There are people who work to make money and then there are people who happen to make money while they work. It’s rare that I would start a food review by discussing a waitress. I explained as nicely and patiently as I could that killing animals for food is never cruelty-free. The host told me, “All the meat is cruelty-free.” What a mess. Cringe-worthy word paintings on the wall that tout meaningless slogans such as “grass-fed beef” and “100% organic eggs” reveal Shallal, like so many other well-intentioned eaters, likely still has much to learn about the duplicity and shameless propaganda manufactured by the animal agriculture industry. I couldn’t help wonder what would happen if Shallal gradually removed animal products from the menu, allowing patrons to find alternatives on the same menu, until all oppression left the kitchen. While it would be preferable that Shallal eliminates animal products entirely (serving animals isn’t compatible with the social justice causes he champions), environmental, and animal and human rights advocates may find some solace realizing that the menu undoubtedly introduces non-veg eating customers to veg options and normalizes and equalizes meat and dairy alternatives. The restaurant also serves non-veg options. The menu contains dozens of clearly marked vegan and vegetarian options including Baba Ganoush, Vegan “Beef” Sliders, Coconut Tofu Bites, Falafel Salad, and Egyptian Foole Dip, a host of veg breakfast options including Vegan Egg Wrap, Vegan Sausage, and Vegan Bacon, and a punishing array of vegan desserts including Vegan Cheesecake, Vegan Brownie, Vegan Ice Cream, and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie. The unique winding staircase and high ceiling will remind you that you’ve been there before when you return–and the restaurant’s mission will make you feel glad to be back.īusboys and Poets is not a vegan restaurant but it would be easy to confuse it for one.
And Shallal does good by helping the local community. The collection includes heavyweights Ta-Nehisi Coates and Malala Yousafzai books with unmistakable purpose occupy the shelves.
Every book is as carefully selected as the historical figures on the wall mural that Shallal painted. The entrance greets visitors with a bookstore. This isn’t just a place where people eat it’s a place to meet, think critically, organize, present, and improve the world. In its early years, it became a hub for activists protesting the Iraq War and advancing social justice causes. Shallal created it in 2005 in a progressive DC neighborhood in honor of American poet Langston Hughes who worked as a busboy in the 1920’s before his rise to fame as one of the country’s most admired poets. “ They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed.” – Langston Hughes, 1945īusboys and Poets, founded by owner Andy Shallal, an Iraqi-American artist, activist, and restaurateur, is no ordinary food joint.
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