FANCY RADISH
600 H St. NE, Washington, D.C.
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 5-9 p.m. Sunday.
Menu: https://www.fancyradishdc.com/dinner
Suitable for: Vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, everybody
By the looks of things, the District of Columbia’s H Street corridor will soon need to be renamed as Vegan Street – the plant-based cuisine culture permeating block after block is real, and it has staying power. From Fare Well to Khepra’s Raw Food Juice Bar to Pow Pow, vegetarian diners already had plenty of options in the shadow of Union Station. Now, with the springtime opening of Fancy Radish, diners have one more opportunity to get their veg on – in a posh atmosphere, to boot.
From the owners of Philadelphia’s Vedge, Fancy Radish is an upscale restaurant with smaller, shareable plates that leave diners both blissfully fulfilled and dreaming of more. From cocktails to starters all the way through main-dish plates and dessert, there’s plenty to enjoy about this new spot, so come hungry.
For starters, get thee to the rutabaga fondue, and fast. An incredibly silky, cheesy fondue, served in a cute little crock, is paired perfectly with a pretzel roll for dipping, and you’ll wish you’d brought a Thermos to order three more servings. How do they do it? I do not know. But instantly I fell in love, and you will too.
And don’t stop there. Oh, you’re just getting started. Why not split a stuffed avocado with your table mates for old time’s sake? A fresh avocado is the perfect vessel for Fancy Radish’s version of “fried rice” cauliflower and comes with a sauce that, yet again, you’ll have to restrain yourself from licking off the plate right there at the table in front of all your friends.
Pivoting to the main event, you could do worse than a tofu-and-noodle combination of dishes. During our visit, the tofu dish was seared almost like salmon would be, with a side of pickled vegetables. As the menu changes with the seasons, the summertime tofu option (as of this writing) is a grilled tofu with smoked eggplant … but history has proven one cannot err when one tries a new dish here.
A mainstay of the menu, at least so far, has been the dan dan noodles, which the server takes the time to warn the table about – the Sichuan peppers are no joke. The noodles are indeed quite spicy, but pleasingly so, each bite offering up a slow burn that leaves you sweating but also dipping in for another taste.
Desserts run the gamut ranging from bread pudding to sour cherry doughnuts – but there’s not a bad seed in the bunch. Split some offerings with your dinner companions and get a taste of the sweet side from several angles.
Rumor has it that Fancy Radish has brunch plans on the horizon. Good thing, too: The plant-based H Street scene is clamoring!