into Yum's to try a vegetarian sandwich. I figured this place better catered to grease-starved drunks than a food writer at lunch. Then I found out that Yum's II is a favorite of not only Bailey, but of the whole Birch team.

One day sous chef Mike Malyniwsky, known for scouting out prime hole-in-the wall joints across the D.C.-area, walked in with chicken wings from Yum's. And then it started.

Yum's often caters Birch's weekly staff meetings and even provided cheesesteaks, chicken wings and fried rice for its holiday party. On many nights, Bailey drops by Yum's II after working, stuffs two subs in his backpack and motorcycles home. "I finally feel good," he tells me about his late-night cheesesteak eats.

I know what you're thinking though: Why doesn't Bailey just eat at work? I thought that, too. And so does he.

"I work all day. How did I leave a whole building full of food?" he often asks himself when he gets home. But that's also not what will fill him up after being on his feet for 14 hours. Plus, "I'm so sick of my own food," he tells me in all seriousness, "I know all the tricks."

So for something comforting, but also filling and good, he turns to Yum's II. And it's no secret. When Travel + Leisure asked chefs around the country what their favorite restaurant was, he named Yum's II.

Maybe it was my large camera, but when Bailey and I went to Yum's II the regular cashier noticed him. "Is that you in the book?" she asked him. It seems that people have been bringing copies of Travel + Leisure to Yum's II and ordering just like him. Because, apparently, you must say "steak and cheese" and not "cheesesteak" or you're apt to receive an order of mozzarella sticks.

As we waited for our sandwiches Bailey pointed to the grill, behind a glass wall. He acknowledged how very clean Yum's keeps its kitchen. He doesn't think the sandwich is greasy either, and it's priced just right.

I have to agree. Yum's vegetarian sandwich is simple and good. Bread that holds up to a bundle of vegetables and cheese is not easy to find in the District. Green peppers and onions are quickly cooked on the grill, leaving them with plenty of crunch. Tomatoes are well used here and are not mealy, adding extra flavor and texture. Just as Eli (commenter) suggested, I left off the mayo and requested provolone.  But I did ask for a side of hot pepper sauce and couldn't have been happier with the added heat.

In fact, I couldn't have been happier with Yum's II. Leave it to a star chef to remind me that good food can be found in all places.

In order of appearance in the comments:

1. Cork Market
2. Cowgirl Creamery
3. Busboys and Poets (sandwich 1) (sandwich 2)
4. Taylor Gourmet (sandwich 1) (sandwich 2)
5. Booeymonger
6. Pret a Manger
7. California Tortilla
8. Jaleo (sandwich 1) (sandwich 2)
9. Highland Cafe
10. Jimmy John's
11. Greek Spot
12. Sticky Fingers
13. Earl's
14. Yum's
15. Super Taco
16. Luna Grill
17. Five Guys
18. Sidamo
19. Everlasting Life
20. Au Bon Pain
21. Devon & Blakely
22. Corner Bakery
23. Potbelly
24. Black Squirrel

Photo by Stefanie Gans

The new store is located at 314 Carroll St. NW.

Full details below:

Soupergirl Brings Even More Local and Healthy Food to Washingtonians

Takoma store opens Wednesday, September 7

Washington, DC (August 24, 2011) – Continuing a quest to change how Washington eats, Soupergirl announces the opening of its first retail store in Takoma, DC.  The store will offer Soupergirl’s signature humorously named homemade soups and salads that feature seasonal, fresh ingredients from local farmers, as well locally sourced breads and baked goods. The store is located at 314 Carroll Street, NW, Washington DC, 20012, directly across the street from the Takoma Metro station stop on the Red Line.  The store will open on Wednesday, September 7 and will feature self service lunch and dinner along with take away options.

“Since starting Soupergirl in 2009, I’ve wanted to make it as easy as possible for Washingtonians to be able to enjoy our delicious and healthy soups,” said Soupergirl founder Sara Polon. “A store in Takoma is a natural evolution for Soupergirl because we’re surrounded by like-minded socially aware businesses and residents. In addition, our large new kitchen will enable us to increase the delivery and pick up service we’ve been offering for the past three years, allowing us to reach more people looking for convenient, nutritious and seasonally inspired meals with locally sourced ingredients. People want to eat healthfully and support local food producers and growers, but don’t have the time to shop and cook. That’s where we come in.”

Soupergirl’s soups are a fusion of modern flavors and old fashioned cooking techniques. Each batch is cooked slowly, from scratch and with love.  The creation of Soupergirl’s soups is a team effort between Sara and her mom, Marilyn Polon, aka Soupermom.  In addition to cooking, Sara works directly with the local farmers who provide the seasonal produce featured in the soups and salads and oversees the day-to-day operation of the business.  She also provides the comedic levity that makes its way into all aspects of Soupergirl.  In the test kitchen, Soupermom creates the recipes and transforms the farm fresh ingredients into the unique and distinctive selections that make up the evolving and entertaining menu.  All of Soupergirl’s soups, salads and baked goods are vegan and are under orthodox kosher supervision, a nod to Sara’s vegetarian lifestyle and Jewish upbringing.  Soupergirl’s creative offerings include: Souperpapa’s Papa Al Pomodoro Soup with tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil; Sing a Song About Watermelon Gazpacho with watermelon, tomato, cucumber and jalapeno; “Cream” of Asparagus made with vegan-friendly cashew cream; Harper Lee’s Quinoa Vegetable Soup with chunks of zucchini, red bell peppers, carrots, green beans, quinoa and basil; Jamaican Me Crazy Sweet Potato Soup with sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and dark rum just to name a few.

Soupergirl’s commitment to environmental, communal and social responsibility is evident in every aspect of the new store. All biodegradable scraps are deposited in the compost bins which Soupergirl shares with fellow residents of the conservation minded building in which the store is located.  Natural daylight fills the store through the expansive windows encouraging energy conservation in the restaurant.  Earth tones of brown and green are accented with touches of red, designed to invoke feelings of soup inspired warmth.  Dark wood tables and light green chairs made from 111 recycled Coke bottles (Emeco’s 111 Navy Chair), encourage neighborhood residents to linger over big bowls of soup, savoring every spoonful.   A view of the open, industrial inspired kitchen pulls guests into the Soupergirl experience, encouraging them to watch the cooking process – from the peeling of the local carrots to the seasoning of the final product.  A red, wooden window counter with street-side views of Carroll Street is perfect for individual enjoyment of soup and salad.  A story board above the cash register tells customers of Soupergirl’s core values – Fresh. Local. Good.  On any given day a neighbor with a passion for local, healthy food could be working behind the counter and graduates of DC Central Kitchen’s Culinary Job training program could be manning the stoves.  Proximity to Metro and several bike racks close to the store encourage alternative modes of transportation.

Diners can enjoy Soupergirl soups in the open dining area or they can pick up pre-packaged soups to take home.  Soups will be available by the pint and the quart. Prices will range from $4.99 for a small bowl of soup to $12.75 for a quart.  The store will be open Monday – Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The store will be closed on the weekends, but Sunday hours will be added in the late Fall.

###

ABOUT SOUPERGIRL

Soupergirl is Washington, DC’s local soup company bringing delicious and health eating to Washingtonians one bowl of soup at a time.  Soupergirl’s soups are a fusion of modern flavors and old fashioned cooking techniques that highlight seasonal, fresh ingredients from local farmers and producers. Winner of the DC Affiinity Lab/William James Foundation 2009 Socially Responsible Business Plan competition and an aspiring addition to the growing trend of young, community-centric entrepreneurs passionate about “doing well by doing good,” Soupergirl creator, Sara Polon, is changing the way DC’s power players and Washington denizens eat.   Soupergirl soups can be purchased online at www.thesoupergirl.com, in store at 314 Carroll Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012 and at FRESHFARM Markets Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Farmers Market located at 200 Independence Ave, SW on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May – Oct.  To receive Soupergirl’s Soup Menu of the Week email, please go to www.thesoupergirl.com.  Soupergirl store hours are Monday – Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:30 pm. and Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The store is closed on Saturday and Sunday.  Soupergirl can also be reached at 202.609.7177 and info@thesoupergirl.com.

Logo courtesy of Soupergirl

We were sitting at one of two outside tables at Bar Pilar, a coveted spot that my boyfriend and I considered ourselves lucky to land. Then we saw a friend down walking down 14th Street and, despite the limited seating, welcomed her to join us. It was a Monday. And we were not on a date. But she felt bad, so instead of sitting on the remaining plastic seat, she wedged herself in a flower bed.

We ordered a few plates to share: the peas and house-made ricotta, tri-meat meatballs and Pilar's popular fried chicken with whipped potatoes.

The peas arrived first. And that's when I knew our unexpected guest had became a fixture of our table. We unrolled a napkin, handed her a fork and she dug right in. The shiny, lime-colored beads brought forth a snap, complementing the creamy pudding of cheese.

Both English and snow peas are simply blanched, then tossed with lemon juice and Arbequina oil, a Spanish dressing that Pilar's chef, Justin Bittner, describes as "really light and fruity with no bitter aftertaste and not to peppery."

When we spoke on the phone a few days after my meal, Bittner wanted to know why I chose that particular dish to write about. "I like cheese," I tell him, plus I wanted to get my vegetable fill, as well. He politely asks if I could please write about something else, which I decline and ask why.

"I kind of borrowed this dish from another restaurant," he reveals, "so I think it could be disrespectful."

"That's okay," I quickly reply. "I'm sure the other restaurant would want to know you liked its dish." You know the saying: imitation being highest form of flattery and whatnot.

At first, Bittner refuses to reveal the originator, but continues explaining his take, describing the dots of chive oil, the bouquet of pea shoots and the lemon zested-ricotta.

I ask one last time. "It was at Palena Cafe," Bittner finally confesses. "I really like Frank Ruta's cooking." The reason for recreating this particular dish: "It was really fresh and tasty," he says.

Brings new meaning to the term "poaching" in the kitchen.

Photo by Stefanie Gans

As stated in a previous post ("Should a Veggie Burger Imitate a Hamburger or Be Its Own Sandwich?"), I feel that a veggie burger only works when it tries to succeed on its own merits, rather than merely attempt to mimic beef.

As I've searched far and wide for this meatless ideal, I've come across a dearly disappointing version at Black Squirrel, which tried in vain to secure the very wild grains of quinoa with flimsy strips of eggplant. And, while I normally advocate for eating real food over processed, weird, made-in-a-lab crap, I actually found joy in the TVP Garvey burger from Everlasting Life and didn't particularly care for the lentils, mushrooms, cornmeal and flour that create a bland veggie burger at Luna Grill.

Recently, I've found two meatless burgers that have made my boyfriend, a noted beef fiend, wishing he had ordered like me.

Albeit better known for its beer, Mad Fox Brewing Company presents a surprisingly spicy black bean burger, thanks to ground cayenne and chili powder, rounded out by cumin, and held together with flour and bulgur wheat. The house-pickled onions and the house-made bun only increase the pleasure of the burger, although I wished for a heavier coating of the cilantro pesto lining the bottom bun.

I thought sitting outside watching a game, while trying to avoid the onion loaf, would occupy my time at Lou's City Bar. Instead, my attention turned to its veggie burger, another solid black bean-based patty, served with a kicky red pepper aioli. I upped the wow factor, asking for guacamole to top my burger, and of course it worked. But even without the creamy green topping, the burger was a hit.

So far, it seems, those veggie patties springing from the humble black bean tend to fare best. Veggie burger makers, take note.

Photo of the Mad Fox black bean burger by Bennett Lipscomb

Short ribs and baby octopus may dominate many menus in the city, but that doesn't mean local chefs can't find love in an acorn squash. In our ongoing series, Chefs Veg Out, we'll prove D.C.’s chefs can play with more than just meat.

• Name: Quanta Robinson
• Title: Executive Chef
• Restaurant: Black's Bar & Kitchen
• Cooking Since: Eleven years. My first job after school was McCormick and Schmick's, diagonal to Black's. I feel like I've been on this block for ten years.
• Random Fact: (aka Do you have any hobbies?) I'm a workaholic.
• Favorite Vegetable: Haricot Vert. I've always liked green beans. When I was younger green beans were really big for me. But haricot vert's taste is a bit more refined and they present nicely in dishes. They're good raw and cooked.
• Least Favorite Vegetable: Carrots, because they were sweet. It was the only vegetable I liked when I was younger and I ate too much. My mom would cook it with brown sugar and butter, maybe nutmeg, and it'd be a sweet, sweet dish.
• Memorable Meatless Dish: My favorite vegetable dish was corn pudding that my mom used to make. It was just delicious. It was a custard dish with corn and cream. It was a request at every holiday. Everybody loved my mother's cooking.
• Best Off-the-Menu Vegetable Dish at Black's: Pasta entree with vegetables, oil, pasta and vincotto. But we ask the customer exactly what they want.
• Quick and Dirty Meatless Idea: She's (8-year-old daughter, Celeste) big on salads. She's really big on vegetables, which surprises me. I make her basic Greek salads with olives, peppers, raw onion, capers, cucumbers (she's big on cucumbers) and sometimes I'll throw in raw spinach. I try to stay away from the cheese because it's already too salty. I like to make them for her because it's not a heavy dressing. Creamy dressings cover the flavor where oil and vinegar accentuate the actual dish.

Photo by Andrew Lightman

Name: Ed Witt

Title: Executive Chef

Restaurant: 701

Twitter: @EdWitt

Cooking Since: 1993

Distinguishing Feature: A head tattoo with an anchor, swallows, and rose

Favorite Vegetable: Potato. "It's tasty and versatile as a main dish or side. I grew up eating simply and there was always some kind of potato on the table. I'm happy with just a simple baked potato."

Least Favorite Vegetable: Fiddlehead ferns. "I don't like the flavor and it tastes like dirty asparagus."

Memorable Meatless Dish: Apple and Butternut Squash Raviolo at Belcourt in New York City's East Village. "It finishes with brown butter, which brings everything together." (And the difference between ravioli and raviolo? "A raviolo is one big ravioli on the plate.")

Best Vegetable Dish at 701: Trumpet royal mushrooms with salsify and a sauce of blood orange and honey gastrique (caramelized honey reduced with a Thai long peppercorn).

Quick and Dirty Meatless Idea: Brussels sprout side. "Sautee Brussels sprouts until tender and caramelized. Roast, peel and dice quinces. Roast halved cipollini onions. Peel, then quarter chestnuts and toast in brown butter. Throw everything together in a pan with a little bit of veg broth and toss with a grain mustard."

Photo by Jen Galatioto

Readers learned that Sietsema's take down of the Mussel Bar paled in comparison to his trashing of Le Pigalle.

Don Rockwell's budding organization may not have any members yet, or even any services to give them, but  his Association of Independent Restaurants has plenty of reader attention. Presumably AIR has stirred up plenty of industry attention, too.

That's a start.

The Y&H column on Rockwell's embryonic organization beat all comers last week. Take a look at your top five:

1. Independents' Day: Foodie Website Founder Don Rockwell Starts a New Restaurant Association
2. Food News You Can Use: Why Fried Turkeys and Four Lokos Suck
3. Is Tom Sietsema's Review of the Mussel Bar His Harshest on Record?
4. David Guas' Bayou Bakery Set to Open This Month in Arlington
5. Meatless Sandwiches: They Should Be More Than Bread Stuffed with Veggies
   

I know, I know. Dedicating a day to vegetarian food is about as lame as Parents' Day and Veterans Day and Earth Day and all those other days in which you're supposed to pretend you're a friend to ________ ('rents,vets, the Earth, you name it) instead just another selfish weasel addicted to live Tweeting his thoughts about the latest baby-on-an-inflatable-mattress-in-space video that went viral.

But, hey, it's a start.

Today, Y&H will, among other things:

• Give you tips on good places for vegetarian eats (particularly if you sign up for the Y&H newsletter at right), like the bread basket at top;
• Tell you at least one veggie burger to avoid;
• Post a vid on how to make vegetarian gravy for the upcoming holidays;
• And pass along this interesting bit of news from Compassion Over Killing: The animal protection group has worked with a local pizzeria to make the area's first vegan jumbo slice. Find out more details after the jump.

Compassion Over Killing, according to Executive Director Erica Meier has been collaborating with Duccini's to offer a  non-dairy cheese jumbo slice at the pizzeria on U Street.

"Duccini’s is using a fairly new soy- and dairy-free vegan cheese made by Daiya Foods," Meier writes Y&H via e-mail. "It’s the same vegan cheese that zpizza locations all over the U.S. are now adding to their menus as well."

Meier says the idea "came about because jumbo slices are a popular food item, though no one in DC offers vegan jumbo slices—so John (the owner of Duccini’s) decided to be the first pizzeria in DC to dish out Vegan Jumbo Slices!"

So if Daiya cheese is not made with dairy or soy, what is it made from? According to the Daiya site, the melty and stretchy cheese is "made entirely from plant-based ingredients including cassava, a tuberous root. The process is a large part of what makes Daiya possible. The full list of ingredients are as follows:

Purified water, natural whole ground cassava and/or arrowroot flours, high oleic sunflower and/or safflower and/or identity-preserved high oleic canola oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors (derived from plants), xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, natural vegan enzymes, natural vegan bacterial cultures, citric acid, natural color."

That's a pissload of ingredients for a simple cheese, but, hey, at least it's 33 percent less fatty than "dairy-based cheese with equivelant attributes."

Those vegan jumbo slices with the vegetable-based cheese are also available, for a limited time, for $5 each at Duccini's. Guess where Y&H will be headed for lunch today?