Week 7 - Greece/Mourayo

It seems like Rome is burning (the market). Instead of fiddling like Nero, I embarked for Athens. Or a Greek island to be exact. Mourayo is a well reviewed small Greek restaurant on Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont Circle. I dined for lunch during Restaurant Week and enjoyed a prix fix 3 course meal. Mourayo's seaside theme is reflected in the decor and the food. Port holes in the wall, waiters in sailor suits and caps, and a hostess stand made from an upright dory all convey a maritime feel.

I started my meal with Kalamaria stin Shara, grilled calamari steaks served with herb flavored olive oil served in a dish shaped like a narrow little boat. The calamari was meaty and delicious, a welcome change from the typically fried version found in most restaurants. For an entree I choose Ravioli ma Kavouropsiha, ravioli stuffed with lobster and shrimp in a tomato basil sauce with crumbled feta cheese. A few bites into the yummy ravioli and I wonder if I'm really eating a typically Greek dish. I remember the owner of Mourayo also owns La Tomate, an Italian eatery nearby. It seems they've hellenized their seafood ravioli by adding feta. My waiter confirms my suspicion about the ravioli. Oh well.

I finish the meal with a recommendation from the bosun (waiter), yogurt topped with strawberries and a sweet syrupy sauce. It's quite good. And then it's anchors away; time to head back to the office.

Note to myself: remember to pepper the waitstaff with questions before I order.

Week 6 - Thailand/Nava Thai

I didn't intend to go to a Thai restaurant this week. I wanted to save Thai for later in the year for an easy fall back country if I needed it. The Scotish Royal Mile Pub in Wheaton my my choice for the week, but I didn't check the lunch hours. They open at 3 pm on weekdays.

So I found myself in Wheaton near Grandview and Price with a hungry belly. Across the parking lot I saw some new signage on a converted house for Nava Thai. I remember a mention by Sietsema in Food about one of his favorite Thai restauarnts moving to a larger space in Wheaton, and I think Nava Thai is the one. I'm curious to find out what's so special about a really nondescript looking Thai restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, it's hard to believe you're in the same building you see from the outside. The interior is really cool with lots of exposed wood work and substanstial tables and chairs. No plastic here. The styling level just doesn't match the exterior, or even this run down section of Wheaton.

I've decided to ask my waitress for more help in picking dishes for my blog meals. She quickly points to a popular choice, #25, Floating Market Noodle Soup, pork with meatballs, bean sprouts, watercress, and noodles in spicy broth. I wait a good 40 minutes for my soup, unusual for Thai restaurants. And when it arrives I'm so hungry I dive in without taking a pic - oops. It really is delicious. The pork is tender and flavorful, and the broth is quite spicy. I can taste why Sietsema really likes this restaurant. Great food in an out of the way location - a Thai diamond in the rough.

Week 5 - Lalibela/Ethiopian

Ethiopian food is entirely new to me. So I looked online and found Lalibela, a restaurant that caters to the Ethiopian community in DC. I’ve passed it many times on my way in and out of the city on 14th Street.

I sit down for lunch and read the menu and I don’t have a clue what to order. I decide a lamb dish should be my choice, and my waitress recommends one with a spicy vegetarian side. My meal comes served on a big platter on top of a flat piece of Injera bread, and the same bread comes on the side. I see other diners taking pieces of the bread and scooping their food with the bread using their hands. The bread is spongy and soaks up the flavors of the food. The lamb and sides are spicy and delicious, but the heat from the spice kind of overwhelms the dish. I feel like I should have ordered a vegetarian dish or platter to taste a greater variety of flavors. At Himalayan Heritage I really liked the vegetarian dishes in the buffet. So I’ll keep that in mind for my next blog meal. And now that I know about Lalibela, I’ll come back and know what to expect.
The menu tells me that Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities and a center for religious pilgrimage. The town has a number of rock hewn Christian churches dating from the 13th century. The churches are monolithic structures literally carved out of the rock. I’m including a photo of one of the churches also featured on a poster in the restaurant.

Week 4 - Cuba/Cubano's

This week’s restaurant is Cubano’s, a Cuban restaurant in Silver Spring. My in laws are Cuban, and over the years I have enjoyed many Cuban meals.

Staying true to Cuban tradition, I go to Cubano’s for lunch when the largest meal of the day is eaten. I started with a mango fruit drink (no more Sprites). The Casals make delicious ham croquettes, so I was eager to try Cubano’s. The Cubano’s version was good, but not as good as the Casals. And that’s how the rest of the meal went. My main course was Boliche Asado Estilo Eloisa, a beef dish with gravy served with black beans, rice, and plantains. The food was pretty good. But my father in law just has a flare for improvising, and his dishes are always seem to have unique flavors. Straight forward Cuban food seemed ordinary. Flan for desert was high point of the meal, one of the best I’ve had.

I also found that the quick pace of service detracted from the experience. A modern restaurant needs to get their lunch time patrons out the door and back to work quickly. Cuban families spend a couple of hours eating and drinking. They take their time and enjoy each others company.

Week 3 - Nepal/Himalayan Heritage

Himalayan Heritage is part of the reason I started this blog. A review in the Sunday Post Magazine a few weeks back made me stop and think, “A Nepalese restaurant serving great food – they received two stars. I’d love to eat there.” So now I have my chance.

I head to Adams Morgan in the bitter cold (for Washington at least), and it seems fitting I’m going to a restaurant from a snow covered country. I arrive for lunch to find a buffet being served. I’d hope to order momo, or dumplings, and another recommended dish, batter-fried cauliflower with a spicy kick called Gobi Manchurian (supposed to be incredible). These dishes are only on the dinner menu. I’m disappointed, but I enjoy the Nepalese buffet of paneer kadi, veg pagoda, curry chicken, chana masala, and tandoori chicken. All the dishes are quite good, but none lived up to the glowing review that first caught my attention. It seems they change their lunch buffet daily, and you’ll find pleasant surprises each time you visit. I’ll have to come back for dinner for the other dishes.

The restaurant seems authentically Nepalese, but how would I really know. Soothing Buddhist chanting is played in the background. My waitress has a centered, peaceful aura about her, and together with the music and surroundings I start to appreciate being in the moment. For a few minutes I forget about work, this blog, and day to day worries. So maybe that’s the lesson. The past and future are not here today. I’ll pretend I’m dining in the mountains of Nepal on a cold winter day.

(the brochure on this table was a for some type of

mountaineering GPS tracking locator system for climbers)

Restaurant: Himalayan Heritage, Adams Morgan, DC

$10.99 lunch buffet

Week 2 - Lebanon/Lebanese Taverna

There's a great little Lebanese cafe in Rockville called Lebanese Taverna. I'm new to the blog and don't want a huge challenge right away. So I order a beef shawarma sandwich. It's not that exotic, but at least it's not my usual dish at Taverna.

I pick up the sandwich to take a bite and it immediately starts to fall apart in my hands. The bread collapses and the beef spills out. The paper wrap get tangled up in the sandwich. It's a mess.

Right away I can't help but think, "This sandwich is a metaphor for the civil war raging in Lebanon." I'm reminded of Muslims and Christians battling in war torn Beirut. Then add the PLO and U.S. Marines. I see it all there in the sandwich. I add the cool yogurt sauce that comes on the side to quell the conflict, and finish the sandwich with a fork and knife.

Restaurant: Lebanese Taverna, Rockville, MD $5.99 Beef Shawarma sandwich

Week 1 - Sweden/Swedish meatballs at Ikea

One word comes to mind after shopping at Ikea. Modular. And I think the meatball is the perfect modular food.

Traditionally served with potatoes, lingonberry jam, and gravy, Ikea offers these delicious little spheres to hungry shoppers for $3.99. A real bargain by any measure.

After a little research I find that the Swedes are a practical, sensible, historically democratic people. The meatball seems to me to embody those ideals.

Restaurant: College Park Ikea $3.99 meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberries.