Place like Central Michel Richard for vegetarians in DC?

My boyfriend and I will be in DC next month, and we'd like to take our host to dinner as a thank you. I made a reservation at Central Michel Richard, but it turns out our host is a vegetarian (no fish but not vegan). The dinner menu on the Central Michel Richard web site doesn't list a single vegetarian entree. Are there any recommendations for places in DC with a similar environment and comparable prices? Opentable describes CMR as "casual elegant." That's pretty much what we're going for. We don't want a degustation menu at Citronelle, but we also don't want something too casual. (We'll be taking our host out for one other dinner, for Ethiopian at Fasika's, I think.)

Thanks in advance.

happy_stomach wrote:My boyfriend and I will be in DC next month, and we'd like to take our host to dinner as a thank you. I made a reservation at Central Michel Richard, but it turns out our host is a vegetarian (no fish but not vegan). The dinner menu on the Central Michel Richard web site doesn't list a single vegetarian entree. Are there any recommendations for places in DC with a similar environment and comparable prices? Opentable describes CMR as "casual elegant." That's pretty much what we're going for. We don't want a degustation menu at Citronelle, but we also don't want something too casual. (We'll be taking our host out for one other dinner, for Ethiopian at Fasika's, I think.)

Thanks in advance.

Does it have to be in DC proper or would you be willing to go to Virginia? I've got a long list of places that are casual elegant that do vegetarian very well.

Thanks, jpschust. We'll have a car, but there's a chance our host will be working long hours if the Senate is in session. We'd consider places in VA if, say, 40-min or less outside DC by car.

jpschust wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:My boyfriend and I will be in DC next month, and we'd like to take our host to dinner as a thank you. I made a reservation at Central Michel Richard, but it turns out our host is a vegetarian (no fish but not vegan). The dinner menu on the Central Michel Richard web site doesn't list a single vegetarian entree. Are there any recommendations for places in DC with a similar environment and comparable prices? Opentable describes CMR as "casual elegant." That's pretty much what we're going for. We don't want a degustation menu at Citronelle, but we also don't want something too casual. (We'll be taking our host out for one other dinner, for Ethiopian at Fasika's, I think.)

Thanks in advance.

Does it have to be in DC proper or would you be willing to go to Virginia? I've got a long list of places that are casual elegant that do vegetarian very well.

first, call the restaurant and see what they can do for you. i had one of the best meals of my life at richard's old place. they might accomodate you. it's worth a shot.

happy_stomach wrote:Thanks, jpschust. We'll have a car, but there's a chance our host will be working long hours if the Senate is in session. We'd consider places in VA if, say, 40-min or less outside DC by car.

jpschust wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:My boyfriend and I will be in DC next month, and we'd like to take our host to dinner as a thank you. I made a reservation at Central Michel Richard, but it turns out our host is a vegetarian (no fish but not vegan). The dinner menu on the Central Michel Richard web site doesn't list a single vegetarian entree. Are there any recommendations for places in DC with a similar environment and comparable prices? Opentable describes CMR as "casual elegant." That's pretty much what we're going for. We don't want a degustation menu at Citronelle, but we also don't want something too casual. (We'll be taking our host out for one other dinner, for Ethiopian at Fasika's, I think.)

Thanks in advance.

Does it have to be in DC proper or would you be willing to go to Virginia? I've got a long list of places that are casual elegant that do vegetarian very well.

OK, my absolute first choice would then be to go to Restaurant Eve, which is a little nicer than Central. The menu prices are within range of Central.

Additionally, I really like firefly and think that Eric is doing some great stuff with a lot of vegetarian options on the menu. That's in DC.

For something a little more "sceney" you might consider Zaytinya- medeterranian tapas. It's kind of a go to place for me with vegetarians, even though it's not my personal top choice just because there are so many options that make everyone feel comfortable. That's in DC.

I just heard a few bad things about Vidalia and their ability to do a vegetarian menu, so I'd pass on that. That's in DC

There's always Vegetate, which is all vegetarian, though not in my favorite neighborhood. That's in DC.

Also in Virginia and with some of the hip feel, with a cool wine selection and great food selection is Tallulah/Eat Bar. Eat Bar is the gastro pub side, Tallulah is the restaurant side. Incredible wine list, very reasonable in price. This is about 10 minutes from the DC border.

Right by Central is TenPehn which is asian fusion and very very good- like all asian restaurants it has quite a bit to offer the vegetarian and this one in particular is somewhat upscale, but business casual works well there.

Central is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and I'm sure they may be able to help out your vegetarian friend, but I always hate being that one at the table because I never get a choice in what I eat.

jpschust wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:Thanks, jpschust. We'll have a car, but there's a chance our host will be working long hours if the Senate is in session. We'd consider places in VA if, say, 40-min or less outside DC by car.

jpschust wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:My boyfriend and I will be in DC next month, and we'd like to take our host to dinner as a thank you. I made a reservation at Central Michel Richard, but it turns out our host is a vegetarian (no fish but not vegan). The dinner menu on the Central Michel Richard web site doesn't list a single vegetarian entree. Are there any recommendations for places in DC with a similar environment and comparable prices? Opentable describes CMR as "casual elegant." That's pretty much what we're going for. We don't want a degustation menu at Citronelle, but we also don't want something too casual. (We'll be taking our host out for one other dinner, for Ethiopian at Fasika's, I think.)

Thanks in advance.

Does it have to be in DC proper or would you be willing to go to Virginia? I've got a long list of places that are casual elegant that do vegetarian very well.

OK, my absolute first choice would then be to go to Restaurant Eve, which is a little nicer than Central. The menu prices are within range of Central.

Additionally, I really like firefly and think that Eric is doing some great stuff with a lot of vegetarian options on the menu. That's in DC.

For something a little more "sceney" you might consider Zaytinya- medeterranian tapas. It's kind of a go to place for me with vegetarians, even though it's not my personal top choice just because there are so many options that make everyone feel comfortable. That's in DC.

I just heard a few bad things about Vidalia and their ability to do a vegetarian menu, so I'd pass on that. That's in DC

There's always Vegetate, which is all vegetarian, though not in my favorite neighborhood. That's in DC.

Also in Virginia and with some of the hip feel, with a cool wine selection and great food selection is Tallulah/Eat Bar. Eat Bar is the gastro pub side, Tallulah is the restaurant side. Incredible wine list, very reasonable in price. This is about 10 minutes from the DC border.

Right by Central is TenPehn which is asian fusion and very very good- like all asian restaurants it has quite a bit to offer the vegetarian and this one in particular is somewhat upscale, but business casual works well there.

Central is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and I'm sure they may be able to help out your vegetarian friend, but I always hate being that one at the table because I never get a choice in what I eat.

Thanks. I'll look into all of your recommendations. I will make it to Central--for a Friday dinner without our host.

At Central, I adore the fried chicken. Also don't miss out on the gougeres.

jpschust wrote:At Central, I adore the fried chicken. Also don't miss out on the gougeres.

Terrific! My boyfriend goes bananas for fried chicken--he'll be thrilled to have it at Central.

I had an absolutely fabulous meal at Central last summer--and I believe that everything I ate was vegetarian. We had a table by the kitchen and we were able to see all the wonderful things going on in there. I would be absolutely shocked if they would not accomodate special requests. It's a great place not to be missed. I'd second the person who recommended you call and ask if they can do something for you. Or perhaps there's even a vegetarian special each evening.