A few weeks ago we went to Washington, DC for the annual Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine (you can hear Ethan’s recap of the conference on the Our Hen House podcast). while we were in town, we decided to check out the recently opened Fare Well restaurant for dinner. Located on NE H Street, Fare Well is the new “veggie-centric comfort food” diner, bakery and bar brought created by the founder of DC’s famous Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats, Doron Petersan.

Looking into the bright open space of Fare Well

The first thing you will see when you enter Fare Well is a large spinning cake display and a pastry case filled with equal amounts of sweets (cookies, scones, and pies) and savory baked goods like (bagels, , breads and sandwiches). Beyond the pastry case is a large counter with stools and a dining room. The entire space is bright, airy and has a lively atmosphere that let us know we were in for a good meal in a relaxed environment. Before going any further, I must give a shout out here to Braxton, who is far and away one of the friendliest and most charming hostesses I have ever met at a restaurant. She greeted us with a big smile and immediately introduced herself – in all my years going to restaurants, I cannot recall another time when a host or hostess introduced himself or herself. There was truly something special about that, as if we were being welcomed into her own home. While we were waiting for our table, I watched a server boxing up slices of cake for a take-out order and asked her if the Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake was as good as it looked. She gave me a smile, winked and said, “it tastes even better.” Well, my dessert was settled before I even had a chance to look at the menu or order a cocktail.

A sampling of the baked goods that greet you when you walk in to Fare Well

Once we were seated and had cocktails ordered (a Paloma for Ethan and Queen of H Street for me – would you expect otherwise for a Vegan Mo?), we got down to the serious business of deciding what to eat. The Paloma, a mix of tequilla, lime, grapefruit and tarragon soda has a nice tartness to it and the Queen of H Street, vodka, raspberry puree, thyme, lemon and white tea syrup is delightfully light and fruity.

Everything on the menu looked so good, that choosing what to eat was a challenge. Often times I go to restaurants and either one thing jumps off the menu or nothing does. At Fare Well, almost everything did. As this was not going to be a quick decision, we ordered some appetizers to munch on while making our choices. We started with the Buffalo Cauliflower Dip and the Burrata. The Buffalo Cauliflower Dip is a great new twist on buffalo cauliflower. Rather than frying battered cauliflower and then coating it in buffalo sauce, at Fare Well they roast the cauliflower, whip it with a buffalo cashew cream and then bake it. The resulting dip is very good, but I found the buffalo flavor to be a little tpp mild even for my spice adverse palate. The Burrata was truly a thing of beauty. They take homemade cashew mozzarella and stuff it with homemade almond ricotta creating a combination of flavors and textures that is incredible. The rich creaminess of the mozzarella is balanced perfectly by the lightness of the ricotta. This is served drizzled with a kale pesto, balsamic marinated tomatoes, arugula and capers. Both these appetizers are served with toasted slices of their homemade baguette, but you can ask for a wheat-free alternative.

Burrata

Buffalo Cauliflower Dip

For our entrees we tried the Pierogis, the Seitan Platter and the Burger. There were three of us, so it’s not like we got three entrees and two appetizers just for us. Although, the food is so good, we could have easily done that. The Pierogi come as an order of 4, and can easily be shared. The cashew cheddar, garlic, onion and potato filled pierogi are served atop a bed of sauteed seasonal greens and sauerkraut and are topped with a dallop of sour cream. They are filling without being heavy and the greens and sauerkraut balance the richness of the potato filling. The Seitan Platter is comfort food done right: 2 large pieces of southern fried seitan served with a crispy potato cake, sauteed seasonal greens and herbed mushroom gravy. The seitan is perfectly fried and not oily at all and the gravy is rich without being too thick. The only negative for me on this dish is that I like my seitan a little thinner and these pieces were huge, I would have preferred three or four smaller pieces. Our friend who is not vegan loved her burger, which is made from mushrooms, chickpeas, walnuts and sunflower seeds. The burger also comes with your choice of soup, salad or chips.

Pierogi

Seitan Platter

By now I know you all saying, “but Michael, what about that cake you mentioned so long ago?” The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake is indeed even better than it looks. They managed to capture the taste of cookie dough in a cake. The generous slice comes topped with a mini chocolate chip cookie. We also tried the seasonal fruit crisp, which was peach-blueberry and it was amazing. The combination of the warm fruit, crisp crumble topping and cold creamy ice cream is wonderful.

Peach Blueberry Crumble

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

If you are in the DC area, be sure to stop by Fare Well for a fantastic meal. We will definitely be back to try more from this great new restaurant both for dinner as well as for the incredible breakfast options.

Fare Well
406 H Street NE
Washington, DC