With temperatures heading to 70s and maybe even 80, the timing couldn’t be more perfect for restaurant week. But for Vegetarians or Vegans, it always prove to be a bit challenging.
One of the main reasons I never took advantage of DC Restaurant Week in the six years I’ve lived in the area is because typically the prefixe menu has very little vegetarian or vegan options. Why pay a flat rate when I’ll likely be eating a salad? No thanks.
Interestingly enough, Civil Eats published an article recently that explains why vegan entrees are priced similar to meat entrees.
But if you are a foodie, enjoy going out to eat, and don’t mind a fixed price, here are a few vegetarian/vegan suggestions for those of you in the Northern Virginia area who may want to participate in restaurant week this week. (These are only suggestions, I have not tried these restaurant week menus.)
There are 60 restaurants total participating in Northern Virginia Restaurant week, but I’m just going to focus on the 18 in Arlington, where I currently reside.
Some restaurant websites are better than others in showing exactly what the options and prices are for lunch and dinner this week. You can take a look at each of the menus and descriptions, but if you are Vegan, your best option will most definitely be Lebanese Taverna, which conveniently enough has multiple locations throughout Northern Virginia. A close runner up is Kona Grill.
Here is the lineup:
Bistro 360 has a great $30.16 dinner option for vegetarians. Roasted beet and blue cheese salad, roasted butternut squash ravioli, and either apple crumble or vanilla bean creme brûlée for dessert.
Both the Cinnabar and Cityhouse at the Hyatt and Hyatt Regency did not show their restaurant week menus online but their normal menus offer a handful of designated vegetarian and gluten-free options. If you are vegan, I’m sure just ordering an item without cheese would be easy enough.
Crystal City Sports Pub as the name suggests carries mostly sports pub food (wings, burgers, fries, nachos). But they do offer a gluten-free menu and a veggie burger, which they say is homemade.
Similar story with Clarendon’s sports lounge The Bracket Room. Vegetarians, you can order the mac and cheese, grilled cheese, caprese salad, beet and goat cheese salad, tater tots, and soft pretzels. Or you could just design your own pizza. Vegans, you can order the hummus. Lame.
Il Forno’s Italian restaurant in the Ballston neighborhood has several yummy vegetarian options to chose from on both their lunch and dinner restaurant week menus for $20.16 and $30.16, respectively. Vegans, you’ll have to call ahead to see if they can make a special menu for you. But if you’ve been vegan for a while, you’re no stranger to this.
Kona Grill is a nationwide chain serving up sushi and cocktails. While they didn’t post their restaurant week menu online, I was highly impressed by the “lifestyle” gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian menu. And it wasn’t just one or two items under each category, there were nine options for vegans and an additional eight options for vegetarians. Go Kona Grill!
Lebanese Taverna offers an impressive and delicious array of vegetarian and vegan options for both lunch and dinner at $16.16 and $35.16 per person. I’m low key obsessed with their hommus. How do they get it so creamy!?
Liberty Tavern’s three course dinner offerings for $35 are not vegan or vegetarian friendly. You’ll have to call to see if they can make an exception for you, otherwise you might enjoy their warm chocolate brownie or shortbread.
Lyon Hall, a sister restaurant of Liberty Tavern and NorthSide Social, is offering three courses for $35.16 of their best dishes from their dinner menu. A quick glance at their regular dinner menu, and well, you better keep reading this list.
McCormick & Schmick is a chain that specializes in seafood and steaks so it’s no surprise that both their lunch and dinner restaurant week menus only offer salad for vegetarians.
Again, Morton’s is a steakhouse, so naturally they won’t be catering to vegetarians or vegans. Vegetarians could order several of the side dishes and maybe the beefsteak tomato salad, but that’s about it.
O’Malley’s Pub & Fresh Kitchen has a few vegan and vegetarian options to chose from, nothing robust, but at least something. O’Malley’s Pub is offering a two course dinner for two for $35.16 and you can chose from tofu, hummus, or Philly Cheesesteak flatbread (vegetarianized) for an appetizer, and a spinach and artichoke quiche as a main. Fresh Kitchen is offering a three course lunch for $20.16 where you can chose their house salad or hummus as an appetizer, and the vegetarian version Philly Cheesesteak flatbread as an entree.
Potomac Bar & Grille does not have a website so I couldn’t look at their menu. But their menu posted on Yelp was not vegan or vegetarian friendly at all.
SER Restaurant or “To Be” in Spanish only has two of their four courses as vegetarian options including couscous and arugula salad.
I’m always a happy girl when I get vegetable sushi. It’s vegan, light, and low fat. Sushi-Zen Japanese Restaurant is offering a great four course meal including an alcoholic beverage for vegetarians and vegans for restaurant week. Oh, and like the others it’s just $30.16.
If all else fails, pizza is always a good vegetarian option. This Boston-based restaurant Upper Crust Pizzeria, didn’t post their restaurant week menu online but they have plenty of vegetarian pizzas, salads, and calzones to chose from, so I’m sure it would be a good bet to check out.
One of the main reasons I never took advantage of DC Restaurant Week in the six years I’ve lived in the area is because typically the prefixe menu has very little vegetarian or vegan options. Why pay a flat rate when I’ll likely be eating a salad? No thanks.
Interestingly enough, Civil Eats published an article recently that explains why vegan entrees are priced similar to meat entrees.
But if you are a foodie, enjoy going out to eat, and don’t mind a fixed price, here are a few vegetarian/vegan suggestions for those of you in the Northern Virginia area who may want to participate in restaurant week this week. (These are only suggestions, I have not tried these restaurant week menus.)
There are 60 restaurants total participating in Northern Virginia Restaurant week, but I’m just going to focus on the 18 in Arlington, where I currently reside.
Some restaurant websites are better than others in showing exactly what the options and prices are for lunch and dinner this week. You can take a look at each of the menus and descriptions, but if you are Vegan, your best option will most definitely be Lebanese Taverna, which conveniently enough has multiple locations throughout Northern Virginia. A close runner up is Kona Grill.
Here is the lineup:
Bistro 360 has a great $30.16 dinner option for vegetarians. Roasted beet and blue cheese salad, roasted butternut squash ravioli, and either apple crumble or vanilla bean creme brûlée for dessert.
Both the Cinnabar and Cityhouse at the Hyatt and Hyatt Regency did not show their restaurant week menus online but their normal menus offer a handful of designated vegetarian and gluten-free options. If you are vegan, I’m sure just ordering an item without cheese would be easy enough.
Crystal City Sports Pub as the name suggests carries mostly sports pub food (wings, burgers, fries, nachos). But they do offer a gluten-free menu and a veggie burger, which they say is homemade.
Similar story with Clarendon’s sports lounge The Bracket Room. Vegetarians, you can order the mac and cheese, grilled cheese, caprese salad, beet and goat cheese salad, tater tots, and soft pretzels. Or you could just design your own pizza. Vegans, you can order the hummus. Lame.
Il Forno’s Italian restaurant in the Ballston neighborhood has several yummy vegetarian options to chose from on both their lunch and dinner restaurant week menus for $20.16 and $30.16, respectively. Vegans, you’ll have to call ahead to see if they can make a special menu for you. But if you’ve been vegan for a while, you’re no stranger to this.
Kona Grill is a nationwide chain serving up sushi and cocktails. While they didn’t post their restaurant week menu online, I was highly impressed by the “lifestyle” gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian menu. And it wasn’t just one or two items under each category, there were nine options for vegans and an additional eight options for vegetarians. Go Kona Grill!
Lebanese Taverna offers an impressive and delicious array of vegetarian and vegan options for both lunch and dinner at $16.16 and $35.16 per person. I’m low key obsessed with their hommus. How do they get it so creamy!?
Liberty Tavern’s three course dinner offerings for $35 are not vegan or vegetarian friendly. You’ll have to call to see if they can make an exception for you, otherwise you might enjoy their warm chocolate brownie or shortbread.
Lyon Hall, a sister restaurant of Liberty Tavern and NorthSide Social, is offering three courses for $35.16 of their best dishes from their dinner menu. A quick glance at their regular dinner menu, and well, you better keep reading this list.
McCormick & Schmick is a chain that specializes in seafood and steaks so it’s no surprise that both their lunch and dinner restaurant week menus only offer salad for vegetarians.
Again, Morton’s is a steakhouse, so naturally they won’t be catering to vegetarians or vegans. Vegetarians could order several of the side dishes and maybe the beefsteak tomato salad, but that’s about it.
O’Malley’s Pub & Fresh Kitchen has a few vegan and vegetarian options to chose from, nothing robust, but at least something. O’Malley’s Pub is offering a two course dinner for two for $35.16 and you can chose from tofu, hummus, or Philly Cheesesteak flatbread (vegetarianized) for an appetizer, and a spinach and artichoke quiche as a main. Fresh Kitchen is offering a three course lunch for $20.16 where you can chose their house salad or hummus as an appetizer, and the vegetarian version Philly Cheesesteak flatbread as an entree.
Potomac Bar & Grille does not have a website so I couldn’t look at their menu. But their menu posted on Yelp was not vegan or vegetarian friendly at all.
SER Restaurant or “To Be” in Spanish only has two of their four courses as vegetarian options including couscous and arugula salad.
I’m always a happy girl when I get vegetable sushi. It’s vegan, light, and low fat. Sushi-Zen Japanese Restaurant is offering a great four course meal including an alcoholic beverage for vegetarians and vegans for restaurant week. Oh, and like the others it’s just $30.16.
If all else fails, pizza is always a good vegetarian option. This Boston-based restaurant Upper Crust Pizzeria, didn’t post their restaurant week menu online but they have plenty of vegetarian pizzas, salads, and calzones to chose from, so I’m sure it would be a good bet to check out.
