Congrats, Java Green!

One of IT’s favorite lunch indulgences—the ultra eco-conscious café

Java Green

—recently nabbed top honors as best vegetarian restaurant in the Washington metro area in VegDC’s first annual contest. A round of celebratory green tea frappés all around, we say!

Just a quick jaunt from IT’s home base in downtown D.C., Java Green serves organic fare on an all-vegetarian and mostly vegan menu. Founded in 2003, the café buys wind power to offset its carbon footprint, brews only fair trade coffee and tea, and provides biodegradable flatware and carry-out bags (made from corn, sugar cane fiber, and potato starch) for those on the run. Plus, Java Green donates part of its profits to sustainability-focused nonprofits.

Java Green’s true lure might be its fine tightrope walk between hippy and trendy. The design is sleek and contemporary, with a large front patio shaded by enormous green and orange umbrellas; inside, a corner community bulletin advertises yoga classes next to a bookshelf stocked with vegan recipe books.

The best part? Not only is Java Green’s chow healthy and socially responsible, it’s seriously tasty. Even meat-lovers can’t resist menu items like the Temptation panini, stuffed with grilled tempeh, spinach, roasted red pepper, and soy cheese, or one of their specialty dishes like the Boolgogi and Kimchi, a spicy mélange of bulgogi, organic rice, jobche noodles, mushroom, spinach, lotus root, gobo root, and kimchi.

And, at least in our ever-humble opinion, their iced double soy lattes are quite possibly the best defense (with a jolt!) against Washington’s soupy summer heat.

Java Green is located on 19th Street between K and L Streets in downtown Washington, D.C. Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed on Sundays).