Java Green

This is my no means an unbiased review. I love Java Green unabashedly and if I could eat there every day, I most certainly would. I had eaten Java Green food at the DC Green Festival but I thought that Java Green, like so many wonderful and inexpensive places to eat, was in some kind of out-of-DC never never land, like Takoma Park. Then I find out form my intern who is a GW student that Java Green is like two tiny blocks away from where we work. TWO BLOCKS! I am so there.

And I have so been there since I found out about Java Green's promixity to my location. I will say this, I have yet to have any of their wraps or sandwiches. There are twelve million places that serve wraps and sandwiches in that Triangle that consists of Dupont Circle, Farragut West and Foggy Bottom. But there is only one place with your choice of vegatarian popcorn chicken, tofu, and bibim noodle. I have assiduously stuck to the asian side of the menu. Before I go into the menu, here are som lovely little touches that makes Java Green so wonderful. The first is their fiery (I mean FIERY) homemade Asian hot sauce that is habaneros hot but with the sweetness of thai chili sauce. If you can take the heat, it's a perfect dipping sauce. The second is their round wooden chopsticks. The third is their rice. I'm not normally a fan of food in the blue/purple realm of colors but their purple sticky rice is so good it can be eaten without any accompaniment. This is whole grain sticky rice with the soft stickiness of normal sticky rice with the a nutty flavor. SOOOOO good. Whatever I order, I always make sure I get the sticky rice, either by itself or in California roll. I will say this is fairly expensive for a work lunch meal being in the realm of $7-10 but it's well worth it.

Here's what I've gotten:

BIBIM NOODLE (7.50) buckwheat noodle, mixed greens, cucumber, carrot, onion, sesame seed, with spicy vinaigrette.
Perfect for a summer day. This cold salad is light, refreshing and flavorful. Don't worry, the vinaigrette is nowhere near as spicy as the hot sauce. Buckwheat noodles are cooked to perfection.

RICE BOWL (7.95) comes with the famous multi-grain rice, cooked veggie-mix(cabbage, onion, carrot), jobche noodle (clear thick cellophane noodles), broccoli and one choice of toppings - 1. Chicken 2. Tofu 3. Spicy Sausage 4. Spicy Chicken
I've had the Rice Bowl with the spicy sausage and the tofu. While the spicy sausage tastes authentically like a mild andouille sausage, I don't want anduoille sausage with my sticky rice, the tofu which was marinated and grilled was a much better choice. Along with the divine rice, the jobche noodles stole the show. They had a mellow salty flavor of light soy sauce that was overpowering. The vegetables had the same savory flavor as the jobche.

CHICKEN DELUXE (9.50) chicken extravaganza with soy chicken, soy drumstick, soy popcorn chicken, multi-grain rice, broccoli, asparagus, pickled radish.
It's kind of disturbing how much their fake chicken tastes like real chicken. I did hear one dreadlocked GW student whine, "I thought you said this was SOOOOY." It is nitwit. These are perfect when dipped in the homemade hot sauce but bland without any kind of dipping. Props to the broccoli and asparagus which are STEAMED and not boiled.