Open City, Woodley Park, DC

We recently drove to DC to visit Matt and Nikita before they move away from the East Coast. They live within walking distance of the DC zoo, and after a brief visit there, we stopped by Open City for lunch on the patio. It was a little late for lunch, but the restaurant was still busy, probably because they serve breakfast all day and have ample outdoor seating.

John, Matt, and Nikita all ordered the Veggie Burger ($10), which is actually vegan if you don’t add cheese. The patty is made of lentils, barley, oats, and veggies. Comes with crunchy lettuce, red onion, and tomatoes. I stole a couple of John’s sweet potato fries when he wasn’t looking. The fries were good, and the burger itself looked promising.

I was the odd one out and ordered the Quinoa & Tofu Bibimbap ($12). Another vegan dish, and this one also happens to be gluten-free. A generous portion of quinoa is topped with grilled tofu, kimchi, pickled cucumber, picked shiitake, carrots, zucchini, scallions, and nori.

The tofu, kimchi, and shiitake were the best parts of this dish. As a whole though, it was a bit underwhelming. I wish they had shredded all the veggies in the same way as the carrots, and maybe added more seasoning overall. It was filling and packed with veggies though.