The Washington Post - 17.02.2020

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the washington post

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friday, february 21, 2020

protein promise.”

Popular bowls include the

healthy parm ($11.49), which has

33 grams of protein and is made

with plant-based Beyond Beef

meatballs; housemade tomato

sauce fortified w ith ghee; s pinach;

nut-free pesto; Parmesan; and or-

ganic quinoa. The mexicali

($9.49) is a can’t-believe-it’s-

healthy m ix o f chicken, corn, b lack

beans, cheddar, warm kale, salsa,

spicy tomatillo lime sauce and

chipotle Greek yogurt, topped

with avocado and cilantro. It’s

zesty and filling — no surprise,

given the 41 grams of protein.

925 17th St. NW; 398 Seventh

St. NW.

playa Bowls

Abby Ta ylor grew up surfing in

her hometown on the Jersey

Shore, and then took her board

globe-trotting, to Nicaragua, Ha-

waii, California and Puerto rico.

Everywhere she went, she had an

acai bowl. “A nd I was like, ‘Why

isn’t this an option in New Jer-

sey?’ ” she recalls. “There’s noth-

ing worse than getting off the

beach and having a slice of pizza

or a cheesesteak.”

So in 2014, Ta ylor and co-

founder robert Giuliani set up a

cart along the side of the road,

with an umbrella and blender,

and brought acai bowls to the

Shore. The duo handed out fliers

and made it their mission to

explain acai to the masses — and

one day, the line for their bowls

stretched down the street. In

2015, they opened their first

storefront, and Playa Bowls now

has more than 65 locations.

Inside the shop, its beachy

origins are evident: fluorescent

green leaves are painted across

black walls, pineapples line the

counter and a surfboard dangles

from the ceiling. There are doz-

ens of bowl options, with bases

including acai (Taylor’s favorite),

pitaya, coconut, Chia, banana

and oatmeal. The Costa bowl

($11) is sweet and healthy: a cool,

creamy banana base blended

with honey, almond milk and

vanilla protein, topped with

crunchy granola and more ba-

nana, Nutella and fresh mint.

Multiple locations in Mary-

land and Virginia.

[email protected]

more; cucumber tzatziki and a

drizzle of green tahini. Another

top-seller is the harvest bowl

($6.95): cage-free egg over a bed

of quinoa and organic arugula,

plus avocado, feta, cracked pep-

per and pesto vinaigrette.

Multiple locations in Virginia

and the District.

protein Bar & Kitchen

In 2009, when Protein Bar &

Kitchen opened in a small Chica-

go storefront, quinoa wasn’t the

household name it is today. “Peo-

ple didn’t know what it was, let

alone how to pronounce it,” CEo

Jeff Drake says. “Protein Bar put

quinoa on the menu.” And direct-

ly into bowls: The restaurant,

which now has two locations in

the District, offers high-protein

salads, wraps and bowls that can

be customized for any diet, in-

cluding the gluten-free, keto and

paleo plans. There are at least

15 grams of protein in every

entree.

About a year ago, the chain

introduced riced cauliflower as

an alternative to quinoa. “We add

chia, flaxseed and nutritional

yeast, so we fortify it with some

protein,” Drake says. “You’re go-

ing to give up about 70 percent of

the carbs but still get the same

made in-house; some of the most

popular include a spicy cilantro

vinaigrette, jalapeño Caesar and

maple balsamic vinaigrette.

The delightfully flavorful

grain bowls are big enough to

split. The falafel tzatziki ( $10.25),

for example, features home-

made, organic falafel; kale-cu-

cumber-tomato tabbouleh; pur-

ple cabbage; local feta; mint;

organic mesclun; turmeric rice;

pita chips so good one longs for

day, Sweet Leaf ’s offerings in-
clude salads, warm grain bowls,
sandwiches, soup and smoothies.
more than 80 percent of the
ingredients are locally sourced
and organic, and there’s a robust
selection of gluten-free and vege-
tarian options. “We cater to all
kinds of dietary restrictions peo-
ple have these days,” matini says.
All Sweet Leaf’s dressings are

fast-casual from 10

Playa Bowls

Protein Bar & Kitchen

at left, a selection of acai bowls

from playa Bowls, founded by a

surfer who realized there was a

void of healthy options on the

Jersey shore. It has expanded

to include locations in Virginia

and Maryland. started in

chicago, protein Bar & Kitchen

put quinoa on its menu before it

was a household name. the

chain with D.c. locations offers

the Mexicali bowl, below,

which includes 4 1 grams of

protein.

wonderful variety o f Virginia

breweries including m any

that still don’t d istribute t o

D.C. (And occasionally y ou’d

run into B ob Tupper.) Social

media all went dark a couple

years ago. Is it gone forever?

a: I haven’t h eard a nything

about it in a couple years, t o

be honest. I’m hoping that

Pizzeria Paradiso’s paradiso

in the park festival, which

filled A lexandria’s Waterfront

Park with 30 Virginia c raft

breweries, including A slin,

Champion, Hardywood,

Ardent and Solace, w ill

become an annual event.

really well done, good music

and food, and a convenient,

scenic location.

Q: What have you heard about

the new Savor beer festival

since it’s m oving to the

Anthem [on may 15]? D oes

this m ean it’s g oing t o have

live m usic i n addition t o beer?

And will i t be worth the

money this year?

a: Savor, which w as D.C.’s

biggest b eer f estival until t he

rise o f Snallygaster, is i ndeed

moving f rom the National

Building museum to the

Anthem this year, though I

haven’t heard anything about

them u sing the s tage for

music.

It’s a lways tough t o say

whether a beer festival is

“worth it.” S avor’s g oing to

have m ore breweries this y ear

— 1 18, up from 9 0 last year —

but there are a

disproportionate amount

coming from this region: 3 8

percent, a ccording t o the

organizers. And maybe t he

move f rom National B uilding

museum will mean there’s

more and better food. ( I was

out of town l ast year, b ut t he

reviews f rom D.C. Beer were

not kind.)

But once again, if I have a

complaint, i t’s that if I’m

spending $139-$250 for

tickets, I should be able t o

taste beers t hat I can’t f ind at

half t he bars in D.C. I’m a huge

fan of A llagash, b ut t hey’re

bringing White?

Can’t e xcuse the l ocals,

either: 3 Stars has Diamonds

are forever a nd Southern

Belle; Port C ity has r ivershed;

right Proper has Astral

Weeks; Union h as Divine?

C’mon.

Anyway, there are a lot of

breweries worth trying on

that list, a nd plenty I haven’t

heard of that I ’d b e curious to

explore. I’m just uncertain at

this p oint.

 Fritz hahn hosts a

Q&a every other thursday at 1

p.m. at live.washingtonpost.com.

happy hour from 9

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