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Showing results for tags 'Kibbeh Nayyeh'.
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It's about time we had a topic dedicated to Zikrayet, which means "memories" in Arabic, and might be appropriately named. After all, the Washington Post restaurant critic recently broke his apparent disposition against Lebanese restaurants by reviewing Zenola in Vienna, and by my memory that was a first for him. So why not dip into a few others? The Washington DC area is slowly becoming one of the hot dining scenes for Lebanese fare, and there are many more to sample....let's start building some memories. Zikrayet was a by-chance opportunity on a Sunday afternoon, and I can't say I did much more than give it a minor sampling. I had the kibbeh nayyeh for lunch (pictured), and I also took home a mezze sampler and an order of kibbeh balls. All of these were very good. Let's start with the venue, which is spacious. I counted about 100 seats inside and at least 50 on the front patio. The waitress told me they get a good crowd on weekends for live music. Yesterday's band was from Iraq, last week's was from Lebanon, and so forth. The fact that hookah was available tells me that the clientele skews youthful. The staff, on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, paid more attention to each other than to the single customer, but that tracks with my observations of Middle Eastern hookah lounges. I'm sure they step it up a bit during the rush. From the pictures, note that the seating is pleasantly uncrowded, and the bar is moderately stocked. I didn't see any arak, but that might have been my oversight. I noticed that al-Massaya wine is on the menu, along with a good selection of other Lebanese wines, and al-Massaya makes the best arak I've ever enjoyed. Next time, I'll make sure to seek out the arak, but that might require an Uber ride. The staff confirmed that the chef is from Beirut, and the pictured kibbeh nayyeh was about as good as kibbeh nayyeh gets. Far more lamb than burgol, nicely seasoned but not overly so, and accompanied by fresh garnishes like toum (garlic paste), mint, sweet onions, jalapeños, and bread. Slight downgrade on the bread because it wasn't hot out of the oven like other restaurants, but it was fine. A few olives and pickled turnips would have also been nice, but were not served. Having not visited them all yet, but based on reputation I'm assuming that Zenola, Albi, and maybe Ilili would join Me Jana at the top of our list of local Lebanese restaurants, but Zikrayet might not be far behind these places. I'll work my way selectively through the list and let you know.
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Wow. That should be under "Events" or something. Not to be missed. Thanks, hmmboy. Rocks -- thanks for the tip on Neyla. I will not rest until I find the best kibbee nayee in the DC area, or my name is not Kibbee Nayee! I never thought of Musar being bretty, but I used to joke with my Middle Eastern friends that each bottle had shrapnel in it. Probably that danged Cinsault grape.... --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads: Neyla (Kibbee Nayee) Nora Taste of Lebanon (Biotech) Kibbeh Nayeh in the Shopping and Cooking Forum (Kibbee Nayee)]
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Halalco, which is in the shopping center on Hillwood Avenue near the intersection with Annandale Road, has a fairly extensive selection of halal meats. However, it is a big step down from the Lebanese Butcher -- it's cramped, crowded, and has a much smaller selection. Still, at least in the Arlington/Falls Church area, it's the only source I know of for fresh goat. Troika Gastronom, a Russian grocery in the same shopping center, is worth checking out too. Their house-made borscht is excellent and they have a wide selection of Eastern Europe and Russian canned goods and teas. -
Drum roll....it's re-opened! Sort of.... Lebanese Butcher is open just around the corner and up Hillwood about a block away from the former place. The butcher shop and grocery is open and doing well. I scored kibbeh, tabouleh, hummus, baba ghanouj, olives, shankleesh and bread today. A mezze feast will be on my table tonight. The butcher shop has an overall better layout than previously -- the meat case is much larger and loaded with more selections, and the checkout counter is much nicer. The grocery shelves and refrigerated cases are about the same cramped size as before. Overall, the look and feel of this space is much better and cleaner. Kheder told me that the restaurant will reopen next door in about a month (inshallah!), and the renovations to the space are under way now. If it's as nice an upgrade as the butcher shop and grocery, it will be a right fine Middle Eastern restaurant. I feel a Rockwellian get-together when it opens.....
