Restaurant Review: Litestars

A few weeks ago, I saw a promotion online about a new restaurant called Litestars. It's conveniently located near my job so I purchased the offer and headed over one day during lunch. According to Litestars website their mission statement is as follows: We pledge to provide our customers with healthier and tastier food choices prepared with fresh ingredients resulting in a meal with less fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates and sugar contents.

It's a fairly large place and on my first visit it was pretty empty. They have a sizable assortment of food from tarts (or tartlets as they call them), salads, and SoupDrinks.

The first time I went there I had absolutely no idea what to get but the staff allowed me to sample whatever I wanted to help me make up my mind. The great thing about Litestars is just as their name states, everything there is very fresh and light. They also don't use creams, sugars, or sodium.

At first, I was like this going to be interesting, while I enjoy eating healthy I'm still big on the way things are seasoned. They do have a season "salt" substitute which is very tasty in the case your food is missing a little something. While there, I met the chef, a nice woman with a a thick French accent. She was very pleasant and asked me how I'd heard about the place. I ended up getting the mango chicken salad that also had walnuts and cranberries in it over a bed of crisp greens. I grabbed a bottle of this carbonated water with not a drop of sugar in it. I was a little skeptical at first but it ended up being delicious and quite refreshing. The mango chicken salad itself was tasty and I liked the mix of the sweetness of the mango and the saltiness of the walnuts, I could've done without the leafy greens as they didn't really add anything to the meal. Another bonus is they are very accommodating so you can customize your salad the way you like it.

Since then I've been back a few times and tried the Turkey Tartlet and a Roasted Tomato tartlet along with a soybean salad. I will say if you're looking for a huge, weigh-you-down kind of lunch spot this isn't the place for you. Everything they have is light and healthy, you definitely won't leave there feeling stuffed. It's definitely a place you'll either love or hate. I'm proud to say, I love it.

They offered a Groupon about 2 weeks ago, ever since the place has been pretty busy during lunch. I hope others take a liking to this place because I'd hate to see this concept not survive.

Insiders Tip: Before I forget, if you're a social media buff like I am and use Foursquare, everytime you check-in at Litestars you'll receive 30% off of your meal. Don't forget to flash the cashier your phone, it's as easy as that.

Litestars
2101 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.293.0281
http://www.litestars.com