Jump to content

Albi - Chef Michael Rafidi's Coal-Fired, Modern Levantine at 4th and Tingey St SE, Navy Yard


Recommended Posts

We went to Albi for dinner on Father's Day.  Sat outside on what turned out to be a nice day.  

We tried all 3 snacks, namely 

Sfeeha - lebanese meat pies with a pizza like crust that was better than most pizza joints
Kefta - wrapped around cinnamon stick, good but I don't think the cinnamon stick added much flavor 
Arayes - eggplant + squash blossom + kashkaval cheese, reminded me of an eggroll

Ordered two apps

Smoke pork with hummus - garlicky pita, smooth hummus and bbq pork.  I think the hummus is really good but when mixed with bbq pork, gets kinda lost.

Yellowfin tuna kibbeh naya - very interesting dish served with lettuce and mint, pickled onions, etc.  The tuna by itself didn't have much flavor but when combined with mint and onions, became well balanced.  

Finally, one entree:  Smoke whole Bobo's chicken with corn succotash.  The picture only shows half a chicken (I forgot to take a picture until we ate half the chicken).  Served with feet on, while interesting to look at, I didn't fancy this dish.  The skin was crispy but I didn't care for the sweet sauce.  

I think this place is fantastic.  Would love to see some of the dishes he use to do for M. Isabella.

IMG_4858.jpg

IMG_4859.jpg

IMG_4860.jpg

IMG_4861.jpg

IMG_4862.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

the bf and i ate here three times in the approximately two weeks between albi's opening and the beginning of the quarantimes, and we've done take-out at least half a dozen times in the months since.  for us, it's easily the most exciting new restaurant opening in dc of the last few years.  a number of items on the current menu are new since our last order two weeks ago (which means we're due for another night of take-out!), but anything that sees the grill/hearth is probably worth trying (grilled fish, umami-rich mushroom skewers, probably the best baba ganoush that i can recall), seasonal vegetable-heavy hummus makes (what i usually find to be) a boring staple exciting, the baked goods make excellent use of relevant spices (seasoned turmeric honey on biscuits, za'atar croissants, etc.), and smoked trout spread is ideal brunch fare (but i'll also happily eat it with dinner), like punched-up whitefish salad.  if i had one complaint, it's that sometimes lettuce-y salads are overdressed; they should consider dressing on the side as the default for take-out.  the wine list is interesting thanks to its affiliation with next-door maxwell (and, i believe, fully available for take-out, although you may have to call for that).  service was great for dine-in in the before times, and on the one occasion when we had a slight hiccup with our take-out order, the response was prompt and overly generous (a $25 gift certificate in apology).  we love this place. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love seeing the positive posts about Albi.  I ate here pre-pandemic and did carryout a few weeks ago, and concur with the comments.  Seriously good food.  Can't wait to go back- although I'm not ready for patio dining just yet.  I'm sticking to carryout. And the only problem with that is the bread is at its best right out of the oven.  But still worthwhile.Those are some appetizing photos Ericandblueboy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not having made it to Albi before COVID, we finally got carry-out last night--the whole bass dinner.  Absolutely delicious.  And a very generous series of dishes for the price ($35/person plus 30% tip & tax).  The Levantine Old-Fashioned was also fantastic--and a good deal ($20 for what amounted to three drinks).

GRILLED BLACK BASS
-- MD crab + blistered tomato + corn butter --

wood-fired pita

beiruti-style hummus 

pea-hini + harissa + grilled onions 
tomato + melon fattoush -- sumac + smoky labne 
tabouli -- heirloom tomato + a lot of parsley & mint 

burnt cinnamon cookies -- brown butter + sea salt 
lebanese olive oil cake -- blueberries + lemon + mint oil 

(there was a light cucumber dish in there, too)

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

the bf and i also did the whole bass dinner this weekend (on sunday night) and agree with marty that it was excellent and an excellent value.  unfortunately for us pescatarians, the "family style" meals, which replaced the more diverse a la carte menu when the patio opened, have for the last few weeks been exclusively meat-based.  i actually emailed the restaurant earlier in the week to ask whether they would have non-carnivorous options at any point, and within about ninety minutes received an email that the bass was available (which it definitely hadn't been earlier that morning).  unclear whether the addition was a coincidence or responsive to my email, but either way, kudos for quick reply.  (for those who are concerned, the take-out hand-off was very comfortable -- no need to go into the restaurant, because there's a host stand set up outside on the sidewalk.)  

the bass came filleted, skin sides up, in a disposable metal pan (perfect for reheating, had it been necessary, but we didn't bother).  despite transport, it wasn't overcooked -- not something every restaurant has managed during the quarantimes for fish dishes -- and the skin retained sufficient crispness to be worth eating.  the two fluffy, za'atariffic pita were bigger than i remembered, basically the size of the dinner plates onto which we unwrapped them.  perfect for scooping up the summery pea-topped hummus.  i've loved the caramelized onion-heavy mujadarra since we first tried it the week albi opened, and the current iteration, with its addition of charred corn, is even better.  and those burnt cinnamon cookies were addictively spiced with a crumbly-soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.  

so glad to have albi back in our take-out rotation!  

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our dinner here a few weeks ago was so good we left wondering if we should move to Navy Yard to be closer to this and other restaurants in the neighborhood. The items on the menu sounded so good, we weren't able to decide what to get so we ended up doing the "sofra menu" or the chef's tasting. Out came a smaller version of the lamb meat pies, perfectly fried okra with a dollop of baba ganoush, both the smoked tomato and tuna versions of the kibbeh naya, a large pita to dip with both the sweet corn hummus and the cherry tomato goat lebne, an off menu octopus tentacle with tomatoes and tomato water, and a skewer of lamb kabob and two lamb keftas (there were also zucchini ribbons but we were so full we didn't eat them). For dessert we had some soft serve with fruit on top as well as the baklawa. Everything was fantastic and so so good I am still thinking about that dinner. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had a midweek dinner at Albi. The food was delicious and beautifully plated. The ambiance was LOUD. All those hard surfaces look cool, but it was hard to have a conversation across a table for two. And the tables were a bit too close together for getting in and out. In my twenties, I probably wouldn't have cared about either, but this restaurant didn't exist then either. So 🙃.

As for the actual food, we started with both snacks (sfeeha and eggplant arayes), which are as small as the menu indicates they are. Very delicious bites, though. I love their pita at Yellow, and we ordered the baba ganoush, which comes with a giant puffy version of that. I was able to confirm that it's za'atar and extra sumac on top. The charred eggplant was wonderful. Fabulous dish.

For our main we had the BBQ'd lamb kebob. What a gorgeous construction this is. The $82 price tag was mellowed a bit by the fact it was enough for two. Pretty much grilled perfection in addition to the aesthetic element. It was listed as ALC Lamb on the check, which I take to be a la carte, so it may also be part of the Sofra fixed price menu.

Service was fine, but it was somewhat hard to hear what the various people were saying. Otherwise, we didn't get dessert, and I had a Lebanese beer (Almaza Pilsner).

Puffy pita

Resized_20231004_194713.jpeg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Pat said:

We had a midweek dinner at Albi. 

I’ve been to Albi three times this year. You can park in that giant parking lot right next to it for a reasonable price.

The first and third visits are probably the two best meals I’ve had this year (I didn’t love-love the soft shell crab hummus - it was hard to finish it was so big).

IMG_0742.jpegIMG_0749.jpegIMG_0748.jpegIMG_0750.jpegIMG_0753.jpegIMG_0754.jpegIMG_0756.jpegIMG_0776.jpegIMG_0780.jpegIMG_0784.jpegIMG_1033.jpegIMG_0755.jpegIMG_1042.jpeg

Whatever you do, start with the Sfeeha:

IMG_0777.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your photo of the pita is much better than mine, Don 😋. And I forgot about the little S shaped cookies at the end.

I'd been trying to get a reservation for a while and finally got one by trying at the end or beginning of a month (forget now), right when they opened new slots.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Pat said:

Your photo of the pita is much better than mine, Don 😋. And I forgot about the little S shaped cookies at the end.

If I’m remembering correctly, if you like shortbread, rosewater, and powdered sugar, then you’ll like those cookies (a lot).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...