Between an old antique shop and a decorative art gallery stands the narrow and equally obscure Postmodern Foods at 29th and M streets in Georgetown. As you enter the front door, the atmosphere resembles that of a modern apartment. It is not until you take a few steps down a hallway that you arrive at the cashier and two refrigerators filled with self-proclaimed “health-supportive” and “plant-based foods and drinks.”
Postmodern Foods opened in December as a restaurant dedicated to clean and organic foods. Head over for made-to-order juices, smoothies, chicken, salads and healthy desserts.
Postmodern Foods offers many pre-made refrigerated meals like “Maple Balsamic Fall Brussels Sprouts Salad,” the “Sort of Shepherd’s Pie,” “The Chili-Lime Cabbage Slaw with Radish Confetti” and many other organic tongue twisters. I chose the classic pad thai, though this version is made with brown rice as well as rice noodles.
The two items cost me a whopping $20. To eat my meal, the cashier directed me to an empty room in the back decorated with clean, white wooden tables, sleek chairs and a high-tech fireplace. On the walls close-up photographs of vegetables reminded me of why I was supposed to be enjoying the scene: it was for my health.
Luckily, my pad thai – made of brown rice, rice noodles, carrots, celery, peas, raw cashews and pink Himalayan salt – tasted pretty good. It was almost like regular pad thai but with less sauce and more veggies. The brown rice and rice noodles were crisp, full of flavor and complemented by crunchy green onions and almond flakes. As a whole, the meal had a clean, cold and fresh feel.
The smoothie – whose pink, brown and green colors you can see swirling in the glass container – was strong and refreshing. The ingredients – including raspberry, raw cacao, avocado, cashews, spinach, and chia seed – each came together as a whole but retained their individual tastes. The crunch of the chia seeds balanced nicely with the thick texture that the cashews and avocado provided.
As I sat alone in the room, the cashier offered me the wifi password which was (no surprise) OrganicVeg. I opened my laptop, ate my pad thai and fake chocolate raspberry smoothie, and was reminded of what professional adult and hipsterhood must be like. While I realistically cannot afford this food very often, I thoroughly enjoyed eating and working there.
I would suggest this restaurant to people who have the cash to blow and enjoy healthy dishes. Unlike other organic-based restaurants, such as Beefsteak, the meals are pre-packaged, cold and designed for pickup. Like every other hip and organic place, I am sure Postmodern Foods will eventually grow in popularity, so take advantage of its low-key atmosphere before it’s gone.
