Hot Eats; Cool Treats

[KLizotte]

Union Market in DC is a great place to bike to, esp since the nearest metro is a bit of a hike away. There is a CaBi station nearby. And of course, next door to Union Market is the famous A Litteri (an italian deli).

[wheelswings]

The new Native Foods Café at 1216 West Broad St. (on the east side of street, near the Giant) in Falls Church is just a block from the W&OD – you get off the trail where it crosses the pedestrian bridge over W Broad. https://www.nativefoods.com/locations/locations/falls-church
It’s a fun excursion for vegans and vegetarians or for anyone who likes healthy food. The restaurant opened in mid-December. The portions are large, the prices are reasonable (all the dishes are under $10), and the place is informal/biker-friendly. We were there for Christmas Eve dinner, but I’m thinking it would make a good spot to refuel after a long ride on the W&OD.
I see that this Hot Eats, Cool Treats thread has a lot of talk about BBQ, tacos, and tongue. This place is just about the polar opposite… funky mixtures of kale, seitan, sweet potatoes, avocados, and so on. Delicious.

[KLizotte]

The Native Foods Cafe just opened a branch at the Archives Metro station. Have yet to try it out.

[PotomacCyclist]

I know Columbia Pike is a terrible place to bike, but I’ve passed by the Dama restaurant and bakery on Oak St. several times and noticed that the food smells good. I haven’t stopped to eat there yet. The food is Ethiopian. I wasn’t too familiar with that cuisine until this year, when I tried out a couple Ethiopian food trucks downtown.

One unique feature is the injera bread, which is a staple of Ethiopian cuisine. It’s traditionally made out of teff, a grain that is native to Ethiopia, but I’ve been told by an Ethiopian co-worker that some of the local food trucks might use a wheat/teff mixture, which isn’t authentic injera. I’ll say that it’s an acquired taste. The bread is spongy and somewhat dry.

Teff is sort of the new quinoa. It’s starting to get press in some endurance sports circles. It doesn’t hurt that some of the champion Ethiopian distance runners talk about teff and injera. Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie includes injera in his diet. (He is a former world record holder in the marathon and a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the 10,000 m distance.)

[KLizotte]

Big thumb’s up for Dama bakery (I haven’t tried the restaurant). AMAZING cakes and pastries (including gluten free) and the coffee is great too. A very unassuming, casual atmosphere. You can sit and watch soccer on the tele. The bakery is open rather late if I remember correctly. If I need to bring dessert for a special event I’ll get a cake there (they don’t come cheap but they are big and really, really good).

The owner/baker used to be President Clinton’s pastry chef in the White House.

[wheelswings]

@PotomacCyclist 102865 wrote:

Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie includes injera in his diet.

I’m not sure you can be Ethiopian and not consume njera. It is a staple there. Years back, I lived in a shantytown with Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees (I was working in Africa), and we ate njera at every meal, every day. We also drank canned sodas at every meal, as these were considered healthful – as in, they wouldn’t make you sick. When you purchased your soda, the vendor would ask if you wanted it warm or chilled. It was considered absurd to drink a cold one for breakfast.

[Arlingtonrider]

I’ve never been to Dama, but you all make me want to try it sometime. Thanks for all the interesting background info.

[PotomacCyclist]

Some people were surprised about Gebrselassie in particular since he is one of the most famous runners in the world and he has access to specific sports nutrition. Plus he travels outside of Ethiopia throughout the year. (One article mentions that at his peak, which was just a few years ago, he could command appearance fees of $250,000 just to run in a particular marathon, regardless of his finishing time.)

There have been a couple articles about injera, Gebrselassie and running.

http://running.competitor.com/2013/10/news/gebrselassie-shares-secrets-of-his-success_87217

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/running-legend-haile-gebrselassie-staying-fit-40-article-1.1498931

http://running.competitor.com/2014/11/nutrition/iron-rich-diet-secret-ethiopian-runners_117275

But this article says that too much injera can cause stomach bloating. At one of the Ethiopian running camps, they mostly ate injera.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/apr/06/ethiopian-home-worlds-greatest-runners

I don’t know how much of this applies to cycling specifically. I haven’t read that much about iron deficiency and cycling. I hear about it a lot more with runners (particularly women). I’ve read that running can damage more red blood cells than usual, from the impact of the feet on the ground. (Not joking, as strange as this may sound.) For cycling, I hear much more about lower bone mineral density. Pro cyclists have been shown to have lower BMD than the average adult. It might be the same with high-mileage amateur cyclists who don’t do much strength training or running.

Dama has good reviews online. I just wish the old sidewalk in front of the former Navy Annex building was in better shape. It’s not too bad on a mountain bike, but it’s not pleasant on skinny tires. If you’re riding from Pentagon City to Dama, you have to ride up Columbia Pike. A lot of drivers are speeding and passing within inches of cyclists on the road, so I try to stay on the sidewalk over there as much as I can. (I’m still hoping that Arlington and DOD can work out a deal for the land transfer and they can finally put in the planned 12-ft wide bike/pedestrian paths along the eastern section of Columbia Pike. Maybe before the end of the century?)

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 102882 wrote:

If you’re riding from Pentagon City to Dama, you have to ride up Columbia Pike.

You’ve definitely convinced me to try this place soon. But a reminder to all: you do NOT have to ride up Columbia Pike. You can take Southgate Road, take a left on Ode and it looks like you’re half a block away.

[Bruno Moore]

Shortcake Bakery is just off the head of the NW Branch—and you pick up the Trolley Trail not much further north on RIA by Vigilante. Pastry and coffee at one, coffee and pastry at the other. I don’t know if Arundel Road in Mt. Ranier counts as a path, but if it did, Island Style Ice Cream is the best-kept ice cream secret in greater DC, despite all my best efforts to let other people in on it. Of course, there’s also the Maryland Dairy (and Maryland Food Collective) in the back of the Stamp Union, just off the Paint Branch Trail on the shortcut through campus you take to get to the NW Branch/Sligo Creek. Oh, and Fishnet just off the Trolley Trail, though I don’t know if I think of that as “bike treat” so much as “best beer in CP”

[Tbobx]

Costco used to carry Mexican Coke when I lived in California.

I don’t recall seeing it in the local VA Costco-s but my wife rarely drags me down that Aisle. D’Oh!

@Starduster 97885 wrote:

Aha! They serve Mexican Coke! (No smart-a jokes- the stuff is for real.)

[Tbobx]

Since District Taco is a fan of bicyclists and bicyclists are fans of District Taco, I want to make sure folks know of their new location at 701 South Washington St in Alexandria. It’s on the south edge of Old Town with easy access from several points on the Mount Vernon Trail.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/district+taco/@38.8004057,-77.0557271,15z

[Tbobx]

If you take the Capital Crescent Trail north to Bethesda and take a left on Bethesda Avenue you quickly come to Bethesda Bagel on the right side of the street. They have good bagels and good coffee. Right next door is Quatermaine Coffee which is also very good.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bethesda+Bagels/@38.981149,-77.096574,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89b7c97c752cf9cd:0x7edf0a3a76b367d5!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7c97bf52101c9:0xf2168af360308f1a

(I just used Bethesda three times in a sentence!)

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