iron gate

iron gate

1734 N St NW, Washington, DC 20036

tel: 202) 524-5202

what was consumed: patzarosalata salad, acquerrello risotto, caramelized ricotta gnocchi, lamb neck phyllo pie, charred octopus

ambiance, delish food, and interesting drinks? check, check, and check.

some friends from my previous tour and i wanted to get together to chat and eat some delish food. one made the reservation at iron gate and, as its been on my list for some time, i was happy to accommodate.

iron gate serves mediterranean style tapas, with lots of interesting flavor combinations, some bolder than others. your server should be able to provide some recommendations (which we took), but also be sure to take a close look at the menu and ask questions about the delish dish options.

as for seating, iron gate has a bar section, and indoor section, and a coveted outdoor section. it was the middle of summer, so we opted for the air conditioned inside. and while the inside was cool, it was a little less popular. the "outdoor" section is still inside the restaurant (i.e., not sidewalk cafe style), but is open and therefore appealing.

iron gate regularly gets written up and rated as a "must eat." i can see why! and while the portion sizes left this one with a gigantic appetite wanting more, the flavor profile was just so delish. i'll just have to order more dishes next time!

online: http://irongaterestaurantdc.com/

cava

cava
527 8th street SE, washington, DC 20003
tel: 202) 543-9090
hours: monday 5pm-10pm; tuesday-thursday 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm; friday 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-11pm; saturday 11:30am-11pm; sunday 12pm-10pm

what was consumed: some variation of the following - taramosalata (whipped salmon roe, citrus), green beans (sautéed, roasted garlic, dill) lollipop chicken (fried, honey, walnuts, greek yogurt), shrimp orzo (san marzano tomatoes, wilted bitter greens), grilled baby octopus (baby octopus, grilled to perfection), kokkinisto (braised beef short ribs, tomato, cinnamon, burgundy, evoo crisped fries), roasted beet tartare (dodonis feta, sea salt, evoo, onions), donuts, and monday half-price wines (yay!)

yay small plates, yay sharing, yay cava!

right as you sit down, a friendly server (all male, btw. i thought that interesting) comes to take your drink orders and drops off some tasty bites of pita bread with oil, olives, and tapenade-like spread. now, this spread. it is so delicious. a bit spicy, the spread ended up finding itself on all sorts of things as the meal progressed. apparently, you can purchase it retail (maybe at whole foods?). as for drinks, cava has a variety of specialty cocktails as well as the standard beer and wine. they also have a half-off bottled wine day which is always wonderful, especially because i think their wines are good and reasonably priced (even more so when they're half off!). cava also has their own lemonade (with and without alcohol). it was a bit sweet/sour for my palate, but when i mixed it with a glass of club soda, it was perfect (i know - weird), though that was on a non-drinking day. some cava lemonade, a splash of club soda, and a clear adult beverage sounds wonderful.

on my first visit to cava, it was a seafood day - taramosalata (whipped salmon roe) and grilled baby octopus. i love seafood (not see food), i love roe, i love octopus. so, while i'm biased in that i probably have a higher tolerance for bad seafood, i most confidently say that these two dishes were wonderful. the taramosalata was lightly whipped, great as is or spread on some pita. i probably could have eaten twice the amount that was served, on my own, in one seating (though sitting with k prevented me from such gluttonous activities. i share, people!). and it was just the right amount of roe-y-ness. if you don't like roe, don't try it! but if you do, or are curious, it's a must. the baby octopus was also delightful. grilled just enough so that there's a bit of char and crunch, fresh octopus that is soft and chewy at the same time ... and with some lemon sprinkled? wonderful.

at subsequent visits, i've had the pleasure of trying out more plates (not-pictured as where we were sitting was light enough as a diner, but too dark to take some good photos). as a whole, i can confidently say that i thoroughly enjoyed all of the plates that i have the pleasure of tasting. i would recommend getting a number of plates and sharing them among you (i guess that's sort of the point of tapas and small plates, no?). the ingredients are fresh, the dishes are well seasoned. and at the end of the night, all gone.

i would also like to note that cava has some great outdoor seating. of course, this also meant that people stopped by to say "hello" to k so often (k is really popular), but it was such a nice day it was worth it! i am more of a washingtonian than i'd like to admit (haha). all the better that the waitstaff is good about making sure we were well taken care of. that's important!

cava, i can't wait to visit you again!

online: http://dc.cavamezze.com/

maoz

maoz
1817 m street NW, washington, DC 20036
tel: 202) 290-3117
hours: monday-thursday 11am-11pm, friday-saturday 11am-3am, sunday 12pm-9pm

what was consumed: maoz (falafel sandwich), fries (both potato and sweet potato)

i'm lucky to work downtown where there are so many dining options. i love falafel. i've made both of those comments before, but i'm making them again. i will trek long and far (is walking 20 minutes long and far? maybe) to enjoy falafel. so when a peculiar basement space opened offering falafel that's a mere 5-minute-walk away from work, my curiosity was piqued. now, the first time i went to maoz, coworker k and i were on our quest for a snack. i think he had heard from someone else that maoz should be considered, so we were off!

we walked to the the sort of hidden basement space (i think it would be pretty easy to miss them, even though they have a big sign out front) and immediately got in line. while waiting, we took a quick look at their menu (which isn't too large - this is good. yay specialization!), and ordered. our falafel sandwiches came out soon after. i got the junior maoz which just ha the falafel balls in the pita. if you get a regular maoz, there's some lettuce and hummus in the pita (along with more falafel balls). anyway, once we received our sandwiches, i flattened out the falafel and proceeded to add topping from their topping "bar." they have lots of different things to add to your falafel sandwich to spice it up. there are some of the toppings that i love (like their couscous topping and their variation of cole slaw). BUT i have to remember not to get the spicy chili "sauce." it's good, but there's a lot of parsley, a bit more than i can handle (but that's just me).

so, after i added all of my toppings, i was ready to eat! the falafel sandwich is surprisingly filling. after eating part of my sandwich, depending on how much i want more toppings (always), i revisit the topping sbar to add toppings that will accompany my falafel (and it's encouraged at maoz!). you can see how one's belly will easily filly up. especially if you get fries, it's a lot of food. coworker k and i will usually share an order of fries. i do also like that, if you are so inclined, you may opt for sweet potato fries. yay options!

turns out, maoz first opened out in amsterdam and have opened franchises throughout europe. they have since crossed the atlantic and have brought deliciou falafel sandwiches to us. yay yay yay! maoz is also totally vegetarian. i'm way not totally vegetarian, but i have friends who are sometimes frustrated with what they say is a dearth of options (i just tell them that they need to eat meat. hahaha).maoz is great for a light lunch, or a hefty snack ... both of which i've done. yummy~~~ i wouldn't say that maoz is my all time favorite falafel sandwich place in the area, but it's solid and highly recommended. i will most definitely find myself there again, and again, and again.

online: http://www.maozusa.com/

levante's

levante's
1320 19th street NW, washington, DC 20036-1610
tel: 202) 293-3244
hours: monday-thursday and sunday - 11:30am-10:30pm, friday-saturday 11:30am-11:30pm

what was consumed: the day's special (stuffed tomato and pepper with fries and salad), baked zuccini (zucchini filled with ground lamb and rice, topped with tomato-yogurt sauce), fries, bread ...

i'd passed levante's a number of times in my back and forth in and around dupont circle. and when it was time to consider a place for a "going away" lunch, levante's came to mind - lots of food variation (i.e., for all omnivores, herbivores, and even carnivores), space to accommodate large groups (though it sort of gets loud as a result - be sure to speak up when you order as to be clear about what you want), and they take reservations. since the first lunch, i've been back 2 more times - it's turned into a pretty popular selection! i'll have to say that the good food options definitely puts levante's on my list for places to visit. the wait staff is attentive and will even do separate checks for your large group! on my first visit, we stated which reservation we were with, were quickly shown our seats, drink orders were taken, and we began to peruse through the menu and make our selections.

the beginning of the meal begins with bread. i always find myself eating far too much bread at the start of my meal, partly because i'm so hungry by the time i make it to levante's, partly because the bread is so yummy. warm and delicious, especially dipped in olive oil. i'm not a sucker for bread, but i just can't resist when it's warm and placed right in front of me. on this day, i opted for one of the daily specials (levante's usually has a few daily specials that the server knows about and is not written on the menu. if interested, be sure to ask! though the server will probably say something about it). the special of the day was stuffed tomato and pepper. which was delicious. the tomato and pepper were stuffed with seasoned rice and meats (beef, i think. levante's does have a lot of lamb) covered in a tomato sauce and yogurt sauce (i think). the meal came with a side of salad or fries. i asked for both and they were happy to oblige (thanks!). a subsequent time, i had the stuffed zucchini, also stuffed with seasoned rice and meat (lamb this time) covered in a tomato and yogurt sauce. yum yum yum ... every time i leave levante's, i leave very very full (and happy), worried about the food coma that will have already set in. sigh. darn food coma.

i have yet to visit levante's for dinner, though i imagine it's good for dinner as well. especially when the weather is good (they have a pretty large outdoor seating area), i will have to think about visiting levante's for some good eats! yum yum yum yum yum ...

online: http://www.levantes.com/

zaytinya

zaytinya
701 9th street NW (at G street), washington, DC 20001
tel: 202) 638-0800
hours: monday 11:30am-10pm, tuesday-thursday 11:30am-11:30pm, friday-saturday 11:30am-12am, sunday 11:30am-10pm

what was consumed: mezzes! crispy brussel afelia (brussel sprouts, coriander seed,barberries, garlic yogurt), piyaz (warm giant beans, kaleoven roasted tomato, garlic), bantijan bil laban (fried eggplant, roasted garlic-yogurt sauce), midyes (fried mussels, walnut tarator sauce), sea scallops (seared scallops, yogurt-dill sauce), kotopoulo youvetsi (chicken, orzo, tomato kefalograviera cheese) ... and mythos beer

do you watch top chef? i do. i love it. i've had top chef show-watching parties. i wanted to have a party just to have carla cater it. i've been to spike's hamburger joint. i can't wait to visit bryan voltaggio and volt (fredrick, md just seems so far. gotta suck it up!). going to zaytinya to visit mike isabella, then, seems pretty natural (i also had a mike isabella sighting - as i was waiting for the bus on my way home via gallery place/chinatown. sooo exciting! hahaha). so, when shar (friend) came in to town for an overnight trip from nyc and suggested zaytinya (a part of josé andrés' family of great restaurants), i was all for it. great suggestion, shar! i was also super excited about spending time with shar. nyc is so close, and yet so far away. excited to have great food and have shar time! yay~~~~

now shar, being the conscientious individual she is, tried to make reservations online to ensure that we would get a seat. unfortunately, the only reservations available were for less convenient times - a sign of popularity, i'm sure. no fear! i suggested that we should go in and see if there are any seats available, sans reservation. it was just the two of us, so it shouldn't be too big of an imposition, i'd imagined. i was also willing to wait. sitting at the bar is also always an option (and i love sitting at the bar!) lucky for us, we were seated right away. hooray!

we sat down and began to quickly look through the menu. zaytinya's menu is filled with mezzes. i.e., tapas. aka, small plates of utter deliciousness. i love tapas because you get bites of a number of dishes. shar and i looked through the menu and we each chose 3 mezzes (one of which (piyaz) was recommended by our server). while we waited for our mezzes, we enjoyed gooood conversation and the warm bread (what is that bread called?) dipped into an oil/sweet vinegar sauce. i will have to admit, though, that the bread was deceivingly filling. while it looked like puffed flatbread, we couldn't get enough of it! and then, dipped in various sauces, it was totally delicious.

we ordered a series of different mezzes. some vegetarian, two seafood, and one chicken. the brussel sprouts were super delicious (and probably my favorite, if i had to choose. but i'm biased - i looove brussel sprouts). the crispy-ness of the roasted brussel sprouts, with just enough garlic, on a delicious bed of yogurt. shar and i even said we could have probably each had a dish to ourselves. yummmmmm. the scallops were also nicely seared with some amazing flavor, not too fish-y. and i'm glad we took our server's recommendation with the piyaz because it was delicious! beans, kale, and other veggies in a broth that was a bit sour, a bit salty, all delicious. i'll have to say that we were not a fan of the chicken orzo dish. there was something ... missing. what was missing? we couldn't really put our finger on it. as a result, the tomato sauce pulling the dish together was far too sweet for our tastes. we were also really full from the other dishes and the bread, so maybe if we had had it first our impressions would be different? no matter. one last comment: there is a lot of dill on everything. dill in the sauce, dill as garnish, dill sprinkled on everything. i enjoy the flavor of dill (though not too much dill) and the combination of flavors that resulted was very very favorable. nonetheless, i thought i'd mention it here for the dill-haters (poo poo on you! haha).

next time i visit zaytinya, i want to try some of their lamb dishes (people have really enjoyed the lamb dishes). and maybe i'll get another mike isabella sighting - ha! can't wait!

online: http://www.zaytinya.com/

mama ayesha's

mama ayesha's
1967 calvert street NW (between biltmore street & cliffbourne place), washington, DC 20009
tel: 202) 232-5431

what was consumed: hummus; falafel; warak inib mahshi (tangy grape leaves stuffed with tender ground lamb, white rice, and mama’s secret spices, served with homemade yogurt); malfoof mahshi (tangy cabbage stuffed with tender ground lamb, white rice, and mama’s secret spices); jaj bil toma (half chicken baked in a garlic based stew with fresh lemon juice and mama’s special spices, served with rice); mushakal mashawi (mixed grill - shish kabab, kifta kabab, and shish taouk with grilled vegetables, served over rice), baklava

when i first moved out to DC, i got lost (or rather, "explore") in the adams morgan/woodley park area (exploration rules!), which is not surprising. i also made great efforts to find the nearest metro stop to the area (only to realize that really, it's seemingly equidistance between dupont circle and woodley park. i.e., no metro is close - drat). point is, during all of these adventures, i had seen mama ayesha's in passing. it's sort of non-descript building, windows that didn't really seem to light up at night. that may explain why (in addition to the difficulty of getting to the restaurant for me) mama ayesha's made it to my food list, but it took me over 2 years to finally get out there.

my first meal started with a few appetizers (which i love) ... including my favorite - falafel. and you know what? probably some of the best falafel (in my opinion, of course) the falafel was nice and crispy on the outside, hot and soft on the inside. it also came with this delicious yogurt sauce that you couldn't help but dip your falafel in. we also ordered hummus - a sort of standard fare. delicious, creamy, and wonderful with the pita bread that accompanied the appetizers.

then, our entrees! i enjoy stuffed grape leaves and can virtually eat them for a long time. so when a pile of them were presented to me as my entree, i was ecstatic ^_^ the grape leaves were stuffed with rice (a la mama ayesha's spices) and lamb. what a great combination! a yogurt sauce (similar (i think) to what came out with the falafel) accompanied the stuffed grape leaves. i had some of the sauce and while it was delicious, i loved the grape leaves on their own. YUM. friends had chicken and grilled stuff, both of which were tasty, juicy, and wonderful. and the rice - oh yum! i don't know what mama ayesha's recipes include when it comes to the rice, but it was cooked with such delicious spices! we just kept eating and eating, despite the exponentially growing size of our bellies. hahaha ...

our meal ended with some lovely baklava. i'm not a huge fan of sweets, but jess (in company) is/was. the three of us decided to order 1 dessert and share it. me, for taste, jess, for consumption of sweets. no matter - baklava was delicious. light and honey filled. just the way (i hear) it's supposed to be. we also happened to visit during ramadan. i made a comment about feeling bad since, during ramadan, muslims eat only after the sun has set (from what i understand). anyway, they also had some special dessert celebrating ramadan, but we didn't get it. i wonder what it tastes like, though. there's such an appeal to "traditional" foods, yeah?

a couple of other things ... we visited during peak dinner hours on a saturday, but the restaurant was still totally not full. that was good in that we got a lot of attention from our server, but it made me wonder how they stayed in business (there's a great story about mama ayesha on their menus - when you go, be sure to check it out). i went back for lunch and we were the only ones there. interesting.
the decor. there's something about one of the ceilings at mama ayesha's that i can't get over (i've posted its photo at the start of this post). it looks like a collection of tea lights, but upside down, shimmering on to diners. i thought it was great. as a result (or for the purpose of?), the dining area is pretty dark, during dinner (during lunch, the outside light lit up the dining area - and it was fine). i visited that first time with friends, but i imagine mama ayesha's may be a good location for a "nice, romantic dinner." hee hee ...

anyway ... while it took such a long time to get out to mama ayesha's, i'm glad that i did! i imagine i will be back, again ... YUM.

online: http://www.mamaayeshas.com/

amsterdam falafelshop

amsterdam falafelshop
2425 18th Street NW, washington, DC 20050
tel: 202) 234-1969
hours: sunday-monday 11am-midnight, tuesday-wednesday 11am-2:30am, thursday 11am-3am, friday-saturday 11am-4am (yay for such a great late night eating option!)

what was consumed: falafel (duh). fries and soda on occasion ...

i'm relatively new to falafel. that is, it's only in the last 5-ish years (that's a not a long time for me - shuddup, i'm getting old) that i actually started to consume mediterranean/middle eastern cuisine, including the likes of falafel (my only regret is that i started to enjoy it so late in life ... sigh).

in the bay area, i enjoyed many a schwerma place as well as the falafel drive-in (which has also been featured on guy fiore's "diners, drive-ins, and dives" or whatever show on the food network). i'm sure i will find myself blogging about the falafel drive-in one of these days. at the drive in, they would sell falafel (i referred to them as "falafel balls") sans pita, sans veggies ... just the falafel ... for 25 cents a piece (i don't know how much they are now). they're not huge falafel, but i felt the 25 cents was reasonable. i'd get myself a nice bag of 'em on eat them on my drove home. ahhh, yet another joy in the bay area. i miss it!

anyway, i had heard about a falafel place with a falafel fixin's bar that served just falafel (sandwiches) and fries. this was my kind of place! the downside was that it was in adams morgan and, at the time, getting to adams morgan was a royal pain in the arse (it still is today, but i'll suck it up and head on over there). one day, i finally made it. and boy, was i glad i did!

so, here's how it works. once at amsterdam falafel, you get in line and you order - small or large, white or wheat (i usually order the small, especially if i'm getting fries). the difference is in the size of the pita the falafels come in as well as the number of falafel that fill the pita. next, you pay (CASH ONLY - they have an atm inside the eatery) and wait for your falafel. once it comes out, you crush the falafel balls a bit inside the pita (as to allow them to spread throughout the pita as well as absorb the great fixin's) and proceed to the fixin's bar. at the fixin's bar, you proceed to fill your pita with as much stuff as well fit, but be sure to spread it out throughout the pita so that when you bite into it, you're not getting a mouthful of fixin's in one spot and not in others. for the bulkier things (e.g. cucumbers), i often find myself helping myself by putting them outside of the pita, but inside of the wax paper wrap that the pita and falafel come in (they don't have forks and plates and stuff. while they do have "to go" wrapping things, don't ask them for it if you're not really taking your falafel to go. and even if you are, don't ask for it!). some people will put their falafel in the cups that are there (or other fixin's in the cups) as to maximize on the fixin's, but i try not to do that (i think it's sort of ... tacky (no offense), but that's just me). i can barely finish what i put in my pita as it is.

from the fixin's bar, i like to get the garlicky spread, the spicey spread (they're labelled as such), hummous, cucumbers & tomatoes, chick peas (if i have room), and tahini paste (if/when i remember). is there anything else? i'm sure i'm forgetting something. when people ask about it, i just tell them "get what looks good - i'm sure it is" - ha!. with my fries, i'll get the mayonnaise (one of the few times i like mayonnaise) and a little bit of the peanut sauce. i usually only have a little bit of it, but i usually can't leave without at least a taste of it.

i'll sometimes take the long walk from work, pick up the falafel, and walk back to work, enjoying the falafel on the way. for real, i'm addicted. i love it. sometimes you just crave the combination of spice and garlic along with all of the other fixin's. YUM. this is making me hungry. if it wasn't (weren't? darn the conditional!) so hot these days, i'd probably be all about the amsterdam falafel today ...

i've been to other falafel places in town and, more often than not, if a mediterranean/middle eastern eatery has falafel, i will try their falafel (at least once). i will have to say, though, that amsterdam falafel is my preferred location and where i default to when craving delicious falafel. oh, amsterdam falafel, i will be back! and it will be often~

online: http://www.falafelshop.com/