Beefsteak is a fast-casual restaurant based on the concept of getting people to eat their vegetables in an affordable and accessible way. Created by world-famous chef José Andrés, it has its primary location in the heart of GW’s campus in Foggy Bottom, Washington DC, with four others scattered around Maryland, Pennsylvania and DC.
Here, you can either pick from their pre-made menu or make your own bowl. I used to be so confused and think, “There are so many things on this menu that look great, but how can I be sure they’ll taste great all together?”
About a year and a half ago, I also would have laughed if you said I’d be able to feel satisfied by eating a bowl of vegetables. Now, I’m not so sure the joke is funny anymore because of Beefsteak.
1. Asian Fusion Bowl
For veggies, I decided to go with edamame, bok choy, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli. I thought these were perfect, because they are found in a lot of popular Asian dishes. The base of my bowl was some white rice, which pairs great with the roasted garlic yogurt sauce. I thought a poached egg would go well with my Asian fusion theme. For toppings, I kept it simple with just kimchi, scallions, and sesame seeds. Finally, I chose the soy ginger dressing to finish it off—absolutely delicious.
2. Mediterranean-Inspired Bowl
I thought some good veggies for my Mediterranean bowl would be broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale. Quinoa made the perfect base. The roasted garlic yogurt sauce would bring out the flavors of my veggies well. For protein, I went with the salt-cured salmon, because this felt the most Mediterranean of all the choices. For toppings, cucumber salad, chickpea salad, and cherry tomatoes completed the bowl. For dressing, I did a mix of olive oil and sherry vinegar dressing.
3. Spicy Italian-Inspired Bowl
This was definitely my favorite bowl. I was feeling some major Ratatouille vibes. For veggies, I chose mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, and yellow squash. I decided to go with bulgur for my base, simply because I had never tried it before, but thought it might be a good match.
I knew the spicy tomato sauce would be perfect for this bowl. Adding on some mozzarella also added some more Italian flare. For toppings, I went with cherry tomatoes. I decided to skip dressing and just go with a drizzle of olive oil.
4. Thanksgiving-Inspired Bowl
I think this ended up being my second favorite bowl. For veggies, I went with sweet potatoes, potatoes (one can never really have too many potatoes), broccoli, snow peas, and kale. I thought white rice would make the best base, since it’s plain and there were going to be a lot of different tastes in this bowl. I chose the roasted garlic yogurt sauce and added chicken sausage as my protein. For toppings, I went with scallions, corn nuts, and cranberries, because no Thanksgiving dinner is really complete without them.
With Beefsteak, almost anything and everything (in terms of vegetables, of course) is possible. Finding all of these combinations, in addition to others, has really helped me get more veggies into my diet and has definitely inspired me to try out more recipes with veggies.