SmartKafe

I’ll admit, going down the escalator and into the metro tunnel without actually going IN to the metro is a little…odd.

No, I wasn’t setting up my garbage can drums to play mad beats and collect money- I did it to check out the SmartKafe, a little diddy I read about in the Post. This (very) small café is connected to the new Results Gym at the Farragut North Metro stop, and is part of a larger effort to bring fresh, organic and environmentally responsible snacks and meals to DC. Their menu boasts a nice variety of local favorites. According to the web site, 3 SmartKafes are in the works for our area.

The cafe Farragut North is the first. I stopped by for a salmon nicoise salad and to get away from the office for a while. SmartKafe offers a small seating area, where I chose to read and eat. But had I been in the mood for some mind-numbing, I could have joined the gentleman behind the counter for a little Project Runway marathon on the large flat-screen TV.

The salad was decent. The salmon was a little hard (as in, not flaky and soft, but just sorta-flaky). The olives, green beans and potatoes were striking. And I thought their choice of dressing (a vinaigrette) paired nicely.

I washed it down with a MetroMint (no kidding, the water was actually called that) which was a mint flavored water in a much-too-small bottle. It was good and I wanted more.

For the sake of straying from the norm, a commitment to giving things at least a second shot, and for our dear environment, I’m going to give SmartKafe another shot. A place with such good intentions is worth my time. I think I’ll go for one of Jordan Lichman’s soft flour tacos that the Post suggested (Lichman is a former Inn at Little Washington sous chef and SmartKafe's current executive chef).

And I’m definitely up for tracking down one of their battery-powered SmartKarts.