Israeli, Palestinian, and Middle Eastern Cuisine

[KeithA]

On 3/26/2018 at 4:11 PM, Tweaked said:

Little Sesame's new store will be 1828 L Street, NW  (The Veloce space perhaps?)

Now this means that there will be three good quality eats casual places to get Israeli/Palestinian/Middle East food within 2 blocks when you add in Naf Naf and Yafa Grille. Lucky people who work downtown. 

[Bob Wells]

8 hours ago, KeithA said:

Now this means that there will be three good quality eats casual places to get Israeli/Palestinian/Middle East food within 2 blocks when you add in Naf Naf and Yaffa Grille. Lucky people who work downtown. 

No idea we had a Naf Naf too -- we saw one in Philly near our hotel but didn't have time to try it. How does it compare to Yafa (which I think is really good)?

[KeithA]

All are good and slightly different. I recommend trying all and figuring out what you like. Naf has the most options, then Yafa, then Little Sesame (which is really hummus focused). 

[Tweaked]

Naf Naf is solid, esp. for a fast casual move-you-through-the-line type place.  Lunch time is busy so stock is being replenished at a good clip.  They are constantly frying up new falafel and shaving meat off the shawarma rotisserie (although I've only tried the falafel).  The pita are pretty good, they have someone baking the pita fresh on a conveyor belt style oven, so they are usually piping hot.  Don't expect it to compare to the falafel from the streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, flavors are not as punchy, but for downtown DC, lunch under $10...you can do a lot worse!

I'm looking forward to the new Little Sesame, a short walk from my office (could be trouble!)      

[Bob Wells]

Thanks, team. I go to the Yafa at McPherson, not the one at Dupont, but when the weather gets a bit nicer I will make the slightly longer walk to Naf Naf just to try it out (And burn a few more calories en route). These places (along with Cava) are a nice addition to the downtown lunch scene.

Kinda funny how decades ago, downtown workers ate a lot of lunches in cafeterias, then the cafeterias basically all went away, and now we are lining up again -- but the food is completely different and would in fact be unrecognizable to the worker bees of the 50s and 60s.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I didn't realize a topic on Middle Eastern food was created. I have offered a few thoughts in the past, here and here.

I should add that my current Middle Eastern favorites in our area include Me Jana in Arlington, the original Lebanese Taverna in Arlington -- although the Tysons outpost is also very good -- and Mama Ayesha's downtown on Calvert. Honorable mention goes to Mediterranean Gourmet Market on Franconia Rd, which is partially a kitchen and partially a little grocery. Also, Jose Andres' Zaytinya is a pretty good representation of the flavors of the eastern Mediterranean, combining Lebanese, Greek, and Turkish on its fuzed menu.

 

[KeithA]

On 4/3/2018 at 9:56 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

I should add that my current Middle Eastern favorites in our area include Me Jana in Arlington, the original Lebanese Taverna in Arlington -- although the Tysons outpost is also very good -- and Mama Ayesha's downtown on Calvert.

I haven't been to Mama Ayesha's in a long time. I wasn't very impressed on my prior visits. What do you like there?

[Kibbee Nayee]

18 minutes ago, KeithA said:

I haven't been to Mama Ayesha's in a long time. I wasn't very impressed on my prior visits. What do you like there?

Mama Ayesha's appears to be pulling out of its downturn of the past few years. I am really high on the stuffed squash and stuffed cabbage.

 

[Kibbee Nayee]

Why not revive this thread, as new ones appear here and there? This is the category of restaurants that Tom Sietsema loves to ignore.

My current list of faves in northern Virginia include Me Jana in Arlington, the standard-bearer for Middle Eastern Uber drivers and me. But my sentimental favorite remains Mediterranean Gourmet Market, which might be nearing its final days as George and Lilian contemplate retirement. Mediterranean Gourmet Market is my go-to for catering at my home. Not far away is Mediterranean Bakery which is where I go for Syrian bread (some call it pita bread) fresh out fo the oven, as well as the best selection of olives and olive oils in our area. However, I'm hearing that Mediterranean Bakery is under new ownership, but I have not yet detected a drop off.

I'll admit to not going to many restaurants since the beginning of the pandemic, but now that's starting to change. I'll have to check out the Lebanese Taverna situation, having heard of a slide in quality, but my favorites of the Abi Najm empire always included the Westover flagship and the shinier Tysons Galleria outpost. Stay tuned on that front.

Also, a friend brought to my attention Zenola in Vienna, which is now at the top of my list to visit soon. Whenever Kibbee Nayyeh is on the menu, I'm very attentive.

Downtown, which I visit infrequently nowadays, has a number of must-visit places on my list. Albi picked up a Michelin star this year, which is a first for a Middle Eastern restaurant in our area. Ilili at the Wharf is the Washington DC outpost of a restaurant started in New York, and also features Kibbeh Nayyeh on the menu. Maydan is on my list for the colder weather months, which is about when a reservation is available. The open hearth cooking beckons.

Many are left unmentioned for now, because this is an aggressive list or mostly newcomers -- I lost 30 lbs so far this year, and anything more than an occasional feast would drag me in the wrong direction. We have an abundance, for sure, in our region. No, we're not New York, North Jersey, Dearborn, or Toronto, but we're up there. 

[cuisine soignee]

Does Amoo's (Persian) find a home under this topic? What Sebastian and his father are doing near McLean, is certainly noteworthy, IMHO, and based upon commentary over the years, I'd imagine many agree. I don't recall any specific commentary on the part of KN, but have enjoyed and do respect KN's commentary and knowledge, and would welcome KN's opinion regarding Amoo's, especially if it's appropriate here.

Also, is there anything worthy in Maryland?

Would enjoy any commentary regarding Al Ha'esh, among others.

[Kibbee Nayee]

2 hours ago, cuisine soignee said:

Does Amoo's (Persian) find a home under this topic? What Sebastian and his father are doing near McLean, is certainly noteworthy, IMHO, and based upon commentary over the years, I'd imagine many agree. I don't recall any specific commentary on the part of KN, but have enjoyed and do respect KN's commentary and knowledge, and would welcome KN's opinion regarding Amoo's, especially if it's appropriate here.

Also, is there anything worthy in Maryland?

Would enjoy any commentary regarding Al Ha'esh, among others.

I love Amoo's in McLean and Rumi's downtown, but I consider Persian food to be different from Levantine fare, closer to Afghani food but not nearly the same. Turkish food is different too. All good, but not Levantine.

The Levant -- mostly Syria and Lebanon in particular -- benefitted from being at the crossroads of 3 continents, with plenty of back-and-forth among the peoples and cooking techniques and ingredients. Throw in the French influence after WWI and you have a nice amalgam of flavors and textures.

I consider Israeli food to be a modern fusion of all of the Levant with some European influences from the Ashkenazi Jews.

[noamb]

BTW, I just ran across a menu from Zikrayet, in Alexandria near the new Wegmans, and they list kibbe naye. I haven’t actually eaten there, though.

[Kibbee Nayee]

26 minutes ago, noamb said:

BTW, I just ran across a menu from Zikrayet, in Alexandria near the new Wegmans, and they list kibbe naye. I haven’t actually eaten there, though.

Good one. I'll add it to my list. The point is, our area is getting to the quantity -- and hopefully the quality -- of the Lebanese/Syrian/Levantine pockets of north Jersey, Dearborn, Toronto, and New York/Brooklyn. Plenty to try, not enough time, but let's work our way through all of these places and come up with a general ranking.

[Pat]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:54 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Albi picked up a Michelin star this year, which is a first for a Middle Eastern restaurant in our area.

I've only eaten at Yellow (the daytime cafe portion) but not Albi. The pita is amazing. They individually brew iced tea as well.

[KeithA]

A few additional good places to check out- mostly Israeli: Sababa for modern Israeli, Little Sesame for great hummus bowls (also the best store bought hummus, almost as good as homemade), Tatte Bakery (while it has European pastries, it also has Jerusalem bagels, arayes and other Israeli goodies), Taim (falafel and hummus), Shouk for good fast-casual vegetarian food with Israeli inspirations. I haven't been to Yafa Grille in a while, but last time many months ago they were no longer making their great pita in-house so it wasn't as good. Hopefully they will start again as they are nice Palestinian-American brothers who run the place. Another place to go is Shemali's to stock up on Middle eastern ingredients. I'm less enamored with their prepared dishes but the fried kibbe are good. Also for anyone interested in Israeli cooking at home, get the Israeli Soul cookbook by Michael Solomonov - it has so many good recipes that are meant for home cooks and not as fussy of his also good Zahav cookbook. I especially like Israeli Soul's extensive section on hummus toppings and salatim.

[Kibbee Nayee]

One more time for the sake of redundancy.

The food we know as Levantine, or Palestinian-Lebanese-Syrian-Jordanian, is the product of hundreds of years of tradition and innovation in the kitchens (and village squares) where grandmothers and mothers refined techniques and ingredients over generations. They shared ideas and coaxed the absolute best out of modest ingredients and the glorious spices passing through to and from Europe and Asia.

The food we know as Israeli is an amalgam of this tradition, adopted and combined with the open fire cooking of the Yemeni and Moroccan Sephardic Jews, and somewhat blended with the European Ashkenazi Jews and their borscht and schnitzel and cabbage dishes. Israel has existed for barely 100 years or less, and the food we call Israeli has tentacles all over the Middle East and Europe and is as traditional as anything can be since 1948.

[KeithA]

On 7/20/2022 at 1:54 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

One more time for the sake of redundancy.

The food we know as Levantine, or Palestinian-Lebanese-Syrian-Jordanian, is the product of hundreds of years of tradition and innovation in the kitchens (and village squares) where grandmothers and mothers refined techniques and ingredients over generations. They shared ideas and coaxed the absolute best out of modest ingredients and the glorious spices passing through to and from Europe and Asia.

The food we know as Israeli is an amalgam of this tradition, adopted and combined with the open fire cooking of the Yemeni and Moroccan Sephardic Jews, and somewhat blended with the European Ashkenazi Jews and their borscht and schnitzel and cabbage dishes. Israel has existed for barely 100 years or less, and the food we call Israeli has tentacles all over the Middle East and Europe and is as traditional as anything can be since 1948.

I think this comment is meant to be respectful but think it needs to be put in a broader perspective. Each country in the middle east has it own "traditions" or more accurately variants on commonly-found dishes just like every country in every region. They are all influenced: by their neighbors (e.g Nepalese is often a combo of what we often think of as Indian and Chinese cuisine with its own unique variations), and the immigrants/visitors from other places that settled in them or brought their new foods with them (e.g. Texas BBQ was influenced by German immigrants, Italians didn't have tomatoes until they were imported from the Americas). So focusing on years of "traditions" is largely unimportant similar to the search for "authentic" anything.

All of that being said, I think it is helpful and informative to point out that Israeli cuisine (possibly more than other middle eastern current cuisines) is more of an amalgam of far flung influences. This is explicit in Israeli cookbooks, like the Israeli Soul one I recommend above, that not only has recipes for pita, lavash, hummus, local vegetable salads, but also Bulgarian style kebabs, Yemenite spiced soups, Schnitzel, etc.

Regardless though, most of the Israeli restaurants in DC and America focus on common middle eastern/Levantine dishes that you would find in Lebanese, Palestinian, etc. restaurants in the same US locales. They still have Israeli variants though just as there is differences between Syrian and Lebanese food. For example, the pita bread is often different - sometimes thick fluffy (Sababa (Israeli-influenced), Yafa Grille (Palestinian-American), and other times thin and chewy (Lebanese Taverna).  All of them are delicious, so I'd recommend you try everything and see what suits your taste.

[cuisine soignee]

Patiently waiting for some feedback on Al'Haesh in Rockville, if anyone who'd been would care to post. Thanks!

[KeithA]

16 minutes ago, cuisine soignee said:

Patiently waiting for some feedback on Al'Haesh in Rockville, if anyone who'd been would care to post. Thanks!

I only got carryout a few times and it was only ok. Others may have more indepth experiences eating in there. However if you are looking for a kosher option it may rank much higher in your opinion considering the extremely limited options in the DMV.

[ICD]

On 7/22/2022 at 1:13 PM, KeithA said:

I only got carryout a few times and it was only ok. Others may have more indepth experiences eating in there. However if you are looking for a kosher option it may rank much higher in your opinion considering the extremely limited options in the DMV.

I think the strength of the restaurant is eating in and enjoying the all you can eat salad experience that can be included with the entrees.  We've enjoyed this couple times, especially at lunch. 

[Shaho]

13 minutes ago, ICD said:

I think the strength of the restaurant is eating in and enjoying the all you can eat salad experience that can be included with the entrees.  We've enjoyed this couple times, especially at lunch. 

Some older reports here: 

I've been and enjoyed it as well (pre-COVID), including the all you can eat salad.

 

[Tweaked]

City Paper:

With Bayti Pop-Up, Jinan Deena Shares Palestinian Hospitality With D.C. Diners:  Deena is one of several local food entrepreneurs who are emphasizing their Palestinian heritage.

[KeithA]

Another good middle eastern/Lebanese place to add to your rotation is Bacchus of Lebanon in Bethesda. I wrote a review in the thread for that.

Also, DC is about to get its 2nd meat kosher restaurant when Oh Mama Grill opens in AdMo in the near future: https://www.popville.com/2022/08/oh-mama-grill-dc-adams-morgan/ I've never been to the Rockville location, but it looks to have typical israeli street food - shwarma, falafel, schnitzel, etc. Probably not a destination dining unless you want to eat kosher, but I'm sure I'll give it a try eventually.