Have you ever had your hopes high up for a particular restaurant and the food was so good that it actually surpassed your expectations? It happened once for me, at a restaurant in Washington D.C. called Founding Farmers. If you are still skeptical of what I just said, here’s something interesting for you: Even first Lady Michelle Obama listed Founding Farmers as one of her favourite restaurants.

Founding Farmers is extremely dedicated in producing the best food. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, even the sauces. It’s unfortunate how many restaurants in today’s World have chosen convenience over quality and resorted to ready made pastes.

Foodies, environmentalists and health junkies would all love this homely place because food served in Founding Farmers, are not just delicious… They are nutritious, aesthetically pleasing, fresh and even environmentally friendly!

The restaurant is a LEED Gold Certified and a Certified Green restaurant. It was built with minimal impact on the environment & operates in an environmentally friendly manner e.g. menus printed on recycled papers, no plastic bottles used.

For those who do not believe that a vegetarian dish could be yummy, try the Butternut Squash Ravioli (USD $15). It is uniquely crafted with brown sage butter, a generous amount of cheese and premium durum wheat flour. The burst of flavour in your mouth would definitely leave you craving for more.

The Lemon Scallops (USD $24) are amazingly fresh and pan-fried with lemon brown butter. They come together with scrumptious butternut squash risotto infused with herbs. The only bad thing about this dish is… I wished there were more scallops. This plate of risotto was so awesome that it tasted better than the ones I had in Italy.

The Plank Salmon (priced daily) has been smoked on a cedar plank and glazed with maple and apricot syrup. The end result is a perfectly tender, moist and tasty salmon which comes with two dishes of your choice. I particularly loved the roasted sweet potatoes with pecan fig butter.

The desserts at Founding Farmers are not only made from scratch but are made daily to ensure its freshness and quality. The Cheese Cake (USD $8), topped with cranberry compote plum is baked with vanilla bean and raisin fruit crisp. The Chocolate Mousse Cake (USD $8), paired with a scoop of strawberry ice cream, is a moist and rich triple layer cake that uses semi-sweet chocolate ganache.

I always had this mindset that healthy food, especially vegetables, can never taste superb but lunch at Founding Farmers changed my mind. I haven’t had such great and honest food in the longest time. If you happen to visit Washington D.C., you MUST visit this wonderful restaurant.

Founding Farmers Restaurant
1924 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC, United States
Tel: +1 202 822 8783

About the writer
Hui Jun Ng was previously a marketing executive and freelance photographer in the food industry. Her work has been published on Epicure, Lifestyle Asia and Meld Magazine etc. She is currently on a break and traveling around the world. Follow her travel adventures on Instagram or The Keepers Map where she shares useful curated travel itineraries.