Taste of Jerusalem, Downtown Silver Spring - Closed

[johnb]

This place, just a block above Jackie's on Georgia, finally soft opened today. My daughter and I happened to be the first sit down customers. It appears to have promise but of course needs to work out the food preparation. It is said to be Palastinian/Jordanian. It has tablecloths and nice decor in general. The menu has a wide range of typical Middle-eastern dishes. We tried lebneh (cheese spread--very cream cheesie and lightly sour, but quite addictive), falafel (very golden and crisp with a great sesame sauce), sfiha (little "pizzas" topped with lamb or tomato sesame sauce--needs work--they didn't charge us for them), and a decent beef shawarma with the same sauce. The kitchen is cooking with a very light spice hand so far, but the owner (Kamel) promises improvement as things get rolling. There are lunch sandwiches in the $7 range, and all lunch entres are $9. A more extensive list of dinner entrees are in the $13 range.

I think this place has potential to develop into a good choice in the neighborhood. Will check back in a few weeks.

[scj32]

We finally made it down to Taste of Jerusalem. It really is a nice dining room and we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. As was mentioned they could go a little heavier on the spices. The owner was very hospitable. He took the time to get feedback, including any constructive criticism from all the cutomers in the restaurant (unfortunately, there were only 10 at the time). I had the lentil soup to start, which had a delicious texture, but a little too much sumac. For an entree, I had the Shik Barak filled with lamb. The lamb was delicious and the little raviolis were generously stuffed with the ground lamb. My wife had an assortment of mezzes. She loved the Moussaka. It was a little different than Greek moussaka, and unlike many of the other dishes it was bursting flavor. The spinach pies were also delicious. My wife also raved about the lebneh (which is yogurt with cucumber and other spices). She is Persian and they have similar dish. She said this was on par with much of what she had eaten. As far as drinks, the beer list was a little generic.

For all those that complain about the overexpansion of Lebanese Taverna on this board and for all those that complain about the excessive chains invading Silver Spring, this is definitely a place worth supporting.

[JPW]

Being Mediterranean food fans Mrs JPW and I were happy to try this place out on Saturday. Not being ravenously hungry we went down the mezze side of the menu.

- Hummos -- very enjoyable. very light and fluffy

- Salad -- nicely dressed, the baked pita chips were a nice component

- Jerusalem style pizzas -- good, but as noted above, seasoning could stand to be a bit more assertive

- fatyers (sp?) -- aka samosas/papusas. We got the spinach ones. The filling was quite good, but the dough was a little chewy.

The best glass of lemonade, I've had in recent memory. Wine list could use some work.

Overall, a very pleasing lunch. Great atmosphere. Unfortunately, we were the only people in the place. Considering how bad Lebanese Taverna and its cafes have become (I threw out half a schwarma at the Rockville outpost a couple of weeks ago), good Med food is to be encouraged. Will have to return soon to try some of the kebobs and schwarma.

Being Mediterranean food fans Mrs JPW and I were happy to try this place out on Saturday. Not being ravenously hungry we went down the mezze side of the menu.

- Hummos -- very enjoyable. very light and fluffy

- Salad -- nicely dressed, the baked pita chips were a nice component

- Jerusalem style pizzas -- good, but as noted above, seasoning could stand to be a bit more assertive

- fatyers (sp?) -- aka samosas/papusas. We got the spinach ones. The filling was quite good, but the dough was a little chewy.

The best glass of lemonade, I've had in recent memory. Wine list could use some work.

Overall, a very pleasing lunch. Great atmosphere. Unfortunately, we were the only people in the place. Considering how bad Lebanese Taverna and its cafes have become (I threw out half a schwarma at the Rockville outpost a couple of weeks ago), good Med food is to be encouraged. Will have to return soon to try some of the kebobs and schwarma.

[LizH]

I have been tying to figure out how to write about my first impressions of the Taste of Jerusalem. I went a week or two after they had opened and got my food to go. The setting is nice, and I really do want local restaurants to do well in Silver Spring.

I got a few things to go, which I thought would have been enough for dinner for me and my husband and hopefully my lunch the next day. I got a few appetizers, including hummus and pita, a salad and spinach pies. I also got a chicken kabob entree.

Overall the food was fine, some things better then others. I agree with others that a few more spices would been better. The hummus tasted fine, but the pita that came with it was really dry. It was more of a thick, solid, round bread, without any of the airiness that one likes in a fresh pita. They were also a little skimpy with the pita included, but since I didn't really like it, I guess it was fine that I didn't get more.

The rest of the food was OK, but I was a little disappointed in the amount of food for the cost (total of about $ 35.00-- food, no drinks). There was only one small kabob. When I saw photos of the food from the restaurant in a recent local review (I think it was the Washington Post Montgomery County section) there were at least two kabobs. I guess they figured out it looked too skimpy for the photo-shoot and added another?

In the end we had enough for us two, but sadly nothing for my lunch the next day. I would have said something about the pita if I was eating in, but since I got it to go, I have not figured out a way to suggest they use different pita. I think if you are going to serve this kind of Mediterranean food, the pita should be better. To be honest, the bad pita has made me not want to go back.

[DonRocks]

I would have said something about the pita if I was eating in, but since I got it to go, I have not figured out a way to suggest they use different pita. I think if you are going to serve this kind of Mediterranean food, the pita should be better. To be honest, the bad pita has made me not want to go back.

They may use King Of Pita bakery in Alexandria (Lebanese Taverna does, or did) - it isn't "bad," but it's really just like buying it at the grocery store.

And I nominate www.kingofpita.com as a candidate for worst website.

Cheers,

Rocks

[Jacques Gastreaux]

They may use King Of Pita bakery in Alexandria (Lebanese Taverna does, or did) - it isn't "bad," but it's really just like buying it at the grocery store.

And I nominate www.kingofpita.com as a candidate for worst website.

Cheers,

Rocks

King of PITA?

[giant shrimp]

And I nominate www.kingofpita.com as a candidate for worst website.

it looks like the king has abandoned his pita site. all we can do now is send him our recipes while he is out and about and about.

[LizH]

King of pita would have been better. This was thick, and didn't even have a pocket. It was just bread really. Very dry bread.

[Heather]

I really want to like this place. Downtown Silver Spring really, really needs independent restaurants. We got a small mezza sampler, another app, a chicken kabob plate and a kifte kabob plate. Average baba ghannouj, hummus, and tabbouli, bad felafel, bland rice, and over cooked kabobs. The mass-produced pita is not at all like Lebanese Taverna's, but that's not a bad thing. Scott said it was very similar to pita that he ate in Israel, FWIW.

It was pretty expensive takeout - fifty bucks. We'll probably try it again, just because we like Middle Eastern food and the Silver Spring Lebanese Taverna is awful, but it was pretty disappointing.

[dinwiddie]

My wife said she was in the mood for Lebanese Taverna, but didn't want to go all the way to Tysons, and didn't want to go to the cafes in Rockville, so I suggested we try Taste of Jerusalem, somewhere we had never been to.

We were there at 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon, so there was only one other couple in the restaurant. It is a lovely room, but don't let the name fool you, this is the Palestinian Jerusalem, not the Jewish one. Music was appropriate to the East Bank but not at all obtrusive. Decor is pleasing, and the service was excellent, but since we were literally the only ones there, how could it have been less.

We ordered 5 meze and the beef shawarma.

Baba Ghannouge - I loved it, great smokey taste, creamy, and lots of flavor. Maybe not to everyone's taste, but perfect for mine.

Jerusalem Salad - way too much tahini for my taste, the cucumber and tomatoes were swimming in it.

Falafel - not bad, good flavor but a little dry.

Kibbeh - pretty good, I was trying to identify the spice that underlaid the ground lamb, maybe clove, but I enjoyed it.

M'Saka - Fantastic. I love eggplant, and this combination was wonderful, interestingly spiced and very flavorful.

They came with a basket of pita wedges, hot and not at all dry. Nothing special, but more than adequate for eating the mezes with.

The Shawarma, however, was very disappointing. Well flavored, but dry and almost charred. I didn't even finish it. I'll stick to Max's for shawarma.

My wife had the Jerusalem hot tea, which she loved. It is black tea with mint. Served in the traditional style in a pot with a small glass instead of a tea cup. I had iced tea and it was very good.

All in all, I won't go out of my way, but I do want to go back and try some other things to see if they are worth making a regular stop when I'm in Silver Spring.

[fuzzy510]

Closed.