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| The Energy Breakfast Sandwich |
Have you ever dreamt about eating without consequences? Burgers, fries, shakes... Just thinking about such tasty delights invokes thoughts of guilt; but what if I told you, you could enjoy all that and more with only half the guilt? New York stalwart Energy Kitchen recently invaded the nation's capital with it's healthy (and hopefully tasty) versions of traditionally off-limits fare.
Energy Kitchen president and co-founder Anthony Leone has wanted to crack into the DC market for some time, and found the perfect opening at 1901 L Street, NW. Energy Kitchen is open Monday-Friday from 7 AM to 9 PM and Saturday between 8 and 4. 7 AM? Could that mean breakfast? Heck yeah, and it's the most important meal of the day for review purposes too.
Taking the guess work out of what is and isn't healthy is a smart idea. Ditto for offering breakfast all day. EK offers five AM specialities, including the Energy Breakfast Sandwich (my new sandwich of choice.) Advertised at under 300 calories (277 to be exact) I did my body proud by skipping the fat-free cheddar cheese and settling for 5 egg whites and turkey bacon on a whole wheat English muffin. My sandwich arrived piping hot... A thick pillow of egg whites, topped off with some of the best turkey bacon I've ever had. I would have liked my muffin toasted a bit more, but I'll remember to ask next time. Missing out on the cheese also left my s'wich a little dry, something easily rectified by a tomato or some kind of sauce.
If today's visit is any indication, asking for something extra proves a cinch at Energy Kitchen. From the moment you walk inside to the immaculate space, you're warmly greeted with "Welcome to Energy Kitchen. How can I energize you today?" Here's hoping they keep up this same level of enthusiasm in the weeks and months to come. My cashier couldn't have been nicer (I felt genuinely welcomed.) Food seemed to take a while to get out, but that's to be expected in the first week of doing business. On the plus side, my aforementioned kindly cashier could be heard asking for her customer's sea salt fries... right before pleading with the chef for another's burger. It's great to see someone care so much about making a good impression. Any good host wants their guests fed, and thankfully the food proves worth the wait.
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| Energy Kitchen's Chocoholic |
I washed my Energy Breakfast Sandwich down with a Chocoholic smart shake, which regrettably failed to make as favorable an impression. Chocolate protein, skim milk and non-fat chocolate yogurt doesn't sound as good as good, old-fashioned chocolate, milk and ice cream; but the former doesn't come in at a slimming 228 calories either. My 16 oz. shake did, and while a tad pricey at $4.49 still managed to be cool and refreshing.
I'm anxious to try EK's burgers, especially their bison and sirloin versions, both under 500 calories. Check back next week to see what's doing for lunch and supper.
