Kibbee Nayee

OK, I perked up at the kibbee nayee reference. I'll have to put it on my recon list.....

I don't like chains at all. Having said that, I like The Oceanaire. As soon as you sit down, a little plate of fresh veggies, olives and pickled herring appears. Sort of a mass-produced amuse. And that crab cake is pretty darned good, as good as it gets this side of the Market Inn. I have yet to experience a bad piece of fish, all impeccably fresh, and the bar pours some pretty decent libations. I'm a member at the City Club across the street, but when I'm in the neighborhood, I have to have a crab cake at The Oceanaire....

I enjoy the one in Chinatown, but I usually go with one of my Chinese friends who can take us off the menu or order from the hangings on the wall. I love the soup made with the dumplings that you watch being made by hand in the front window, and last time I was there my friend ordered us the fried cod, which I thought was very good. Whenever I go to Chinatown, this is my customary stop.... Although I have to mention that Tuesdays for lunch at China Doll, right outside the arch, are kind of fun. That's when a table full of local sports dignitaries shows up and orders American Chinese, like chow mein. John Feinstein, Red Auerbach, George Solomon and quite a few other names usually show up....

If I recall, his Top 52 had the spelling something like "whack a cheep"....I intend to try it. The Korean places in Annandale are not far from my home in Springfield, and I have long grown tired of Sorak Garden and the rest. This place sounds fresh and tempting. Anyone want to propose a group reconnaissance?

Quite a few places actually offer it if you order it about 48 hours in advance. I had it a Layalina, although sometimes it's offered as a Sunday special there. Mama Ayesha's is where Helen Thomas of the White House press corps regularly dines at a special table in the back. You'd be surprised how many politicos are of Arab-American descent, and they all need places to eat! Donna Shalala, John Sununu (both of them), deceased Ambassador Philip Habib, Senator George Mitchell, General Abizaid, Ralph Nader, Senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, and quite a few other of my "paisanos" -- and they all have appetites! By the way, did you know that Steve Jobs had a Syrian mother? I'll bet he had quite a bit of kibbee nayee growing up!

OK, you forced me. My mother's version started with the most impeccably perfect and fresh beef you can find, without any visible fat at all. Many versions use lamb, but bear with me here. We lived in Lancaster, PA, so we found a few Mennonite butchers who eventually came to know what kibbee is thanks to my mom. She would ask them to cut a fresh center cut from London Broil, and remove all visible fat. Then she brought it home, trimmed it more -- not a single white speck anywhere -- and in an impeccably clean grinder, she ground it three times. Then came her tricks -- grated onions, dried parsley, spices like allspice and cinnamon, salt and pepper, and of course, pre-soaked bulgur cracked wheat (no. 1 fine). Then came the kneading by hand, and of course, plenty of tasting by yours truly to make sure it was properly seasoned. The kneading went on for 10-15 minutes, then it was shaped into a perfect mound on a serving platter and crossed -- Syrian and Lebanese Christians always make an indent of a Cross with their hand in the raw Kibbee. Into the fridge to let it set up before serving, which had to be that day! (Leftovers are cooked and also pretty darned good.) Wait, there's more! Most restaurants around here drizzle olive oil over top. Boring! Mom made "hushwah" which is chopped and sauteed onions and spices and pine nuts in a liberal amount of virgin olive oil, to be spooned over top of your portion when the kibbee is served. It was sensational. The hushwah could also have sauteed ground beef or lamb in it, even better because after dinner, the leftover kibbee was formed into footballs for cooking, and the hushwah was the stuffing inside of the footballs. Wait, there's more! Nothing, I mean nothing, goes better with kibbee nayee than fresh raw vegetables. We're talking tomatoes, celery, green onions, petals of sweet onions, radishes, cucumbers....well, the only thing that actually goes better than fresh vegetables are the pickled turnips and olives. Lots and lots of olives. And don't forget pita bread!!!! Add your favorite beverage and that's about as good as it gets. I must admit that writing this has brought back some pleasant memories. Mom is 85 now and hasn't made kibbee nayee since she began worrying about her immunodeficiency issues and mad cow disease about a decade ago. I'm tempted to try it myself, but I need a good source of meat around these parts. Stay tuned.....

Being of Middle Eastern descent myself, I second CityZen. I had the good fortune of sitting in the private nook next to the kitchen with a group of about 8 or 10. Call ahead and reserve that area for your party, and ask for a special menu that adheres to Middle Eastern requirements -- no shellfish, too. I have no doubt they'll take care of you if money is not a problem. And they have great tea there, and that will go over well with your guests.

Uh, how about my avatar? I've been on a one-man mission since I moved to this area to find the best kibbee nayee. It was my comfort food growing up -- my mother is of Syrian descent. So far, credible versions have been had at the original Lebanese Taverna (before it expanded next door) in Arlington, Layla in Old Town (recently, as an appetizer), Layalina in Arlington (must order ahead 24-48 hours), and as an occasional special at places like Mediterranean Gourmet Market in Franconia. I am open to suggestions. I will assume Lebanese Butcher should be on my near-term list, but every time I'm in the area I get distracted by Vietnamese and Chinese food....

Uh, kind of a newbie here, but I don't know how I started this topic. I was trying to reply to posts under Zaytinya....can someone help get it back there? Or better yet, maybe we can hijack this thread into where the best kibbee nayee is in the metropolitan area?

Mixed grill at $25 for dinner doesn't seem too outrageous to me.....

Special question for the experts -- I'm looking for impeccably perfect meat, either beef or lamb -- that is 99.99% safe to eat raw. In other words, if you had to eat it raw, where would you get it? My moniker is the reason I'm asking.....thanks!

Big Costco fan here. When you're having guests for dinner, Costco is your friend. But avoid the lines on Saturdays. I absolutely live by the primals, whether it's a leg of lamb or the whole beef tenderloin. One of my pleasures is to bring it home, sharpen the knives, and do my own prep work. I can get quite a few meals out of each primal. And the cost savings are significant. Alton Brown recently had a show on the filet mignon, and got the primal from a warehouse store. Now, that's good eats!

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)]

Bar-J had the best chili in the area, Bar-none! I moved here about 25 years ago. This thread brought back memories and quite a few tears. Here's my list: Crisfield's - honest seafood when seafood was hard to find in DC. Vincenzo - probably the best seafood restaurant before Kinkaid's opened, and it was all Italian seafood. New Orleans Emporium - the evening would start at the bar, with "Cajun Popcorn" (fried crawfish tails) and shooters (raw oyster with a dollop of hot sauce and peppar vodka), all washed down with Dixie beer. Then downstairs for the blackened lamb chops. Wow! Tony Cheng's Szechuan - some of the best Chinese I ever had in Chinatown. Katmandu - a Nepalese restaurant near Adams Morgan, where I enjoyed very tender braised goat. Bamiyan - the first place I really started to enjoy Afghan spices. I love this thread....

Same general observation here. My mom was born in a little village in northern Syria called Zwayteenya, and I always had high expectations for this place. But the fusion thingy always threw me off, with an occasional Greek or Israeli riff on a very Levantine dish on occasion. I learned to lower my expectations to good bar food with a hint of my mom's kitchen, nothing more. Ah, "kibbe nayeh" perked me up. Notice my moniker. I'm still looking for the area's best version of this elusive comfort food. When I find it, I'm throwing a party and you are all invited! Best served with a glass of Ch. Mousar, by the way....

I've been to Matchbox a few times this year. I love all kinds of restaurants, but Matchbox is a challenge -- the lines to get in are long, and the noise in the place can be deafening. I've had to scream over the din to carry on a conversation. Food's not bad, not great but not bad. But I will generally avoid a restaurant where I can't carry on a conversation without yelling.

Here's why I love this Board. If you have a question, you can get the answer from the source. That's about as inside as it gets. I loved Gerard's Place, and I will frequent the Bistro liberally. Keep up the good work, Gerard!

A little more intrigue....according to someone in the know, the owner of the property that includes 2941 is a bit of a 'hands-on' sort of person. Whether or not that had anything to do with Jonathan's departure for greener pastures is unknown, but I still have very high expectations for the Boulud chefs coming to the area....

Lebnan Zaman on Old Courthouse Rd.

These reviews are generally poor. I'm disappointed. I used to go to the original in Arlington before it expanded to include the place next door. The Abi-Najm family was the role model of the American success story -- escape a war-torn country and come here to open a restaurant, and the next thing you know, it's a multi-million-dollar enterprise. I enjoyed their food through the '80s, but then I moved farther out into the suburbs and rarely get to a Lebanese Taverna anymore. I was at Tysons a few months ago and it was passable, but it was not the old Lebanese Taverna. My Board name should indicate that I have an affinity for Middle Eastern food. There are good examples all around us -- Lebanese Butcher in Falls Church, Mediterranean Gourmet Market in Franconia -- but the original Lebanese Taverna was one of the best in the area. Maybe there was too much success or the family grew up and scattered, but it sounds like it's no longer what it was....

I usually am willing to try anything once....but this thread reminded me of exceptions. I agree with balut. I have no intention of trying it -- but I recently was on the phone for tech support with my satellite TV connection, and I asked the person on the other end of the line where he was from. He said he was in the Philippines, so naturally, I asked what he liked to eat. He responded with balut as the first choice. I once asked Bob Kinkaid what he didn't serve in his restaurants and he answered "sea urchin" which is mentioned in this thread. For some reason I never tried it and thanks to Bob, I probably won't. Then there's the Andrew Zimmern show on TV where he eats just about anything. The one thing he came across that he couldn't handle was that stinky fruit in Indonesia -- durian. I never had the opportunity, but I noticed that Anthony Bourdain tried it and liked it. Maybe I will , maybe I won't....

I am actually not displeased that Jonathan is leaving 2941. Maybe it's time for a change. His food has been tending to the extreme a bit. I had ostrich on one visit and lion on another, and I honestly couldn't tell you the difference in terms of taste. Nonetheless, I love Mel's breads, especially the chocolate-cherry baguette. But I can't imagine a destination restaurant succeeding in Tysons right now. The traffic there is absolutely horrific and will worsen as the Metro is built. I wish Jonathan all the best in Tysons, but I don't think the area is going to be overly supportive of an upscale restaurant until the traffic problem improves. The Boulud chefs coming to 2941 is an absolutely fantastic development for northern Virginia foodies! Yippee! Very soon we'll be singing the praises of 2941 as easily the equal of Restaurant Eve for fine dining in northern Virginia.