Lavandou

We have arrived at the south of France. Having traveled there, we really just needed a reminder of the the flavors. We had read mixed reviews of Lavandou but it is the only restaurant that semed to have an emphasis solely on Provencal cuisine so we decided to give it a try. I got a good vibe when I called to make a reservation and the host said "Lavandou bonjour".
We arrived a bit late for our reservation which was no problem because the place wasn't very crowded. I ordered a Kir and Julian had a Pastis. As appetizers we had Escargots (even though they are not really Provencal) and some croustade with rilletes de canard (pate) and ratatouille. Everything was very well prepared and delicious. I thought the ratatouille could have used more eggplant. The pate was very smooth and declared yummy by the meat eaters. The parsley butter with the escargots was a vibrant green and delicious. We soaked up every drop with the bread.



Our main dishes reminded us what we had tasted in France. The portions were also European sized but that is OK with us it gave us room for dessert. We had Daube Provencal, Cassoulette de fruits de mer, Baudroie, and Agneau suce miel. The Daube is a typical provencal stew; dark brown and rich yet not as heavy as Bouef Bourguignon. Julian chose veggies instead of noodles with it and they were delicious: lightly steamed with tons of garlic. I think I stole most of the veggies. John's Cassoulette was really a light version of boulliabaisse. There was a good amount of seafood and the broth had a delicious flavor of tomato and a bit of anise. The aioli was heavy on the garlic and smooth. You just can't go wrong with garlic and mayonnaise. Julia's lamb with honey glaze was yummy. The glaze wasn't cloyingly sweet and there was the faintest hint of lavendar in the background. It went beautifully with the grilled artichoke accompianment. My Baudroie was good but not terribly inventive. It was just monkfish with olives and a sauce. However it was perfectly prepared. For wine we just went with the house wines a Pinot and a Sancerre. They were very nice and a good deal. The negative review we read said the saving grace was the creme brulee, so we just had to order some. We all thought it was amazing. I don't even like creme brulee and I wished we had ordered two. It had the crunchy topping and a creamy filling but it wasn't as eggy as most creme brulee I have tried. I swear I would go back just for that.

La Dolce Vita

This was a disappointing stop on our journey around the world. I knew Italy was going to be difficult because Italian food is so well known and represented or is high end and expensive, tasty but not necessarily authentic. I decided that it would be fun to try the restaurant owned by a family that lives near us. They are originally from NYC and I thought it would be authentic. They do have this fun wood fired stove. The place was packed when we arrived so my taste buds were prepared for some good old New York Style Italian food. After we'd eaten I can't say I can figure out why it is so crowded.
The appetizers and desserts were the best parts of the meal. The Vongle Oreganata was yummy with lots of garlic, parsley and toasted breadcrumbs. The clams were tender not rubbery and the topping perfect. The Melanzane Ripieni were good although very small. Roasted peppers in the stuffing gave them a distincly sweet finish.



The pizza Napoletana was good. The crust is very thin; just the way I like it. It actually looked exactly as it had been described in a book by someone who had been to Naples to get this exact pizza. A sweet thin tomato base is topped liberally with fresh mozzeralla and a few basil leaves give it some color. The basil leaves are missing because we were so hungry we forgot to take a picture.


Everyone else chose pasta dishes. Julian got Fettucini a al Chingale. Very disappointing. I think we found three small pieces of boar nestled in the pile of pasta. We should have known. Lidia's in Kansas City makes a truely exceptional wild boar ragu and I am not sure if anyone can measure up to it. Spaghetti Puttanesca is a typical southern Italian dish so Julia got that. It was tasty enough; slightly spicy with a disctinct yet mellow anchovy flavor. Still I make as good or better at home. John got Linguini al Vongole. We were impressed by the amount of clams and the fact that they were tender but otherwise just a pretty OK dish.

We had a glass or two of wine; a very fruity Gavi and an Orvieto that was a bit sour not just dry.
The two house made desserts are tiramisu and cannoli. Neither one dissapointing. The cream in the tiramisu is light and not too sweet. It has a nice coffee flavor which left me wanting more. Cannoli are not my favorite but the filling is light and not too sweet a very nice finish to a meal.
Dolce Vita is fine if you just need to get a meal that isn't horrible, but we save our eating out dollars for what we hope will be worth spending money on; something we can't make at home or wouldn't make at home. Not necessarily fine or fancy dining but something worth going out for. I guess the trouble is we eat a lot of Italian at home and have become pretty good at the usual suspects. I hope we can find a better choice when we get to Northern Italy.

Zatinya

This had to be the best experience we have had so far. It definitelty helps to tell our server what we are doing. They usually take an interest in helping us find the right dishes. Our waiter Jab was great. The restaurant specializes in Leabanese, Turkish and Greek. Since we had already done Lebanon and Turkey we asked Jab which dishes were specifically Greek and he pointed us in the right direction. The plates are all mezze (small servings) which we love because we can try a big variety. After we ordered our first set of mezze Jab brought us as a surprise a taste of Ouzo. Not my favorite flavor but it was nice of him. It was actually a smoother anise flavor than the Raki we had in "Turkey".


Our first round of mezze consisted of Zuchini patties, Tzaziki, Augotaharo, Garides Saganaki, Spanakopita, Cretan Snails, Octopus Santorini, and Rabbit Stifado.
We got so many dishes that I can't describe them all in detail. The Augotaharo it is a bit strange. Like a carpaccio of very salty intensified smoked salmon. The Spanakopita was like a canoli stuffed with creamed feta and spinach: not what we were expecting at all. The Saganaki sauce was so good I could have just had a bowl of it to dip my bread in and been a very happy camper. The Octopus surprised me; grilled it wasn't chewy at all and it really picked up the flavor of the grill. The tzatziki was so creamy and delicious. It is hard to believe that it is simply cucumbers, yougurt, garlic and a bit of salt.

We had some very nice Greek wines with our meal. The whites were Malgousia and Robiola they were both good. They went very nicely with the meal. The red was Agiorgitiko. It was a nice complement to heavier flavors. We orderded a couple more dishes. Sakikopite and Short Ribs Kapana. The short ribs had cinnamon sented tomato sauce. The sauce was not sweet and the cinnamon does not overwhelm. It was delicious.
Even with all of that we saved room for desert and coffee. We got the fresh cheese tart and the Turkish delight.

It was strange that both were deconstructed ice creams basically. I must admit I was a bit disappointed when the desserts arrived because they were not what I expected. However, the flavors were very nice. The Thyme ice cream was actually good and it was served with a scoop of the fresh cheese and sprinkled with pieces of a crust like cookie. The Turkish delight was walnut ice cream and a cinnamon wafer with some of the fresh cheese spread as a blanket under the the ice cream.
Jab must not have liked our choices. We had finshed our desserts when he arrived with a chocolate dessert and a special after dinner drink on the house. The chocolate lava cake with cardamom cream was so good we finished it and forgot to take picture. The drink was a dessert wine from Comandaria de St. John. It is the only wine they make and it is one of the wineries in the world. We would not have thought to give it a try. The wine had an intense raisiny nose but did not taste to sweet. It is not like grappa with a lot of alcohol; just a nice end to the meal.
The best surprise was the bill. We had tasted more flavors and had a fun experience than our last several restaurants and the bill was less. The mezze are definately great for getting a wide range of tastes. All in all it was a great way to spend an hour or so going on vacation while not leaving DC.

Nizam's

It has been awhile since we have found the time to go to another "country", so we find ourselves still going around the Mediterranean. We chose Nizam's in Vienna for Turkey because they have been in the Washingtonian top 100 DC area restaurants for at least the past 15 years. The restaurant is supposed to be cozy in the main dining room but alas we never see it; We are seated by ourselves upstairs. This is actually OK because we can talk and not bother anyone. We walk by framed Washingtonian awards on our way upstairs. This should be good.
As we always do, we try the country's traditional starters. I read in the menu that Raki (anise liquor) is often served with the mezze(appetizers). Since I am not fond of anise flavor, I make Julian try it. He can handle most anything but admits that he doesn't love it. John also does not love his Yogurt drink Ayran. Julia and I hit the jackpot with Turkish cherry drinks. She just gets juice. I get a Turkish version of a cosmo. Yummy!

The mezze platter gave us a good idea of what Turkish cuisine has to offer. It is all becoming familiar now but some of their takes on the standard are different. The stuffed grape leaves have no rice in the filling; it is all meat. The hommus is very lemony and not as smooth as some. It is almost exactly like what I make at home. There were two mezze called borek that were phyllo wrapped one cheese, one meat. Who doesn't love baked phyllo. Still I felt like the cheese evaporated from the center of my cheese puff. The eggplant (Paltican Kizartma) was amazing;smoky and tender it was almost like meat. White beans in a tomato sauce(Fasiilye Pilaki) had a nice flavor but nothing to write home about. Feta chees and olives rounded out the platter. All in all a nice introduction.

Main courses started with Doner Kebab. This is the house specialty. From the description I expect the dish to look somewhat like Gyros. It is completely different. It looks like a stew of thinly slices marinated lamb served in a tomato sauce with eggplant. The stew is served on a mound of chopped grilled pita bread. Almost as if it was pasta and sauce. The eggplant is delicious they cook it perfectly. Julia' s lamb meatballs (Antep Kebab) are also served in sauce on top of chopped grilled pita bread. This really is a novel and tasty preparation. Julian has Beer Dumplings(Manti) that look to me exactly like tortelloni. The pasta is the same, but the meat filling has a different blend of spices. The sauce is unusual but good. It is yogurt based an has darker spices like cinnamon, maybe nutmeg or cardamom. I chose Red Snapper a la Bosphorous; probably not an authentic dish, but wow was it good. It is almost like a mousakka with a Red Snapper base. the fish is perfectly cooked and coverd withmushrooms and a lemony bechamel with a hint of cinnamon. This is baked until browned. The bechamel was almost custardlike it was so fluffy. I was expecting this to be a heavy choice but was pleasantly surprised by its lightness.

We had a lovely apricot baklava and rice pudding for dessert. Julian could have his Turkish coffee, little sweet, medium or lots of sugar. For some reason I found that funny.
After dinner, I was completely confused about what Kebab means. I thought it meant grilled. So I asked our Turkish waiter Bejan(sp). He said " it normally means grilled but there are a lot of things that aren't. So me, I am Turkish and I am confused." So there you have it the difinitive answer about what is Kebab. As Bejan said I think we just call it all Kebab.

Layalina

We are working our way around the Mediterranean with a Syrian meal. The restaurant serves Syrian and Lebanese dishes and is decorated with an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern decorations. Our waiter helps us identify the Syrian dishes on the menu. We called ahead and ordered Rima's chicken which requires 24 hours advance order.
We always start with drinks. John tried Jallab again and he liked it. The waiter was very helpful and explained to us that it is a date syrup mixed with water and a few pine nuts are sprinkled in. Julia tried lemonade it was supposedly homemade but it didn't taste like it was. Julian had an Almaza beer which he said was very good. My Kasara wine was thin and sour. Julian got a glass of red wine which was much better: dry with a good amount of fruit too.

We started with three appetizer dips. We have noticed that middle eastern cuisine seems to have an abundance of dips. Beet M'tabal is my favorite shredded beets are mixed with yogurt and some spices sprinkled with walnuts and a drizzle of olive oil. M'hammarah is roasted peppers with pomegranate and walnuts. This version has a sharper edge to it than the one at Pasha Cafe. Julian thinks it is better but it is not my favorite. Layalina roasted eggplant dip is the third one we try and it is mostly tomato with eggplant as a binder. Parsley and a sprinkle of walnuts finish it off. Our entrees arrive shortly after Julia's lamb shank with green beans is so tender falls of the bone. The sauce is a simple; green beans and tomatoes.

So simple yet so good. My Okra syrian style is very good and different. Our waiter explained that Syrian food uses cumin and cilantro. It is a combination I am not accustomed to with Okra. The okra are specially imported. They are tiny; no bigger than the tip of a finger. I enjoy this very much. Then came the piece de resistance; Rima's chicken. It is a whole chicken stuffed with a mixture of rice, beef, cardamom some cinnamon. The crispy skin is draped in a very garlicy sauce. Yummy and garlicy. It is served with crispy potato cubes. The whole deal is pretty impressive.
We had to have a little something sweet. So we tried the baklava with cream inside and rose water sauce. The rose water always makes me feel like I am eating perfume but every one else enjoys it. The strong turkish coffee with cardamom is a great finish to the meal.

Pasha Cafe

This is more of a neighborhood eatery then a true ethnic restaurant but the food was delicious. The menu has a mix of middle eastern cuisine and pizzas and pastas which have a more American flare. Our waiter was a very nice young man who wasn't really sure what the true Egyptian dishes were so we did the best we could to get authentic dishes.
The appetizers seemed the most authentic so that is where we started. The roasted red pepper dip was delicious. It had an unexpected complexity that comes from walnuts and pomegranate. The stuffed grape leaves were different than others what we expected. A yummy combination of rice, spices and tomato wrapped in grape leaves and served warm. A great surprise compared to the gummy cold ones we have often had. The roasted eggplant dip actually had very little eggplant in it. The dip was mostly large chunks of tomato mixed with roasted onions and roasted eggplant as kind of a binder. The grilled cheese dish was very good. It is slices of a firm cheese grilled just to warm it served with a pomegranate sauce over lettuce. The tabbouleh is perfectly executed. It is mostly parsley and mint with a bit of bulgur mixed in. The nice sized shrimp are grilled to perfection and a light hand with the dressing make this one a winner. Too many restaurants serve this dish and it is mostly bulgur with just a handful of parsley this is perfect for a hot summer night.

The only entree we ordered was grilled chicken served over rice with green beans. The chicken was nicely spiced and grilled but the rice is very nondescript but a great way to enjoy the delicious yogurt sauce in this dish. I am always pleasantly surprised by the yogurt sauces we have tried in middle eastern restaurants. I am sure they are as simple as yogurt, lemon and spices but what a great tang they add.
We shared a baklava for dessert and were expecting the usual walnuts, cardamom and honey. This baklava has a surprising combination of nuts (we think there were peanuts) and some other spices and flavorings. It is not as heavy as this desert can sometimes be. The only negative is there was no special coffee available to go with it.
Pasha Cafe was better than we were expecting. If we lived closer this would be the perfect go to place any time you just wanted a tasty meal out. The prices are good too.

Bukom

This had to be one of the most disappointing stops on our journey. We headed to Adams Morgan to go to Ghana Cafe. We arrived when the restaurant was supposed to be open but a sign on the door said be back at 6:30. So we walked around a bit checking out some of the other places; wasting time basically. At 6:45 ish still it wasn't open. We had a long trip home so we decided to make another choice, knowing full well that when we came out Ghana Cafe would be open. Bukom, another African restaurant, had a good reputation so we decided to try it.
By now we are getting used to being the only WASPs in these restaurants. The stares as we walked in didn't make us feel too uncomfortable. There were hip looking people there so I thought it would be good. The first thing I noticed was that the place seemed quite dirty but people seemed to be enjoying their meals and our kids were not the only ones there, so I tried to overlook it.
We are becoming familiar with the African dishes, so we try to find things we haven't eaten yet. I got Komi Ke Kenan which is croakers (fish), kenkey and a sauce called shito. The fish is tasty but so boney that is difficult to eat. We tried to put a good spin on it, but kenkey tasted to me like spoiled cornmeal mush pressed into a log. I just couldn't eat it. Julian got the Eguisi which is a West African specialty we haven't tried yet. It has goat, melon seeds, and spinach. We ordered gari to go with it, since we liked it at Roger Miller. This gari was just a big glop of stickiness. Julian says he liked it but I tasted the sauce and the goat is just overpowering, and of course there were bones. Julia's cassava leaf dish was ok. The jollof rice accompianment, which we loved at chez Auty Libbe, was like some really bad version of boxed tomato rice pilaf with a bag of frozen carrots, peas and green beans in it. John's fish and beef platter was no better. Both the beef and fish were boney and dry. I must say, although I don't love everything we have had as far as African cuisine goes, Chez Aunty Libbe and Roger Miller prepare their dishes which such love of the cuisine and a desire to see people enjoying their food that it makes you like the what they make. I guess the Bukom chef must cater to people who just want a mediocre taste of home. With that, I think we have decided we are through with sub Saharan African cuisine. I think we are all tired of the bones.
When we walk out the door we see that Ghana Cafe across the street is crowded with people who seem to be having a great time. Still, I don't think we will bother coming back to try again.