Chillin' in the District

I have some awesome friends who live in the DC area -- Nishka who was an undergrad with me and now works and the NRC and his wife, Holly, who is in law school and works for the evil petroleum industry somehow ... (I don't know too much about it; everyone has to have a job).  Since DC is a short 8 1/2 hour drive away from Knoxville, it made perfect sense to go visit them for spring break (okay, there may be a note of sarcasm there, but it was totally my idea, so I can't complain at all).  I had a great time -- we saw some sites, visited great friends I haven't seen in years (as well as a few other friends who have made their way to the DC area recently), and had some great food.  The two highlights for me, food-wise, both came on Friday and both came in Columbia Heights.  Unfortunately, I'm an awful blogger and didn't take pictures of any of this great food.  I'm sorry for that, but you can take my word for how delicious it all is.  You know I wouldn't lie!

If you are anything like me, you plan vacations around where you can visit a vegan mecca -- Mighty O Donuts in Seattle, Chicago Diner in Chicago, and Sticky Fingers Bakery in DC.  Now, be careful not to confuse this establishment with the Memphis-style barbecue joint.  I have no experience with that restaurant, but every time I mention Sticky Fingers to anyone they ask about the BBQ place.  Anyway, back to the vegan goodies.  I managed to control myself and not buy one of everything (but I REALLY REALLY wanted to).  I did buy three items:  a cowvin cookie ($2.75), a sweet and salty cookie ($1.75), and a brownie ($2.50).  All worth every penny. I may have eaten pretty much every crumb of all three.  Derek may have taken a bite out of each, but I definitely hoovered the cowvin cookie before it had a chance to get stale.  The sweet and salty cookie and brownie were not too far behind.  They did make it to the next day, but were easily enjoyed.

After finding the bakery, we wandered around the area waiting to meet up with another friend from school, Scott.  We wandered and watched for possible dinner options, and found Pho 14 just a few streets away from Sticky Fingers.  I personally love all kinds of asian food (except Chinese buffets ... what's that all about?).  They have a huge sign just inside the door that specifies that the vegetarian pho is absolutely vegetarian, so we decided to give this place a try for dinner.  A regular size bowl of Pho Chay is $7.95, and has lots of vegetables along with the tofu and noodles.  It definitely looked more appetizing than the meaty ones, which are just meat and noodles.  I give this place a big thumbs up for having an affordable, filling vegan option.  If you're in the area, I recommend checking it out.  I do want to note that I didn't talk to the waiter about any of the dishes except the pho, but there were a lot of tasty looking options.  If you're interested in anything else, please check with your waiter.