Business travel to me implies a lack of food options, uncomfortable beds, and decaying gym equipment in small, overheated work-out rooms. Severely missing the state of the art treadmill at my local gym, I try my best to eat healthy on business trips. While it is generally easy to grab a healthy breakfast and lunch, dinner on the road usually implies either A) going out to eat with a large group of co-workers at some chain restaurant or B) grabbing a quick meal on the run…often Chinese take-out or some tasteless form of room service.
Time to break the habit!
This week in DC has been my first week of business travel as a vegan. Being a vegan is a good excuse for opting out of the large group dinners at uninspired and unhealthy restaurants without seeming antisocial. And luckily, being close to the DC metro area puts me in a location that has quite a few vegan-friendly options. The trick, of course, is finding the time to get to them during a busy week.
The first was Brewyn Cafe in College Park MD. Liberally named a "cafe", this restaurant looks more like someone's home and is located in a mostly residential area to the side of the University of Maryland campus. After gathering up the courage to enter the building, you find yourself standing in a rather spacious room with a few sparsely placed tables and couches. To the back of the room there is counter to order food from. The place feels like it belongs in the early 80s but the food selection was quite inspired. From the specials menu I ordered a cup of the Lentil Coconut Soup and from their main menu, half of a "tofu gyro". The food overall was quite good and very "healthy" tasting with fresh vegetables and whole grains. While the atmosphere was a bit intimidating to me with the sparse and utilitarian like furniture, perhaps others might find it, as their website advertises, "peaceful and pleasant".
The second restaurant I was able to try was Toscana Grill in Arlington VA. I actually heard about this restaurant from Vegan Talk a blog by a fellow Vegan food lover. The restaurant sits a few blocks from the first apartment I had in Arlington, VA and yet I had never even noticed it while living there. Apparently the restaurant was not doing so well and the owner decided to revamp the Italian menu a year ago and make it eco-friendly and organic, adding a plethora of vegetarian and vegan options. While the two friends I went with were skeptic of the "Vegan Italian" menu options, I ordered the Sinatra vegan pizza with daiya vegan cheese, red peppers, spinach, "veggie chicken" and hot chili sauce. It was surprisingly delicious, and I really enjoyed it. The friends I went with (also self confessed tofu haters) ordered more mainstream items from the menu and seemed to enjoy them too.
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