2531 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna 703.319.3888

6304 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church 703.237.3888

www.crystalsunflower.com

According to Wikipedia “Vegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant- based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs.” Many people adopt vegetarianism for ethical, health, environmental, religious, cultural, aesthetic and economic reasons. Vegetarianism is not a new concept and it was practiced by an ancient Greek civilization and in Southern Italy, but it all together disappeared following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity. In our country, only 1 to 2.8% of the population of adults is vegetarian. Which begs the question, how good must your food have to be in order to remain open for 13 years in Vienna and 2 years in Falls Church as a vegetarian restaurant? I am about to tell you.

If you are a big meat eater, don’t dismiss this restaurant. Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised. If you like eating a vegetable rich diet, you just found a home. I recently visited their Falls Church location for lunch with my wife, who was a vegetarian for 6 years prior to becoming pregnant with our fi rst baby (he is now 8 and he is a big meat eater). When you order from the menu, don’t try the vegetarian versions of the known meat dishes like General Tso’s Surprise. If you want General Tso’s Chicken, then have it with meat at another restaurant. My wife and I tried the Steamed Moo Shu Rolls as an appetizer. They are stuff ed with Vegi-ham, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and organic green cabbage. Very fresh and tasty and I highly recommend them. We then ordered Hot Hot Shabu Shabu which is a spicy soup served with Yuba (tofu skin), organic tofu, bean sprouts, bean thread noodle, dried mushrooms chunk, broccoli and baby bok choy. Served in a traditional Japanese black cast iron pot, this is a quintessential winter soup that will warm your body and soul and open up your sinuses all at the same time. With every spoon full of this soup you taste the exotic spices mixed with fresh vegetables and noodles. It is the Chicken Soup equivalent of the Japanese cuisine.

Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant uses organically grown local produce that is good for you and your family. When I visited the restaurant, there was a very cosmopolitan mix of people of all races and creeds eating in harmony. There was one table of dozen young people who looked like they were having a quick business lunch and others who were there with their families. I also recommend that you expose your family and kids to vegetarianism. The purpose isn’t to force them to become vegetarians, but to expose them to other cultures and ways of life that exist on our planet.