Zaytinya
701 9th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
One
of the things that I had found out about D.C. before we went and I was doing my
research on the food is that the Spanish master Jose Andres has a mini empire
there. I knew that I wanted to go to one of his restaurants before we left. We
tried to do a large dinner with my friends from college at Jaleo, but we couldn’t get a
reservation. My fiancé and I went on Monday before we hit the road back home.
We decided on going to his place called Zaytinya, an innovative Greek, Lebanese and
Turkish small plates restaurant. It was very chic and modern inside, and also
it was huge! There was a ton of seating and tons of bar space. The menu
was expansive. It was definitely a lot to take in, but we made up our minds.
One of us ordered the fixed price lunch where you got four dishes for $25 and
we also ordered two more dishes to share. Those dishes included bantijan bil
laban, garides me anitho, adana kebab, seared haloumi cheese, Turkish style
pastrima and the Turkish delight.
They
brought out this amazing style bread that I have never had before. It was thin and
puffy, and boy it was delicious. It was one of the lightest breads I have ever
had and I can imagine it would have been amazing with some hummus. The bantijan
bil laban and the seared haloumi cheese were the first items out to us after
the bread. The bantijan bil laban was discs of fried eggplant with a garlic yogurt
sauce underneath and the seared haloumi was a block of the deliciously seared
cheese surrounded by halved dates and orange, pomegranate and mint. Crispy
crust and perfectly cooked interior to the bantijan bil laban made me feel all
warm and fuzzy inside. It was like Turkish comfort food. I particularly loved
the garlicky yogurt sauce underneath it. The crust on the outside of the
haloumi was sensational, and the salty, firm nature of the inside was
perfection. The sweet, tart bites of the figs mixed with the saltiness of the
cheese was heaven in each and every bite.
The
garides me anitho came out next and it was just as delicious as the previous
two dishes. Small baby shrimp in a sauce made of dill, shallots, mustard and
lemon juice, just proves that even the simplest preparations done correctly are
amazing. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the sauce complemented it very
nicely. The dill was very prominent and it paired well with the lemon juice.
The
Turkish style pastrima was a very interesting plate. It was rolled pieces of
cured beef wrapped around a salad of radish, arugula and apricots. It wasn’t my
favorite of the dishes we had, but it was definitely still tasty. You could
really taste the cured nature of the beef and the freshness of the salad inside
really cut through the intense flavor provided by the curing process the meat had
been through.
Last
up for the savory part of our meal was the adana kebab. It was a long skewered
log of ground lamb that was served over a piece of pita smeared with harissa
and a small accompaniment of pickled onions. The lamb was incredibly spiced,
and the flavor was fantastic. I love harissa on anything because of its spice
level, and the addition of the pickled onions was amazing. I love the acidic
bite that they provided.
We
split the Turkish delight for dessert and of course I had my espresso. Turkish
delight is a traditional Turkish dessert, but this was an interpretation of
that dish served with walnut ice cream, yogurt mousse, honey gelee, orange
caramel sauce and caramelized pine nuts. I thought it was very delicious. It
was super enticing because of the different textures found in everything. The
ice cream was cold and creamy. The gelee was chewy and sweet. The yogurt was
tangy and the caramalized pine nuts were crunchy and toasty. Everything came
together nicely and reminded me very much of the traditional candy.
Three and a half pints for Zaytinya. The ambiance of the place was knocked out. The bar
was huge. The menu is large and full of exciting dishes. The price point is a
home run. The service was above average. I just don’t have much negative to say
about it. I would go back over and over again. Check it out if you are ever in
the D.C. area! Cheers!
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