THE WASHINGTON POST.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019EZ12
Casual Dining
BY TIM CARMAN
T
he counter is only eight
stools long, with a couple
of lonely bulbs hanging
from the ceiling to illumi-
nate the angled wood bar, God’s
original communal table. Truth
be told, there’s not much need for
artificial light at Green Almond
Pantry, where a large bay window
floods the narrow room with
sunlight. Food is served only
from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., when
nature serves as the shop’s power
company.
Lunching by natural light
seems only appropriate at Green
Almond, where chef and co-own-
er Cagla Onal-Urel produces sal-
ads, dips, sandwiches and en-
trees in which ingredients give
the impression of moving from
field to plate while barely passing
through the kitchen. It’s an illu-
sion, of course. Chickpeas are
certainly pureed in a food proces-sor. Eggs are, without a doubt,
lowered into simmering water.
And focaccia doughs are clearly
molded into pans and baked in an
oven. But the dishes that land in
front of you are so informed by
the flavor — and sometimes the
shape — of their principal ingre-
dients, you can’t help but feelclose to the source.
If the name Onal-Urel sounds
familiar, it should. She used to
lead the kitchen at Etto, back
when 2 Amys’s Peter Pastan still
had a hand in the restaurant,
when 14th Street still had every
diner’s attention. Onal-Urel is a
Turkish native who ditched plansto pursue an MBA and, instead,
went to cooking school and start-
ed working for Pastan at Obelisk,
the Italian destination near Du-
pont Circle. She returned to her
homeland to serve as executive
chef at a pair of luxury hotels, but
Pastan lured her back in 2012 to
SEE CASUAL ON 13Lunch, sprinkled with a mother’s love
Counter and market
focus on fresh, unfussy
midday plates
PHOTOS BY LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTIf you go
GREEN ALMOND PANTRY
1314 9th St. NW,
greenalmondpantry.com.Hours: Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. Tuesday through Saturday;
market: 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday.Nearest Metro: Mount Vernon
Sq/7th St.-Convention Center,
with a 0.3-mile walk to the
lunch counter.Prices: $5 to $16 for salads,
dips, soups, sandwiches,
entrees and desserts.TOP: Green Almond Pantry
offers field-to-plate dishes
such as the Little Little in
the Middle salad featuring
red lentil balls, braised
artichoke, roasted rainbow
carrots, spicy cabbage and
smoky eggplant with
roasted mini peppers.
BOTTOM: Lunch at the
Shaw spot is served at the
counter that fits eight stools.