Andrés began conceptualizing the concept with chefs and the research & development team in 2014 and opened the first location at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 2015. They developed a unique approach: Blanch vegetables in salted water for a minute and 20 seconds, then serve them with a warm sauce and grains and top them with crunchy, flavorful toppings such as corn nuts and sesame seeds. (Pictured: Spring lineup)

“The key is getting in vegetables that do really well when we slice them in bite-sized pieces and blanch them in salted water,” said Bennett Haynes, Beefsteak’s chief of produce. Another key is cutting them the right size, so the dish can be easily replicated anywhere. Classics like potatoes and broccoli perform well that way, but they have also figured it out with kohlrabi and watermelon radishes. (Pictured: Frida Kale, Spring Curry and Cauli Power curated bowls)

Most guests customize their bowls, but there are curated ones as well, including the Kimchi-Wa (pictured) — sweet potato, carrots, cabbage, edamame, garlic yogurt sauce, kimchi, scallions, corn nuts, sesame seeds and soy ginger dressing over rice — and the Eden, a quinoa bowl with edamame, green beans, broccoli, zucchini, cilantro sauce, garlic yogurt, leafy greens, cucumber salad, scallions, sprouts, sesame seeds and lemon honey dressing.

“But our No. 1 seller is build-your-own, of course,” ThinkFoodGroup chief operations officer Eric Martino said.

There are also salads and two vegan burgers, one made with marinated beets (the Beetsteak Burger), and the Beefsteak Tomato Burger, which has its namesake dressed with pickled red onion, sprouts, vegan herb caper mayonnaise, olive oil and sea salt. Although eminently friendly to vegetarians and vegans, guests can beef up their bowls with chicken sausage, salt-cured salmon, mozzarella or a poached egg. The average per-person check is around $11.75.

As is fitting for a concept that’s spreading on university campuses — it’s currently at the University of Pennsylvania as well as George Washington University — Beefsteak takes social responsibility seriously. Its scraps in the D.C. area go to a compost group run by military veterans and aptly called Veteran Compost, who then process it for an urban firm called Little Wild Things which, in turn, grows pea shoots that they sell to Beefsteak.  “They provide an essential service to us,” Haynes said, adding that that full-cycle kind of approach is what they’re striving for. (Pictured: Beet Poke)

They’re also working to improve the lives of the people working for them, Martino said. The restaurant works with DC Central Kitchen, which trains jobless adults for culinary careers, and has a workforce comprised predominantly of young African Americans and Latinos. “That’s part of the ethos of what Beefsteak means for the city,” Martino said. (Pictured: Oh My Squash, Hokey Beet Poke and Tahini in a Bottle curated bowls)

Going forward, Martino said he expects most of the near-term growth to be through Bon Appetit. “We’re learning a lot with our partnership with Bon Appetit in terms of where we can go,” he said.

Although there are Beefsteaks at Cleveland Clinic and Google, Martino said he sees great potential on university campuses. “There’s a level of engagement we get with on campuses that’s really fun,” he said. “Feeding these brilliant young minds is very rewarding.”