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September 21, 2003
Zaytinya
Meant to get this review up earlier, but we've had a little storm.
When you enter Zaytinya, you notice that it is unlike any other restaurant you've been to in Washington. It is at once austere and welcoming. I'm not really sure I have the vocabulary for describing it. White, large, open, comfortable. But something about it makes me uneasy.
But as soon as you sit down, the comfort factor starts. There are local celebrities here, sitting across from us was one of Washington's best TV news anchors, Gordon Peterson. The tables are wide and a comfortable dark color. The room is huge, and a set of stairs leads you to an upstairs dining area.
Why am I fixated on the space? Because as elegant and strange and wonderful as it is, you instantly forget about it when the food comes out.
Zaytinya's specialties are the small plates of the Mediterranean. The mezzas of Greece and Lebanon. The small dishes of Turkey. Even the tapas of Spain. The menu is quite ambitious, but the food lives up to the expectations.
This shouldn't surprise anyone who has eaten at Jaleo. That's where executive chef Jose Andres has been plying his trade for while (and at Cafe Atlantico). Everything we ordered that night was well made and quite tasty.
The arayes, a Lebanese dish of lamb cooked inside a pita bread, was pretty good and not as greasy as it can sometimes be. (I should know, I make this dish myself).
The kibbeh (made with beef instead of lamb) was quite good. This despite my definite preference for lamb in Lebanese dishes. The kibbeh nayeh, which we did not order, is also made with raw beef. Traditionally, in Lebanon, this is a raw lamb dish.
The taramosalata, a dip of cod roe, was the best I've ever had. This is one of my favorite Greek dishes, and I've actually had so much of it one sitting to make me sick. This version of it is fantastic.
The calamari with spinach and the cod with skordalia, both Greek, rounded out our seafood selection. Both were good, but not outstanding.
Zaytinya, along with other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants, excels at vegetarian dishes. And they have plenty of them.
Among the dishes we had was an outstanding domatokeftedes (a fried tomato dish with onions and mint), potatoes fried in olive oil and served with a yoghurt sauce, and a delicious spanakopita.
I honestly can't wait to go again, and I want to take my folks to it.
Zaytinya
701 Ninth St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: +1.202.638.0800
Posted by Samer at September 21, 2003 08:39 PM
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Comments
err ... *raw lamb* ??? the potatoes sound delicious, though:)
Posted by: nicole at September 23, 2003 02:59 PM
hey samer,
i haven't been to the blog lately, but always enjoy it! thanks for a good read.
Posted by: katy hunt at October 4, 2003 01:18 PM