Maman Joon (Persian - kabobs, rice, and a lot more) in Tenleytown, DC

[KeithA]

Sunday we tried Maman Joon in Tenleytown for the first time. It is in the former Beefsteak location near the Whole Foods. They kept the very modern pleasant decor and retrofitted the kitchen with a rotating broiler they use to constantly make fresh flatbread. I had been meaning to try for a while but they do not offer delivery yet. The guy who took our order said they are still getting setup after opening a few months ago.

The food was a mixed bag of ok to great. The chicken kabob and ground chicken kabob were both a bit bland and slightly dry but still tasty - better with the great herb yogurt sauce they give you on the side. The rice that came with the kabobs was nicely cooked but also a bit bland. The fresh bread was liked by some and thought meh by others - it lacked salt and got a bit overcooked in the center. I saw someone else had the salmon kabob and the beef/lamb kabobs so I think we'd try those next time.

The falafel app was also good but a bit crunchy. However the tahini sauce was really raw ground sesame paste without the water/lemon juice of usual tahini sauce.

The really good were some of the less common in the area Persian dishes like the vegetarian lemony herb noodle and lentil stew (Ash E'Reshteh). Strong flavors a really good. The sabzi polo herb rice was also very good and studded with some fava beans. I really look forward to trying more of these dishes. I actually tried to order one of the other polo rice dishes but despite the 5-6 different menu options they only had too available.

Also the portions of everything are large.