On this particular evening, I wanted something very light so I went to the South Capitol Sushi. You'd hope that a sushi place, even one in a baseball stadium, could make all of their own food. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I ordered the one thing that was vegan there -- the avocado rolls. When I got back to my seat, I read the ingredients on the package and was horrified. I thought I was ordering fresh avocado rolls. But, they had some peanut sauce in them that was made with all kinds of artificial ingredients including modified corn starch, caramel color, acetic acid, and red no. 40. Wow. I still ate them, but reluctantly so. And I was not happy. They were filled with more lettuce, carrots, and cucumber than they were with avocado so it was more like eating a plain lettuce wrap with some chili sauce.
Of the other options I saw at the stadium, there is the Field of Greens that offers [supposedly] vegan veggie dogs, burgers, and more. Other options include vegan chili at Hard Times Cafe and Ben's Chili Bowl. But, my favorite place, hands down is Shawafel, which has vegan cauliflower and falafel sandwiches that are so good. Next time, I'm going back to Shawafel.
Play ball!
I was there recently and was disappointed that there were so few vegan options, especially because it had been reported that there were so many. Field of Greens had only one vegan item - the cheesesteak "meat" - and when I asked if the bread it came on was vegan, they said no. I wasn't going to get just the filling... I considered Shawarma, but was skeptical at that point. Thanks for pointing out that they have good options!
ReplyDeleteThat's a big problem with stadium and convention food -- they'll have a vegan burger, but the bread provided by their wholesaler for all the concessions isn't vegan. Shwarma says their wraps are vegan, but I did not request to look at the package. The reason I wrote that Field of Greens is supposedly vegan is because of exactly what you cited -- they just said they were, but not in a convincing way so I felt like she just said that and didn't really know.
DeleteThe restaurant is called Shawafel, and both the cauliflower and the falafel are 100% vegan, as are the wraps. They have a permanent spot on H Street, and the owner very much understands what "vegan" means. All their food is delicious. In addition, the chili at both Ben's and Hard Times is 100% vegan. At Field of Greens, the crabcake is vegan as well, and it clearly says that on the menu. There is also falafel available at the Kosher Grill, which is of course vegan as well (no dairy).
ReplyDeleteI mentioned most of this in my review, but thanks for the info on Kosher Grill!
Delete