#7: The Well-Dressed Burrito

The Well-Dressed Burrito
1220 19th St NW St.

What I Got: Chicken Burrito Plate
Cost: 6.75 before tax

Well, I finally took the plunge and went to the infamous Well-Dressed Burrito. And I was, frankly, disappointed. The portions are huge - monumentally big - but the food is pretty average. It's not bad by any stretch, but it's just kind of plain. Kind of spicy, kind of good, just kind of... meh. It's certainly filling, but it's also certainly pretty average.

It's popular because it's quick, cheap, and huge. It's got that going for it. Quality is just basically right down the middle. Three stars for that - I don't think I'm going back, but it was worth the trip, I suppose.

(pardon the half-eaten food picture, I forgot to take a picture before I ate)

#6 - L Street Bulgogi Cart

L Street Bulgogi Cart
Intersection of 14th St. NW & L St. NW

What I Got: Spicy Chicken Teriyaki w/ Rice & Kimchi
Cost: $6.75 before tax (can't remember price after)

Well, I finally made the trip to the Bulgogi cart at the intersection of L & 14th St. The Yelpers seemed to love it, so I decided that on Monday, I'd make the trip (which wasn't short from my office). It was a brisk afternoon, and there was a long line - a good sign to me that despite the chilly-ness, it was worth the wait for people.

It was and it wasn't. The portion was HUGE. The kimchi was decent (I had only had kimchi once or twice before so I don't know what makes great kimchi) and the chicken was very spicy. However, after a little while, my stomach started to hurt a bit. Actually, a lot. It was probably a combination of the massive amount of food I ate and the spiciness. It was worth it though - the chicken was tender and really tasty. The rice was sticky and fresh (always a good sign that the food itself is fresh when the rice isn't hardened by time), and the service was great.

I'm giving it 4 stars despite how I felt after. I think that was my fault for eating literally a mountain of food and it being really spicy. I should have slowed down instead of eating it in about 20 minutes.

#5: Java Green

Java Green
1020 19th St. NW

What I Got: Spicy Noodle Soup
Cost: $8.50 before tax (can't remember price after)

I ate there on Thursday - sorry not to get this up sooner. This is how it is described on the Java Green website

ramen noodles in spicy kimchi soup with bean sprouts, scallion, mushroom, roasted seaweed

That's a pretty good description. Here's another - delicious and expensive. My soup was very good - very hot and spicy. The service there was lackluster at best; you wait in one line to order and another to pay - and the girl running the pay line was completely inadequate - taking upwards of two minutes per customer. Another employee had to come over and replace her for a while because she was so bad at just dealing with cash and credit cards.

The organic cups and plastic bags are a nice touch. The food was very good, and while the portion was a little small for the price, you know the money is going to a more sustainable cause than, say, McDonalds. So that's good.

Three stars - four for the food, minus one for the service. I've heard the service is pretty miserable from other people as well, which does not bode well for them.

#4: Daily Market

Daily Market
1001 Connecticut Ave. NW

What I Got: Sandwich w/ Hummus, Sprouts, Avocado, Tomato, and Cuke Slices w/ Cup of Chicken Noodle Soup
Cost: $8.01 after tax

Decent enough. Sandwich was tasty - I went healthy yesterday. Definitely a good call. The line was short (I waited for about 5 minutes for my sandwich to be made right there on the spot) and the sandwich was wrapped tightly so it wouldn't fall apart on my way back to my office. The vegetables were crisp and the sandwich itself was worth the cost. It was big and heavy, too, good signs for a well-packed sandwich.

The soup though, couldn't have been more of a disappointment. Chicken noodle soup, typically, has a bit of a salty flavor to it. Just how it is. This had none. The broth was tasteless, the vegetables in it were practically uncooked, and the chicken was minimal and stringy.

Three stars - would have been four for just the sandwich, but the soup was such utter crap that it takes it down a notch. I'll go back, though - they have a lot of sandwiches and a lot of smoothies there I'd like to try.

A few hours later I still felt good - no gastrointestinal problems, and not greasy at all. Good signs.

#3: Naan & Beyond

Naan & Beyond
1710 L St. NW

What I Got: Tandoori Half-Chicken & Rice w/ Naan
Cost: $9.08 after tax

Yesterday I ventured out into the nasty rain and weather to go to Naan & Beyond, located at the corner of 17th & L. It's actually located next door to another Indian place, which confused me at first. Anyhow, I love Indian food (I miss Punjabi Dhaba in Cambridge every day, despite their vermin problem) and while this place was no replacement, it was tasty.

I ordered the Tandoori Half-Chicken and opted for the rice & naan instead of the salad & naan, which cost me an extra buck (definitely worth it). It came out bright red (near purple) and the chicken just fell off the bone with ease. Actually, the chicken was only okay - the rice was fantastic, though. It was really spiced well and had all sorts of veggies in it (peas, carrots, etc). The rice made the meal, frankly.

I was so full after eating it that I didn't touch my naan until around 4:30, when it was still a little warm (came wrapped in tin foil). It was pretty good naan bread. I've had all sorts of naan, and unless you really screw it up, it's always going to be pretty good.

Three stars of five. Pretty tasty rice, huge portion for the price, chicken was okay. I'd go back for it again if I was in the mood. I want to find other Indian food in the area though. Any favorites out there?

#2: Captiol Grounds

Capitol Grounds
1010 17th St. NW

What I Got: Hot Roast Beef Jalapeño Sub w/ bag of chips
Cost: $7.28 after tax

First off, I made a mistake there. They had a Chicken Parm special with a bag of chips and a soda for the same price. I shoulda got that. Anyway. I got the Hot Roast Beef Jalapeño sub. I got it because I love spicy food. I put Tabasco in my chicken noodle soup for chrissake. I had been here once before and got a decent sandwich and figured on this rainy May Friday afternoon, I would have a hot sandwich. And, I figured - why not get a spicy sub! How could that be bad?

Ugh. That's how it is. Ugh. The cheese (havarti) was only on one side of the beef. The horseradish sauce on it was overwhelming, and there were as far as I could tell - no jalapeños on it. I could swear the point of a "jalapeño" sub was to get the "jalapeños" in it. There were none. And that brings us to our second point - the bread. The bread would have been good had it not been soaked in grease. And I understand that roast beef + melted cheese = grease, but this was ridiculous. It was a toasted bun, which should have held up... and didn't.

It wasn't that good, and I'm pretty disappointed in them. The service was good and I was in and out in ten minutes, but the food was pretty mediocre. Filling, but mediocre.

Two stars of five. The chips I bought are tasty (Deep River Sweet Maui Onion).

Crap.

Well, the rain is pretty hard out there right now.

I'm gonna go somewhere closer than The Bread Line (which is four or five blocks away) and I'll go to a place a block away instead. That will result in less rain on my face even though I've got an umbrella.

Be back later.

#1: Greek Deli & Catering (1 hour and 8 hours later)

Well, let's see. Felt pretty damn good at one hour after, and I still feel great now. No, uh, gastrointestinal problems. Also, I have to say that one of my biggest pet peeves is too much grease in my lunch. Not so much while I eating, but when I'm wiping it off my skin an hour later. There was none of that in this case.

Very pleased. I love Greek and Mediterranean food in general - hummus, tabbouleh, couscous, and so on. I'll absolutely be going back there in a month to try something else on the menu and review it.

Tomorrow: The Bread Line!

#1: Greek Deli & Catering

Greek Deli & Catering
1120 19th St. NW

What I got: Falafel on pita w/ hummus, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and scallions, no sides
Cost: $7.98 after tax

For my first trip for this blog, I traveled the five blocks in the rain to 19th St. where I found Greek Deli & Catering. The service is very quick - they fly through the line, taking orders 6 or 7 people deep with the intention of having your food ready basically by the time you get up the counter. I waited a total of about 3 minutes for my food, which was very nice. I hate waiting. It also seems like people who go there really know what they want due to the ordering situation.

I walked back to my office and sat down to eat my pita. It was still warm (the falafel and pita both). There's a lot of taste to this one -- very flavorful and tasty. The hummus was really good (I licked some of the extra off the tin foil wrap it came in) and was light but not fake-light, if that makes sense. It also didn't fall apart in my hands, which was really nice. It was very, very good.

My only complaint was that it was a little expensive. $8 for it wasn't awful or anything, but with no sides (no rice or anything like that), it was a little much for just a falafel pita. That said, it was very tasty and filling. Definitely worth the trip.

I'll give it four stars out of five - if it was a little cheaper or came with sides, that would have bumped it up. Still, very good.

(I promise photos will get better. Yeesh.)

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. It's not about music or sports, but rather about simply what I ate for lunch today. I am working in the K St. corridor here in DC, and there are a LOT of places to grab quick bites from. My goal, with the help of Yelp.com, is to try as many of these places as possible. I'll be returning to some of the places I've went in the last month to give them a review.

Expect crappy camera-phone photos of the food and (maybe more importantly) how I feel an hour and then eight hours afterwards. There's nothing worse than eating something delicious for lunch and then having to spend two hours on the can later on that night. Am I right, folks?

I know this blog will have specialized content (I mean, it's focusing on food in a ten block radius), but there's a LOT of places to get food, and I'm more than willing to try things. Every meal I get will cost under $10. I usually drink water with my lunch, so unless it's a special place that has special drinks, I'll stick by that. Also keep in mind that I will be bringing my own lunch to work sometimes (usually 2x a week), so don't expect updates on those days.

But enjoy. Should be interesting.