You also won't see the word "vegan." Anywhere.

Instead, your only tip-off to the overriding philosophy governing this new fast-casual spot from first-time restaurateur Ran Nussbächer is an understated line on the bottom of the wall-mounted menu: "Shouk food is 100% plant-based. It is (whatever your diet is) – friendly."

Nussbächer began dropping animal products from his own diet and for the last four or five years has been adhering to what he calls a "compassionate lifestyle."

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He doesn't like the word "vegan." He knows it can be an off-putting word to some diners. Often, the perception "is that we're giving up a whole lot."

That being said, not using the V-word wasn't necessarily a specific marketing strategy. Instead, Nussbächer said it was about "letting the product speak for itself."

Nussbächer grew up in Israel, which he said exposed him to a diet that naturally leans toward fresh produce and legumes -- the stars of the pitas, rice and lentil bowls and salads at Shouk.

"It wasn't about being a vegan business," Nussbächer said of his offerings. "It wasn't about veganizing dishes."

The only thing that comes close to imitating a dairy product is the cashew labneh, a Lebanese yogurt cheese, made here with only cashews, water and salt.

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"We're not using any quirky ingredients to make it taste like cheese," Nussbächer said.

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Sticky Fingers bakery proprietor Doron Petersan knows something about vegan cheese, too. She'll be incorporating cashew, coconut and almond variations into some dishes at her pending diner, Fare Well, on H Street NE. She's taking a similar approach to marketing as Nussbächer.

"I'm not using the term vegan at all," she said. "I really want people to focus on the veggie- and plant-based aspect of what we're doing."

"I think that while people are becoming more and more open to trying plant-based foods," she said, the vegan label "does a disservice."

Nussbächer said he thinks D.C. is particularly receptive to these kinds of concepts, and "there's no question that the market is right and the time is right," for him to be opening Shouk, especially following the success of such establishments as José Andrés's vegetable-focused, fast-casual Beefsteak.

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Nussbächer said the key was not to just put his food on a level playing field with non-vegan dishes, but make it better to counter any skepticism. (Allow us to chime in: No need to be skeptical of the food at Shouk, which is, overall, well-executed.) The occasional diner will ask where the chicken is, but "I feel that we have been very, very warmly received," Nussbächer said. "I didn't know what to expect." Some of the reaction is best described as "pleasant surprise," he said.

No matter the label, Petersan said, "People are really just looking for good food."

Shouk, 655 K St. NW. 202-652-1464. shouk.com.