The Green Spoon     

I can cook. I can paint and draw too. However, I am a much better spokesperson for others’ artistic creations. So, nearly two years ago when Glutie Foodie was born, I chose to write about my adventures in restaurants rather than in my own kitchen. That was before The Green Spoon came to town, an Arlington based upstart delivering chef-cooked, gluten-free, healthy meals to local living rooms within hours of their preparation; now that’s a TV-dinner worth writing about.

The Green Spoon’s founder and owner, Hanson Cheng, grew up on gourmet food with his family in the restaurant industry. It was not until he benefited first-hand from a strict Paleo diet that he realized the positive affects of healthy, clean eating and his mission became clear. Cheng explains, “People in DC work hard, sit for hours in traffic, have families, have schedules so packed that they barely have time for themselves or their families. If I could help people eat great food and make it convenient for them, I felt that would be very valuable….They would have access to healthy food that tastes great!

Cheng designed a weekly meal program to include 100% gluten-free dishes that borrow from his Paleo practices. He interviewed a couple dozen chefs before finding Donn Souliyadeth, who was working as a private chef at the time and has cooked with celebrity chef Morou Ouattara at both his Farrah Olivia and Kora restaurants in Northern Virginia. “I’ve never met someone that works as hard as he [Souliyadeth] does” Cheng admires. “He puts his heart and soul into his food. For our tortillas, he probably made six to seven versions of them before we found one we were happy offering to our clients.”

From the first taste of a Green Spoon meal, Souliyadeth’s talents are clear. He is a pro at preparing well-balanced, packaged meals that taste as delicious re-heated the next day as they would right off the pan. Souliyadeth shops for his locally sourced produce and proteins once the week’s orders are in, to ensure the freshest ingredients with nearly no waste. The seared haddock with a “soy sauce” glaze, cauliflower rice, baby bok choy and sweet peppers spent 15 minutes in my 350 degree oven, right in the eco-friendly container in which it was delivered. Another 15 minutes later, that container was licked clean, tossed into the recycling bin and I had the rest of my night to…well, work on this post.

The salmon filet I received was served with a mound of sweet and tangy mango salsa atop a bed of brown rice that crisped on the edges after its 15 minutes in the oven.

The lunch menu’s napa cabbage salad with grape tomatoes, red grapes, pistachios and avocado was accompanied by a hearty portion of mahi mahi and a balsamic vinaigrette that Mr. Green Bean and I nearly drank! We spent the entire meal trying to figure out how to replicate our new favorite dressing.

The Green Spoon caterers to little people too, with a separate kids menu that tempts the Mr. Green Bean in all of us. I was particularly intrigued by the almond crusted fish sticks served with broccoli, carrots, and a cauliflower mash that kids will never know isn’t the starchy staple they’re used to. The accompanying tartar sauce tasted so fresh I actually felt good about eating it. Beware that this finger food is meant to be eaten with a fork, due to the fish’s delicate texture. In fact, all the fish portions were cooked to a perfect, flaky consistency after their second rounds in an oven, a virtue I wish I could replicate with my own leftovers.

It was a week filled with fish, as you can tell. Mr. Green Bean was a good sport to put up with the fresh ocean smell that engulfed our apartment. Our Kashrut observance prohibited us from bringing in dishes like the Green Spoon’s Jerk chicken with sweet plantains and spanish brown rice, or Kofte (Meditteranean meatballs) with tzatziki, chickpeas and spiced spinach, which my husband surely would have loved, and I have no doubt make for delicious dinners.

Though The Green Spoon sought me out to taste test their cooking, I am a new fan of the company on my own volition. I am convinced after tasting multiple dishes that what I initially thought were steep prices for “take-out” meals ($13 per lunch and $17 per dinner), are more than fair considering the product’s quality and quantity. The Green Spoon makes major efforts to support organic, local, and sustainable farming as much as possible and has no minimum order requirements or membership fees. Orders are taken the week before they are cooked and delivered, and meals are meant to be eaten within a couple of days of their arrival.

Hanson Cheng has big hopes for The Green Spoon, and there certainly is room for growth. The company is working on marketing the gluten-free, clean eating philosophy more prominently on the website and has plans to add organic juices, designed by a top DC mixologist, to their repertoire soon. Not surprisingly, there are still some limitations for the young company: While customers can list allergies on their user profile, specific food needs other than gluten-free are subject to the week’s offerings and may not be able to be accommodated. Delivery is currently only available in NW DC, Arlington, and Old Town Alexandria. Cheng hopes to expand the delivery radius once the kitchen can support the expansion without compromising quality. But anyone is welcome to our apartment where The Green Spoon will be making regular delivers from now on.

The Green Spoon, Arlington VA, (703) 477-2237, eatgreenspoon.com