Ballston’s Healthy Import From Miami Beefs Up Its Menu With D.C. Brands

Fast-casual health food joint Dirt opened in Ballston this week, and the restaurant is doing its best to fit into its first market outside of Miami by recruiting a solid lineup of homegrown D.C. brands to help fill out its menu.

The anticipated arrival, which began running its full hours today at 4121 Wilson Boulevard, serves cult bagels from Park View’s Call Your Mother; sprouts and pea tendril salad toppers from Little Wild Farms, vegan pastries from Doron Petersan’s Sticky Fingers and Fare Well, coffee from roasters at Grace Street and Alchemist, and sweet scoops from Ice Cream Jubilee, which just made its own Ballston debut nearby inside the Quarter Market food hall. Local cider and beer comes from Anxo, Port City, and 3 Stars breweries.

The lengthy black-and-white menu aims to appease an assortment of diets via all-day breakfast dishes (think matcha protein pancakes), toasts, hearty salads, bowls, plates, smoothies, juices, vegan “mylkshakes”, pastries, and a full espresso bar and tea program.

“Having overcome my own personal weight loss struggles, it was important to me to create a menu that was more than just kale and quinoa and grilled chicken,” says Dirt co-founder Jeff LaTulippe, who recently relocated his family to D.C. His wife is from the area, and the pair went on a first date in Georgetown in 2010.

MOJALVO/Dirt

A best-seller making the move from Miami is Dirt’s spin on a Philly cheesesteak. It’s filled with grass-fed steak, provolone, sautéed peppers and onions, pepperoncini, sriracha, and a house-made horseradish Greek yogurt aioli on Lyon Bakery brioche bread.

Guests can relax after ordering from a large marble walk-up counter. Dishes arrive on real plates with silverware and linen napkins. No self-bussing is necessary. Cute llama-shaped pottery sprouting with succulents (sourced from homegrown Little Leaf Shop) greets customers at tables. For time-crunched diners, there’s a grab-and-go window coming in a few weeks.

In-demand hospitality firm //3877 spruced up the 31-seat space with geometric lines and wallpaper, concrete and blackened steel, slick subway tiles, and pops of emerald green and potted palms.

MOJALVO/Dirt

MOJALVO/Dirt

To celebrate opening week, $20 gift cards will be handed to the first 20 customers tomorrow. On Friday, April 19, there will be $10 cards for the first 10 people in line. Dirt will also donate 1 percent of proceeds from seasonal items to the Arlington Food Assistance Center.

The brand’s new home at Jamestown LP’s Ballston Exchange project is part of a major neighborhood renaissance that includes the recent opening of Ballston Quarter’s new 300-seat food hall across the street.

Dirt is open seven days a week. Hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• Miami-based Dirt Will Try to Feed Every Single Food Tribe in Ballston [EDC]
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