SoHo Cafe and Market, Washington, D.C.

Had a little business lunch yesterday with my K Street lawyer friend Kurt. He's originally from Dallas, but I talk to him anyway. He knows a bunch of people from Oklahoma and Texas I've known for decades. We went to a place down the street from his office called SoHo Cafe and Market, a local family-owned chain of about a dozen upscale buffet-style cafeterias. This particular location in the West End has a nice ambiance with darker lighting in the dining room filled with medium woods on the walls and faux-granite tables with comfortable chairs.

They have a sushi bar with a sushi chef! They also have the standard sandwich bar, with fun daily specials. The most attractive thing here, though, is the extensive buffet they offer with an enormous range of hot and cold food items. The owner family is Asian, so they have a lot of Asian items on the buffet, but there are also lots of traditional American things, too. Everything is very attractively displayed and the food all looks fresh and enticing.

Kurt had chicken wings, rice, plantains, and an intriguing garbanzo bean salad. I had a yellow curry chicken with potato, orange peel chicken, chicken teriyaki, and plantains. Didn't realize I had so much chicken until I saw the photo! I never quite know what to do with these by-the-pound buffets. I hate to spend as much on a heavy spoonful of mashed potatoes as I would on a few light shrimp, knowing the difference in raw food costs. It wasn't that terribly expensive, though, as the two of us ate for $20, including beverages.