José Andrés’ fast-casual venture, the vegetable-focused Beefsteak, opened today in the same building as George Washington University’s Science and Engineering Hall.
The Beefsteak experience will be familiar to anyone who’s visited a Chipotle or Cava Grill: get in line, pick out individual components for your bowl, and add on garnishes and sauces. Unlike other fast-casual joints, however, the cooking happens right in front of the customer at Beefsteak. After selecting your veggies, they’re boiled up in contraptions that look like McDonald’s deep-fryers.
I sampled the Eden Bowl with quinoa, sweet peas, edamame, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, cilantro, roasted garlic yogurt, romaine, lemon honey, cucumber salad, scallions, sprouts, and toasted sesame seeds. Paired with salmon (an additional $2.99), it made for a not-insubstantial meal that landed somewhere between Chipotle levels of gut-busting and Sweetgreen’s rabbit food.
Like Shake Shack and some other fast-casual joints, craft beers and wine are on the drinks menu, alongside housemade lemonade and a rotating selection of juice medleys.
Photo by James Constant
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