Native Foods Cafe - Grand Opening in DC!

UPDATE: This restaurant has permanently closed.
 
It's as if the sky parted and the gods listened to my hopes and dreams -- for today is the day that Native Foods opens its doors in DC!

Native Foods Cafe was founded in 1994 in Palm Springs, California at a time when vegan cafes were scarce. What made them different was that all of their food was fresh and made in-house from the tempeh to the seitan. Tanya Petrovna was the genius and chef behind this venture though she was bought out by investors around 2011. The new investors moved the headquarters to Chicago and shortly thereafter, opened locations in Chicago, Portland, and Boulder.

Their recent expansion to DC has everyone talking as DC has a huge vegan population and very few vegan restaurants -- only a handful actually. They are opening today at 1150 Connecticut Avenue NW and in Penn Quarter in October. I was lucky enough to be invited to their soft opening where we got to try a number of dishes. Because there were hundreds of people invited, unfortunately, the staff was a bit maxed out and our food was mostly cold. So, I'm going to refrain from reviewing the food until I go back later this month.

For now, here's some eye candy:

So make your way over to Native Foods. I promise that you won't regret it!