Union Station Ups Retail Game

Over the past two years, Union Station has revamped parts of its physical infrastructure as well as its retail and restaurant offerings. The West Hall on the street level is now a fast casual mini-food court with Chipotle, 

YO! Sushi, Chop't, Roti, Potbelly, and Starbucks. They've also added Crumbs Bake Shop, Pret a Manger, Le Pain Quotidien, and Jamba Juice. Those are in addition to the 20+ restaurants in the main food court on the lower level.

The retail options have been updated as well. H & M recently opened in the a large space previously occupied by Barnes & Noble bookstore. MAC Cosmetics opened last week and is just a few doors down from the Art of Shaving, which always has a client in the chair when I walk past. Lots of options for residents and those passing through.

Where to Eat Vegan at Union Station

Sunrise Caribbean has several vegan options 

[UPDATE:  YO! Sushi has closed. Big Bite (now open in the lower level food court) has one vegan hot dog, made of the Field Roast Italian Sausage Link.]

[UPDATE 2: Sunrise Caribbean, Aditi Kitchen, and Vittorio's have all closed due to the construction of a Walgreens store in the food court area. Sunrise has an on again/off again kiosk at Union Station, but has also opened a full service restaurant at 5329 Georgia Avenue NW. Dangerously Delicious Pies also closed up shop. They have a nearby-ish store at 7th and I NW in Chinatown]

About to board a train or bus for a long trip? Waiting for the MARC or VRE to take you home? Just around for lunch? Here are some vegan-friendly spots to grab a bite at Union Station before or after your travels.

[NOW CLOSED]1. Sunrise Caribbean Cuisine: Hands down, this is the best option in Union Station. About half of the rotating daily menu is vegan. The collards, cabbage, and veggie rice are amazing as stand-alone dishes, but typically people get them as sides to the main dish. I order the vegan jerk chicken (#1) or the vegan bbq steak (close second). No joke, the jerk chicken will make you invent reasons to come back to Union Station. A main dish + two sides costs less than $10.

2. Le Pain Quotidien: First of all, they make a pretty good soy latte to take away if you're on the run. The best part is the standing-room-only tables, which are great if you want to sip on coffee for just a minute without being seated. The menu is partially seasonal, but is very similar to the other area locations. Try a vegan tartine, steel cut oatmeal, or ask for the vegan organic soup of the day with one of their vegan breads.

3. Roti: Really only one option at this Mediterranean fast casual spot, but it is consistently tasty: the falafel rice plate. You get three sides. I like the cous cous, cucumber/tomato salad, and roasted vegetables. FYI - the pita bread is not vegan, so go with the rice plate, not sandwich.

[NOW CLOSED] 4. YO! Sushi: Limited selection, but the vibe is fun and the staff is great. Stick with the miso soup, cucumber maki, vegetable yakisoba, and seaweed salad. The avocado rolls aren't vegan off the belt, but you can special order them vegan for no additional cost.

5. Chop't: Make your own vegan salad or go with the Vegetarian Powerhouse. There are several vegan dressings; 5 Flavor Asian and Spa Sesame Asian are the best. 

[NOW CLOSED] 6. Aditi Indian Kitchen: This Indian restaurant is located on the downstairs food-court level. Half of the 4-6 daily offerings are vegetarian, and usually vegan. Ask to be sure, as some contain dairy. I stick to the aloo gobi (potatos and cauliflower), string beans porial, vegetable samosas, and bhajias (aka pakoras). If they're serving it and you ask nicely, you can get the vegetable biryani as a base instead of white rice.

7. Chipotle: Order the vegan black bean burrito with fajita vegetables and guacamole. BONUS: Chipotle is slated to begin testing its vegan sofrito burrito at DC stores TODAY. 

OTHERS: 

[NOW CLOSED] Dangerously Delicious Pies: If they have a berry pie on the menu, it's likely vegan, just ask. Good coffee.

[NOW CLOSED] Vittorio's/Mama Ilardo's: They have dairy-free sorbets.

Union Station

Greyhound Moves to Union Station

Greyhound Lines finally completed its move into Union Station. The site of the old Greyhound bus station at 1005 1st St NE was sold over one year ago, precipitating the move. The ubiquitous national bus company completes the relocation of several intercity bus carries into Union Station. 

Megabus, Washington Deluxe, DC2NY, Boltbus and Greyhound are now located on the H Street level of the parking garage on the north side of Union Station. Visitors can now find intercity buses, sightseeing  buses, Circulator buses, Metrobus, Metrorail, Amtrak, VRE, MARC, taxis, bike rental & share, and car rental & share all at Union Station as of today. Very cool.

YO! Sushi is Fun, Veg Friendly

YO! Sushi opened its first American restaurant last week right here in DC. The Union Station location is on the main concourse in busy West Hall near Chipotle, Potbelly, Chop't, and the also just-opened Roti. YO! is a self-serve sushi place, at which you literally grab your desired dish from a moving conveyor belt. Diners can also order from a fairly extensive menu via a server. 

There's a good mix of hot prepared food, sushi, maki, soups, and appetizers. Each dish is served in a color coded bowl or plate. When you're done, the server counts up the total and dispenses your bill seat-side. Some plates are as low as $2.50. Great place for an in-and-out, affordable lunch.

Also, there is a ton of vegetarian food. Lots of vegetable maki, veggie yakisoba, tempura, miso, and others I haven't had a chance to try. YO! has a breakout guide with more nutritional info. So, vegans can easily see what's safe to order (plenty!). FYI -- oddly the avocado roll, veggie hand roll, and inari are not vegan.

As much as I love the Union Station location, a planned location at 7th and H NW may be even more convenient; and busier. Looking forward to it.

Union Station 9 Closed

The Union Station Theaters are closed. As of October 12. The move had been planned for quite a while but I was still surprised to finally see the yellow tape and semi-destruction going on behind the glass doors. The theatres were sold to Phoenix in 2005 when the original owners (AMC + Lowes) merged and were forced to sell off some theatres for approval.

Looks like the biggest loss will be for the National Community Church. The NCC (which runs Ebenezers Coffee) had used the church for Sunday service for 13 years. The closing also means that Northwest is now the only quadrant with a first run, commercial movie theatre.

I tried watching a movie there several times with the last being the LOTR: Return of the King, on it's its first week of release. During the move, at a pivotal moment, the lights went up and the movie went off. There was a fire alarm going sounding. We all exited, orderly-like, and learned the culprit halfway down the hallway; an overworked popcorn maker had overheated and smoked the place out. Fine, it happens. Half hour later, we're back in the theatre, but that break sort of killed the flow. And also made seeing that movie a near-four hour experience. That was the last time I saw a movie at Union Station. Not soon after, the massive Regal Gallery Place theatres opened and was much closer for people living in Mount Pleasant.

Colombia Reaching Out With Hearts

You've probably seen these 8 foot tall hearts all over town. There are 40 placed throughout DC, many along the 42 bus route. The intersection of 18th St and Columbia Rd has two of the hearts. Turns out they are a promotional item for the county of Colombia. Discover Colombia Through Its Heart is a 10 day push coordinated by the country's DC based Embassy to familiarize Americans, at least those of us in DC, with the country. This is an effort to increase tourism and investment from abroad.

Most of the events happen at Union station over the next 10 days until September 15. You can meet the "real" Juan Valdez. Who knew it wasn't marketing after all? You can get free coffee. You can listen to Colombian music at free concerts. You can get some free cut flowers. Did you know that 70% of cut flowers imported into the U.S. come from Colombia? No? Its true. And Colombia is the worlds third largest producer of bananas. That's bananas.

Well, if you haven't seen, below are two of the hearts from downtown. And here's the full schedule of events happening at Union Station and other spots all over the city. I may have to get in on the free coffee. And meeting the real Mr. Valdez.

Bicycle Transit Center Coming Along

The Union Station Bicycle Transit Center is slowly taking shape. The District's attempt at making the multi-modal transit center of union Station even better is about to take a giant leap forward. The Center will be able to securely house 180 bikes, parked inside. Outside there will be room for 30 additional parked and secured bikes.

The structure will encompass 1700+ square feet including some retail. The retail portion will include administrative space, bike rental and even bike repair. During business hours attendants will control access to the building. After hours, bike owners will have access to the inside space, and their bikes, by way of access card. Pretty neat! There will be some type of membership system. Initial rates were supposed to be something like $100 per year, or $1 per day to park. Cheap considering the convenience of knowing your bike is safely parked. I'm betting a SmartBike DC location won;t be far off, or part of the Center proper. Go DDOT! Keep it coming.

Photos: Union Station aka Obama Merchandise Central

Apparently Union Station is actually Obama Merchandise Central. There are nearly 10 establishments in the station selling Obama/Inauguration items only. Most are carts, some have been around for a long time and all were super busy when I visited today. A button maker I encountered on my trip to Portland last year is even there. They are cleaning up. Another fellow is selling photos "with" Obama. One guy sold Obama sandals. Even larger corporations are getting in the game. IKEA set up their version of oval office for a promotion they are calling "Embrace Change." And Pepsi has plastered the station with buzz words from the Obama campaign, each including a Pepsi logo. Very 1984-ish in a weird way. Anyway, it'll all be over in 6 days.

Victims of Communism Memorial

At New Jersey and Massachusetts Avenues, NW. Erected by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

There is a virtual museum in the works to accompany the memorial, which has been on Mass Ave near Union Station since summer of 2007. The memorial was authorized by Congress in 1998.

And of course the obvious question: What about the Worldwide Victims of Capitalism Memorial? Maybe after the recession/depression is over. Maybe not. WTO, IMF, IADB, NAFTA, CAFTA, HMO, NYSE, IRBD; an alphabet soup of zero sum games. A few winners, lots of losers and many victims.

Out and About: Union Station

Lunch.