As summer rolls in, new restaurants are popping up all over the area. Everything from bagels shops to juice bars are opening all over the county. One of the most anticipated restaurants by Walter Johnson students that is coming to town is the healthy and trendy Flower Child cafe. Conveniently for the WJ student body, Flower Child is opening directly across the street from Walter Johnson in the Wildwood Shopping Center. Students are excited about the option that will soon be available to them just by walking or driving over to the cafe during their lunch break to grab a homemade meal, made from farm-fresh ingredients.
People who have certain dietary restrictions are even more enthusiastic and eager to try out the joint, due to their variety of gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free options. Sophomore Courtney Schneider is especially looking forward the the opening, due to her inability to eat gluten.
“I cannot wait to try Flower Child. It is very hard to find restaurants that have good gluten-free options, because I can’t order bread or pasta or anything else that has wheat,” Schneider said.
The Flower Child menu consists of different varieties of toast, grain bowls, salads and side dishes.
“I want to try the gluten-free mac and cheese, because I’m gluten-free so this dish makes it possible for me to order it at a restaurant, which is really cool. The forbidden rice bowl also looks amazing,” Schneider said.
The gluten-free mac and cheese is composed of gluten free noodles, aged white cheddar, and grana padano cheese. Snap peas, bok choy, broccoli, carrot, onion and toasted sesame are just a few of the ingredients that make up the grain bowl. Flower Child will be opening its doors sometime early this summer.
Another very anticipated cafe opening up in Wildwood Shopping Center is Joe & the Juice sandwich and juice bar. Joe and the Juice is opening up sometime at the end of this summer, and WJ students cannot wait to have a healthy option for lunch.
“I loved Joe and the Juice. I went to the one in Bethesda and I got the Stress Down juice and an avocado sandwich. Everything was really good, and the decor of the place itself was trendy and fun,” freshman Hana Elster said.
The Stress Down Juice is made of strawberries, apples, and ginger. The avocado sandwich is made up of an array of ingredients such as pesto, tomato, avocado, and mozzarella cheese. Joe and the Juice is known for their healthy foods and juices and their interesting and hip interior design.
Bethesda Bagels is also making its way to Wildwood Shopping Center in late summer 2019. The take-out restaurant is located in four other locations, including Downtown Bethesda, Washington, D.C. and Arlington Virginia. Bethesda Bagels is popular between locals of the DMV. Sophomore Hunter Park is one of the many fans of the bagel shop.
“I don’t necessarily even like bagels, but when I went to Bethesda Bagels, I liked it a lot. The cream cheese is the creamiest and tastiest in Bethesda, it’s so good I eat it by the spoonful!” Park said.
