DC Vegan opens a Botanical Bar in Dupont. {Photograph} by Rey Lopez
Washingtonians can now add “vegan bar” to the record of thrilling plant-based ventures opening round city. Husband-and-wife duo Michael Jantz Moon and Leah Curran Moon are opening Botanical Bar in Dupont Circle on Saturday, Might 28. The verdant indoor/outside house—with seating for 36 indoors and 48 between a patio and parklet—is an extension of their adjoining DC Vegan catering firm and plant-based, Italian-American deli.
The Moons apply the identical holistic, no-waste philosophies to the bar as they do on the restaurant, the place they’ve eradicated all animal merchandise. Wines—typically made with casein or gelatin—are all pure, and produced utilizing limestone or activated charcoal. As a substitute of thickening cocktails with egg white, bar supervisor Starla Newman swaps in aquafaba (chickpea water).
Her drinks make use of recent juices, herbs, and edible flowers. Imbibers can sip on recent peach bellinis, strawberry-infused Negronis, and concoctions just like the Flower of the Vine with vodka, the non-alcoholic and herbaceous Seedlip Backyard spirit, B-12 droplets, and edible flowers. Michael Moon, who doesn’t drink alcohol, additionally helped create plenty of zero-proof choices, equivalent to a refreshing Mediterranean tonic with extra Seedlip Backyard, droplets of basil oil, and pea shoots.
The complete DC Vegan menu is obtainable on the bar, and there are some new snacks like Tuscan white-bean unfold with Calabrian chili oil; almond-ricotta focaccia; TGI Fridays-inspired potato skins; and crispy king-trumpet mushrooms masquerading as calamari. Michael, who’s from Cleveland, and Leah, a Rochester native, say it’s vital for them to stay to their Italian-American household roots.
“Each Michael and I went plant-based ten-to-15 years in the past,” Leah says. “We wished to get rid of animals from our weight loss plan however we didn’t wish to get rid of our tradition or meals we grew up consuming. A variety of these recipes are Italian or household recipes we love.”
DC Vegan and Botanical Bar. 1633 P St., NW
Meals Editor
Anna Spiegel covers the eating and consuming scene in her native DC. Previous to becoming a member of Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia College’s MFA program in New York, and held numerous cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
