I was real disappointed when Palais closed, but I guess their revenues weren't cutting it despite my enthusiasm for the place. They'd always been empty when I walked by or went in, so it wasn't a bug surprise. The storefront stayed empty for over a year and a half, despite its location in the same block as culinary DC heavy-hitters like Georgetown Seafood Grill, Sam and Harry's, the Palm, C.F. Folks, and i Ricchi.
So I registered a little surprise (and a little pleasure) when High Noon opened in the same spot. While I didn't anticipate another Palais, I did anticipate at least a decent place to try for sandwiches every now and then. My anticipation grew after the owner of High Noon visited my friend Erin D. in her offices to encourage her to use their catering services (Erin D. works for a law firm and sometimes orders in sandwiches for those important lawyer meetings). Erin told me the cookies they brought were excellent, and that the owners are the people who founded Fresh Fields. Fresh Fields brought beautiful, gem-like veggies, aisle upon aisle of natural and organic foods, and affordable international cheeses to much of DC, and they were bought out and converted to Whole Foods Market a few years ago. High Noon is the next big project of the Fresh Fields guys.
Erin D. and I made a date to try the food for lunch this past Friday. Why wait when there's the Fresh Fields brand name behind these guys?
The layout of the place is a little strange. There's a sandwich area, a soup area, and a salad area with a big cooler of drinks and a small assortment of baked sweets and some tables crammed with crates crammed with gourmet chips. I surveyed the menu boards hanging above each area to figure out what I wanted to eat, and quickly settled on the combination special. Combos can be assembled from any two of the three: a half sandwich, 8oz of soup, and a salad with 2 add-ins.
The sandwiches were premade and were temptingly stacked on cake platters behind immaculately clean glass, but I decided to pass them by. There were several vegetarian sandwiches, including an artichoke, zucchini, and fontina panini with garlic aioli that looked especially interesting. There was also a hummus sandwich that appeared to come with great bread and fresh veggies.
Soup listings include four static soups, two of which are clearly marked as vegetarian (hurray!)...they always have lentil and vegetarian chili to offer. There were also three specials, including one vegetarian one: poblano corn chowder. How could I pass up that one? I picked up an 8oz cup.
Salads offer a choice of greens (spring mix, romaine, or spinach) and come with 2 mix-ins. Mix-ins include typical choices such as carrots, onions, mushrooms, chickpeas, and bacon bits, plus some more gourmet options like artichokes, peas, and avocado (some of these cost extra since they are costlier ingredients). I think 2 mix-ins is a little stingy, and would prefer three mix-ins with smaller portions. I selected carrots, onions, and cucumbers. There was a huge selection of dressings, including two low-fat ones. I selected low-fat balsamic vinaigrette and watched as a staffer tossed everything together expertly. The combo gave me a lot of salad, and as I made my way towards the register somebody pointed me towards a small basket filled with 3" baguette slices and encouraged me to take one for my soup and salad. There were wholegrain as well as white slices, a nice change from the normal lack of baguette options.
We made our way to a tiny table (there's not much space in terms of seating in general) and sat down to try our food. The chowder was good, but had excessive huge chunks of poblanos in it. I had expected finely diced peppers scattered in the soup, not huge rectangles. I fished out most of the big pieces and enjoyed the rest of the chowder. It didn't seem to be made with fresh corn, but it's not corn season and there was a pleasant corn flavor mixed with the mild heat of the chiles which I enjoyed. The salad was much better...you know it's a good Balsamic vinaigrette when it's a little sweet. Nice vinegar. The veggies were uncompromisingly fresh. I will definitely be heading back for salads again in the future, because this was easily the best salad I'd eaten near my office. The baguette was crusty and unexpectedly sweet. I enjoyed chewing on the bread between forkfuls of salad, and it seemed to me that the bread added a nice value to a soup and salad combo. Erin's small triangular half-sandwich and 8oz cup of soup didn't appear as generous as the bounty of vegetables and the big baguette slice I enjoyed.
Erin insisted on picking up a chocolate sandwich cookie with mascarpone filling. I took a little nibble and was rewarded with crumbly cookie and a sweet, smooth filling. It was a little messy as cookies go, but boy was it tasty.
Erin D. is a food geek like I am, and we were talking about food during much of our meal. Naturally, our attention turned to discussing the food we were eating right then, and just at that moment a gentleman came by on his way out the door and asked how our food was. He introduced himself and Erin D. and he remembered one another from their office interaction...this was one of the founders of Fresh Fields, in the flesh. I noticed him eyeing my little pile of rejected poblanos, and I explained that I thought they were a little much, but I viewed this as my problem but not his. He wouldn't hear of such a dismissal of my dissatisfaction and offered to get me a cup of another soup or something else that would please me more. He seemed genuinely interested in what we thought of the food, perhaps because Erin and I had been describing our passions for food within earshot. I was pretty impressed with his interest in pleasing our palates...you may say I was won over between the quality food and his persona.
I will definitely be going back to High Noon, and encouraging others to check it out. It's about time real lunch food came to downtown DC.