bioesq

I like Mama Ayesha's and would describe the food as home-cooked Lebanese. With all the choices for Middle Eastern in the area, I don't go as there often as I did 10 years ago, but the quality of the food remains high. I especially like the stuffed grape leaves and hummus. I'm going to dig up a review of a MA's I wrote not too long ago and will post it here shortly. Bon appétit!

REVIEW

Mama Ayesha's has been around forever and pre-remodelling, it was a neighborhood hole in the wall, one of those hidden, humble places with great food. The food is still good, but the decor has been updated with hanging lanterns, sleek booths, and waterfalls.I usually start with the hummus, which is always smooth and delicious (and sometimes get the baba ganouj too). For the main, I like the menzaleh (a kind of eggplant casserole with ground meat and tomato sauce) or the stuffed grape leaves. Sometimes I get kibbeh too, which is crunchy and delicious, and the falafel, which is right up there with the best falafel in the city. Dessert is baklava, sweet, but not too sticky or gooey served with either a cup of Turkish coffee or hot tea. I've taken a lot of out-of-town guests here and they've always been happy with the home-cooked style of food and gracious service. I've also heard that long-time White House reporter Helen Thomas (who is Lebanese-American) dines here fairly regularly.

Do they still have a jukebox that plays songs in Arabic? They did in the late 1960s, when Mama's was unique and the rage. I recall that you could park those huge cars that we had back then anywhere on Calvert Street with no problem.

Excellent! Congrats!!

PS - I love the name.

How very nice of you to write that. Thank you. To the best of my knowledge, since I have no dead relatives that would qualify for the "Piper" name, I am assuming that the kids either had a wonderful champagne dinner in Lisbon nine months ago, or paused "The Hustler" in their condo at the appropriate moment.

We will be drinking very good whiskey in New York tomorrow to celebrate the arrival of my first grandchild, Piper. She is healthy, very vocal and, thankfully, doesn't look like me. This has been a wonderful journey.

I'm heading to Chicago next week, staying downtown in the Hilton on S Michigan Ave. Are there any good places nearby at a mixture of price points? I'll be with coworkers, so I won't have the final say or be able to go far but I can inform the decisions! If I could squeeze in a fancy night out, perhaps if I sneak away to dine solo at a bar, where should/could I go? Thanks!!!

A short cab ride away is My link, which is Latin American and Indian. We have been there twice, and would recommend it.

When is that move scheduled?

Next year

Crabcakes tonight with corn and sliced tomato from the farmers' market. Magruder's, through tomorrow, is selling a pound of North Carolina jumbo lump for $16.00. My beloved, who learned her way around crabmeat with family on the Eastern Shore, is already eyeballing the cast-iron skillet. If I knew how to use this new system to post a photo, I'd share the image. Alas.

We made a crazy meal from these. They were awesome!!!!

Balducci's is again selling their New York strip steaks for #9.99 a pound through Sunday. They are sensational pieces of meat.

Last night: frozen vodka shots with Meyer lemon peel.

to my dad Elly T. Margolis

August 24, 1912 - July 30, 2009

May his memory be a blessing.

A request from a friend:

A chicken roasted in the way of Hammerseley, that was scratching in the dirt this morning at my wife's cousin's farm in Harford County.

Mashed red potatoes

Fresh string beans

2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Hello all,

First time poster...found the site after Googling the Obama visit with his daughters to The Dairy Godmother in Del Ray...found most of the topics and postings very interesting and thought I would join in. Not in the restaurant biz but like lots of "Office Space" workers in the area have dreams of running my own little place someday...perhaps a BBQ/Micro-Brewery joint which is much needed in Alexandria.

Anyway, am cooking a dinner for my wife today to celebrate her new job and am going to grill some NY Strips and such and looking for a good recipe for a steak sauce to make homemade.

Thanks,

McWaffle (I am half Irish-half Belgian)

I hope no one with good taste or who is at work opens this one.....

Just in case, Michael

They were wonderful, and an extraordinary bargain for the quality. Four minutes on each side over hardwood charcoal produced a lovely char and a lukewarm interior:

We have a full bar and we have an exxxxxtended Happy Hour from 2.30pm to 6.30pm, and yes, we serve in the Bar and the Lounge seating in addition to the Dining Hall (service for Lunch and Dinner only).

You do. Thanks, that was bugging me.

something "Tavern"

Thanks to all the guests at Passage to India, Bethesda whose continued patronage and support encouraged me to open my second restaurant SpiceXing in Rockville Town Square. The menu features contemporary Indian dishes and a lot of dishes influenced by the foreign cultures that came to settle/rule the Indian subcontinent. Once again the recipes are original as collected by me from various households and I am indebted to all those friends who tolerated my persistence in US and in India. There are a lot of small plates, which make sharing several of them quite enjoyable.

Look forward to meeting all the DonRockwellians in Rockville.

Sudhir Seth

www.spicexing.com

We were driving through downtown Rockville this morning and noticed that there was a "Grand Opening" for an Italian restaurant, on North Washington Street. It is not in the Town Center, and is located next to Chopstix where, previously, there was a rather tired kabob joint. What was surprising, when I found their website, was who was listed as the chef. Sounds like it's worth a visit.

We did a party of 6 adults in the back room at Tasting Room, and did not feel the least bit cramped. Adding a 4-year-old to the mix would not be a problem.

That said, neither Volt nor TR have what I would call a kid-friendly menu, and in neither place will you get out quicker than 2 hours. You'll have to judge for yourself whether the youngest would tolerate this.

My sister-in-law, in Frederick, is having one of those 'zero' birthdays, and we're looking for a downtown place that would be good for four adults and three children, ages four, eleven and sixteen. We would welcome any suggestions.

To John V. Conte, M.D. of Johns Hopkins. Many, many thanks.

I don't have much time these days to schlep all the way to that wonderful Spanish store in Bethesda, but if I must, I will. Meanwhile, know of another place I can find my spice?

Is it a restaurant or just a place to sober up?

Does a change in ownership but not a name change or location change qualify for the list?

I drove by it last night.

Steak'n Egg in Tenleytown. It's been there since 1935

Parenthetically, people were still raising chickens in Tenleytown when that restaurant was built.

Anyone have an update on the opening date? Walked by last week and it looked to be close.

To Washingtonians of un age certain, THIS will take you back. Follow the link to the jingle, half-way down.

I never ate at one of these places, nor even to my recollection laid eyes on any of them. I have no idea where they were, but there were, apparently, nine of them "all around the town". I wish I knew who the radio guy at the end of the audio was. The jingle was utterly inescapable on top-forty radio in Washington back in the day, along with "Mario's Pizza House in Arlington Town" and, for a non-cuisine-related one, "Herson's, Herson's 8th and O".