Rosslyn is almost a complete dead zone for high quality, satisfying food, save for a few restaurants that tend to get a majority of the patronage. Michael Landrum, owner of the various Ray’s restaurants include Ray’s the Steaks, Ray’s Hellburger, Ray’s the third, closed the popular Ray’s Hellburger Two a few weeks ago without announcement. Not that it was a huge loss, with Ray’s Hellburger just a few doors down, still slinging out the best burgers in the area.

With a similar unceremonious gesture, the old Ray’s Hellburger Two was suddenly reopened and christened Ray’s Steak and Cheese. Clearly delineating the difference between his sammich from a ‘cheesesteak’, or even a ‘Philly cheesesteak’, the restaurant has a very limited menu of an 8 oz. sirloin and ribeye steak and cheese sammich served on a toasted roll, with your choice of lettuce (gratis), tomato (gratis), peppers, charred jalapenos, and sauteed mushrooms, cooked to a medium rare unless asked otherwise.

The problem is…well, there is no problem. The sammich is incredibly delicious. The tender cuts of ribeye and sirloin are heightened with a generous coat of cheddar, nestled in a soft sub roll and only further heightened with the addition of peppers and sauteed mushrooms. Do yourself a favor, however, and just skip the lettuce and tomato. There’s no need for any of that to defile this work of beauty. Each bite is as good as the last, and I was only dissuaded from going to order a second were it not for the line that had appeared in front of the register.

You do have the option to order a side of tater tots, extra crispy and piping hot pillows of potatoes and salted for just the right amount of flavor. Beer, root beer, and wine are all also available to help you wash down a meal that has enough staying power to keep with you for the rest of your day.

The restaurant is cash only, so be prepared to pay with paper, your plastic card won’t do you much good here. That is, unless you’re willing to brave the world of ATM fees, with a machine situated conveniently next to the registers in the back of the establishment.

The sammiches, which run $10.99, seemed a bit on the expensive side to me. But given the fact that they’re made with such high quality cuts of steak, I’d say in retrospect that’s it’s a pretty reasonable price for the meal.

Service is overwhelmingly accommodating and easy, as long as you know the process. Go towards the registers in the back, order your meal, take your receipt, and hang out while you wait for your meal to be delivered to your table. Easy, right? Try and get there before noon and you’ll have a better chance of beating the crowds.

See Ray’s Steak & Cheese on a map here (there’s no sign anywhere near the restaurant itself).

Recommended For:

• Moo
• Burgered-out Bonvivants
• Cheesesteak Cherubs

Not Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Lipitor Lovers

On a recent roadtrip up north, Jen and I stopped in Burlington, VT, situated next to Lake Champlain, the very same of Lake Champlain chocolate origin, but not the very same of Burlington Coat Factory origin. No, this Burlington happens to have a decidedly different set of industries that have nothing to do with coats, jackets, and frocks, but rather, snowboards*, chocolates**, and the patchouliest of crunchy, mother Earth-lovin’ hippies.

That’s not such a bad thing, as it turns out that being eco conscious can make for a decent business model, like it has for Magnolia Bistro. The restaurant engages in a plethora of green practices, including composting or recycling almost all of the waste created, using strictly non-GMO soy and grains in all the dishes, sourcing local farms for fresh ingredients, and using recycled materials throughout the restaurant.

Inside, exposed brick walls and floors alongside wood floors and tables lend a certain warmth to the interior, with plenty of local artwork adorning every free space throughout the restaurant.

The menu aims to satisfy the diets of almost all types of visitors: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, local, and even some love for my fellow paleoheads.

There are a number of interesting dishes to have you salivating before it even hits your table, like the Banana Bread French Toast, which can be ordered as a full plate, or as a side dish, as pictured above. The french toast is made from organic grains and fair trade organic bananas which are baked in house, dipped in soy milk, rice milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, fried to a slight crisp and finally topped with a dash of powdered sugar.

There’s also the Crispy Steel Cut Oatmeal cakes, served here with vanilla cream sauce for dipping. The top and bottom are slightly crispy, as the name would suggest, with a soft, nutty interior, giving this dish a nice textural change from the traditional bowl of porridge like oatmeal, and a fantastic dish to share. Although if you’re eating with me, you might want to make it a double.

Omelets made here still use the highest quality of ingredients with locally sourced eggs and bacon, but I found the order to be a bit lacking in substance and presentation. In fact, I even put in for a double order of bacon on the side just to get in a bit more from our brunch. In retrospect, knowing full well that I’d stray from my paleo ways for this meal, I’d probably opt for a sammich or three as my main course. It’s hard to turn away from choices such as the Open-FaceSteak Sammich (local marinated steak topped with mushrooms, onions, and cheddar cheese) or the Smokey Mountain BBQ Pork (local slow cooked pork made in a house barbecue sauce).

The service here is good, and there are always a number of dishes written up on the chalkboard near the bar that list the daily specials, in the off chance that nothing sparks your interest on the 100% recycled paper menu. Prices seemed to be pretty reasonable to me, but I could see how some might think of it as being a bit on the high end for a college town. Just keep in mind that high quality ingredients don’t come by cheap, and high quality sourced goods is what this restaurant is all about.

All in all, Magnolia Bistro is an excellent place to stop in for an early meal before exploring Burlington, and a great addition to this small college town. It is better suited for the vegans and vegetarians, as evidenced by the other offerings on the menu, but it doesn’t discriminate to meat eaters, which is just fine by me.

And yes, they have pancakes, too.

See Magnolia Bistro on a map here. (Note: It’s tucked away in a multi use commercial building on the basement floor, so it’s a little hard to find. You’ll have to enter through the building doors first and go downstairs!)

Recommended For:

• Vegans
• Vegetarians
• Localvores
• Patchouli Princesses
• Canadian Campers

Not Recommended For:

• Rhinestone Cowboys
• Kenny Powers Powerlunches

* Burlington is the home of Burton Snowboards HQ.

** Burlington is also the home of Lake Champlain Chocolates HQ.

Burgers, burgers, burgers. Who knew (besides Anthony Bourdain) that a really well-crafted burger would be one of the most sought after foods in the early 21st century? With the resurgence of popularity of everything Americana as of late, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for anyone at all. With an abundance of variety and style in the District, there’s no true king- it all comes down to preference.

Enter Shake Shack. With an already saturated market of burger joints, the introduction of this New York chain was met with great fanfare…and weekday lines that wrap around the block. Championing the roadside burger model, Shake Shack prefers to serve thinner patties, albeit of the highest quality of beef- 4 ounces of pastured, vegetarian fed Sirloin beef, topped with American cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and Shacksauce on a potato bun, served in a mess-free waxed paper bag. I opted for the double Shackburger, an 8 ounce portion of meat, which seemed to suit my eating habits a bit better.

I also ordered a side of the Shack-cago Dog- a split and grilled Vienna all-beef hot dog, topped with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, peppers, yellow mustard and celery salt, served on a potato bun, and a Peanut Butter Shake to match. Never one for being a glutton, I had to pass on cheese fries, but maybe the next time around.

What’s good? The burgers, through and through. While I only got to sample the Shackburger, there are smaller and larger options available on the menu to suit your taste, and the combination of very high quality beef with a potato bun is near perfection in terms of fast food deliciousness…the burgers do meet the hype.

The restaurant also offers a vegetarian friendly ‘Shroom burger for those who still want the deliciousness, but without all the cow. Don’t think this one comes up short, with a crisp-fried portobello mushroom cap filled with munster and cheddar cheese, topped with the same tomatoes, lettuce, and served in the ever crucial potato bun.

The Shack-cago dog, on the other hand, was sorely lacking in presence. Overwhelmed by the massive amount of toppings with a paltry dog hiding underneath, you can give this one a miss.

The shakes here are beyond a doubt tasty, served in a waxed paper cup that was two gusts of a wind from collapsing from the sheer mass of the contents inside. I can only imagine what a Concrete, the Shake Shack’s thicker version of their milkshake, would do to a cup. You can choose a malt option as well, mixing it up with a variety of flavors to choose from, including vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter, strawberry, or black & white. Concretes take it up a notch, with local creations such as the Presidental Sweet (three scoops of vanilla custard, peanut butter sauce, marshmallow, and caramel milk chocolate), the Washington Monu-mint (three scoops of chocolate custard, minted marshmallow, and chocolate cookie dough), the Majority Whip (three scoops of vanilla custard, crepe crispies, fruit, and whipped cream), or make up your own.

If milkshakes, malts, and concretes aren’t your thing, a number of beers, wines, fresh brewed ice tea and root beer are on tap.

Lastly, don’t be scurred to come by with your dog- the Pooch-ini, a chilly Shackburger dog biscuit with peanut butter sauce and vanilla custard, is available for four legged friend. But what the hell you’re doing walking your dog through Dupont Circle in the first place is completely beyond me.

Quality comes at a premium, so expect to pay a bit more than your traditional fast food joints, but the experience is completely worth it. My inner fat kid says, order two double Shackburgers and a concrete, and you’ll go home happy.

See Shake Shack on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Burger Buffs
• Casual First Dates
• Late Night Noms
• Funky Cold Custar-ina

Not Recommended For:

• Meaty Interventions
• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Frugalistas
• Half Smoke Champions

I never grew up thinking salad as being a satisfying meal until I became an adult. Maybe it’s because we’re served such crap salads when we were kids. Iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, maybe half a tomato. In fact, airlines do their best to keep the tradition alive on long flights, serving you the exact same salad on long flights.

Well, screw that.

Chop’t is a salad company that’s recently celebrate their 10 year anniversary, with several locations spread throughout NYC and DC. Their salads are a bit on the expensive side, but they don’t skimp one bit on the ingredients or portion size. My favorite part? The recent switch to antibiotic free, hormone free, free range chicken in all their locations. I find myself drawn to getting a salad at least once a week as a treat, building it from the ground up with ingredients such as ancho chile chicken, goat cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, spinach, arugula, and a regularly rotation selection of dressings that only ever use honey or agave nectar for sweetners.

The owners swap in seasonal ingredients and pre-selected salad combinations for the indecisive types, but I highly recommend experimenting and making up something that’s all your own.

And the best part about the salads? They’re hysterial.

Find a Chop’t near you here.

Of course, for all of you salad haters, you could make your salad DOUBLY paleo by adding your own meat.

The La Provence in South Beach doesn’t particularly stand out among the various storefronts it finds itself shouldered between along Collins Avenue.  In fact, one could overlook this restaurant altogether, as I almost did, if it weren’t for Jen. We stopped into the sparsely decorated restaurant for breakfast on a sunny Miami morning, eagerly ready for our first meal of the day.

The front half the restaurant is filled with small tables for dining, while the other half holds a long display case of fresh baked goods and samples of the dishes offered.  The line forms just to the left of the display case with the register at the very back, giving you plenty of time to ogle and salivate over croissants, brioches, quiches, and fruit pastries.  I was intent on staying focused with my diet for this meal, so I quickly eyed the omelets on the menu.  They also offer to cook your eggs any way you want, but they omelets here are huge.  Coupled with the fact that prices are very reasonable, and gratuity is completely optional rather than automatically ratcheting up your bill an additional 17%, it’s hard not to declare this one of the better options for a daily zone or paleo breakfast.

All breakfast and brunch options come with a small salad and a chunk of house made french bread, but  tossing the bread and adding a generously portioned fruit salad to your order will have you good to go for hours until lunchtime.  The omelets here aren’t as unique or exotic as some places in Miami, but realistically, sometimes you just want a simple breakfast that is still well prepared and served to your table post haste.  La Provence accomplishes just that.

The salads here great, too.  I had the Chef Salad with no dressing and a side of oil & vinegar for lunch on a separate occasion, and was equally satisfied with my choice.  Not award winning, but still, easily a good value and something for those who are trying to keep their diet on the rails.

If you’re in South Beach looking for an alternative to the hundreds of pizza parlors and sandwich shoppes, this is it.

See La Provence on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Vegans
• Paleo heads
• Zone Dieters
• Frugalistas
• Cheese Eatin’ Surrender Monkeys

Not Recommended For:

• First Dates
• Screaming Children
• Screaming Adults