Review: Zaytinya

Friday night, I found myself walking to the Metro at about 8:15. I was on my way downtown, where I was meeting a friend, Jeremy, for dinner at Zaytinya. I'd been to Zaytinya before, but Jeremy hadn't and had wanted to go for some time. We decided to meet at Zaytinya at 9, figuring the dinner rush would have subsided. Wroooong...

Before I get into how busy Zaytinya was, let me give you some background. Zaytinya serves mezze, which are the Middle Eastern/Mediterranean version of Spanish tapas. There are also a few full-size entrees, but they are far outnumbered by the mezze. Zaytinya is a José Andrés restaurant, joined in stellar company by Cafe Atlantico, Oyamel, Jaleo, and minibar. Andrés worked under Ferran Adrià in Spain, so the man knows his food and knows how to give it a little something extra.

So, back to Zaytinya. When we walked inside at 9, it was packed. Jeremy got one of the beepy things from the hostess, and we proceeded to the bar. People in the bar were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. The bartenders were busily pouring drinks, keeping tabs, and ignoring people trying to pay their tabs. Out of some stroke of good luck, two seats opened up, so Jeremy and I were able to sit. It took a bit of effort to get a bartender's attention and then get a menu, but we did so after three or four minutes. I'm really not a drinker, but since we were in the bar and out-and-about in DC for the night, I decided to live large. I ordered the Orange Blossom-Peach Cocktail (Smirnoff Orange Vodka, peach juice & orange blossom water; $10) and Jeremy had a cardamom martini (not listed on the website now; $10). The drinks were served in short, conic glasses resting atop a solid glass orb. The glass fit nicely into my hand, and the drink was deposited comfortably in my mouth. It did not taste too alcoholic, which I particularly liked. The drink was sweet and fruity, which is perfect for someone who's not much of a drinker. Jeremy typically goes for dirty martinis and other saltyish drinks, so the cardamom martini was a departure for him. He said it was sweet, so I got the impression it wasn't necessarily the best choice.

While we were having our drinks, our vibrating thingy went off, alerting us to the fact that a table was ready. Jeremy asked the hostess to buzz us again in 10 minutes, as we wanted to finish up at the bar. We left the bar before we were buzzed a second time and let the hostess know we were ready to be seated. We waited about 10 minutes before a table opened up. No big deal.

We were led to a table toward the front of the restaurant, parallel to the bar but separated by a wall (was it glass? I do not know). One seat was a real chair, while the other was a plush booth cozied up w/pillows. I asked Jeremy if he had a preference as to where to sit, but he said no. So you know which seat I took. :o)

I decided to let the man do the ordering, as I have a hard time deciding what to eat. (This also included him ordering himself a glass of wine and ordering me a drink called the White Rock, I think, that tasted like liquid birthday cake.) I'd eat almost anything off the menu (except for seafood), so I let him have free reign. He decided we'd get two meats, two veg, one seafood, and three cheeses (plated together). The second time Jeremy and I went out for dinner, back in December, I told him I'd try whatever he wanted to order. He ordered wonton tacos as an appetizer (we ate at Zengo), which were prepared w/slices of rare (read: raw) tuna. But good to my word, I ate 'em. And they were lovely. At Zaytinya, I told Jeremy I'd eat whatever he ordered--no exceptions. So, here's what he ordered...

Htipiti ($6.95): marinated roasted red peppers with feta and thyme
Hommus ($5.95): "Lebanese Taverna" style chickpea and tahini puree
Kalamari Me Spanaki ($6.95): sautéed squid with spinach, finished with dill butter
Lagos Krassatos Me Fakies ($7.50): braised rabbit with lentils
Lamb Chops with Hommus Bil Toum ($10.95): with roasted garlic-chickpea puree
Three cheeses: no clue what these were, but I know one was goat!

I take back what I said about not doing any decision-making: the only thing I insisted on was the hommus, as I've become somewhat of a hommus whore. I remembered the hommus at Zaytinya being a good choice, so I made sure that was included in the mezze mix.

The veggie mezze and the cheeses were the first to arrive. The three dishes were placed on the table, along with a small square vessel w/olive oil and vinegar, but something was missing. Napkins? Nope. Drinks? Nope. Pita? Oh yeeeeah, that would be good. On my previous visit to Zaytinya, pita was brought out shortly after the menus arrived, so I thought maybe it had just been forgotten this time. I asked the waiter who dropped off the first three dishes for some pita, but I think he knew that's what I was looking for. A couple of minutes later, baskets of pita started flooding into the dining room. It's probably safe to say that a fresh batch of pita had just come out of the oven and was now being distributed. The two-minute wait was worth it: the three oblong pitas came out piping hot, releasing a torrent of steam when their little pita heads were ripped off. The outside was slightly crisp and the inside squishy. This was true pocket bread.

While we were waiting for the pita, we decided to delve into the cheeses. Like I said, I have NO idea what they were--and I didn't take notes. One of the cheeses was goat, and it came spiced on the outside and wrapped in a grape leaf. It was paired w/an apricot compote. The cheese was creamy and rich with just the right amount of airiness. The compote brought out the existing sweetness. The other two cheeses were paired w/fig compote. Oh! I just remembered that one of the cheeses was feta. I usually don't like feta--way too salty for my taste. When I tried this feta on its own, that familiar saltiness snuck up on me as usual. The fig turned out to be a perfect accompaniment to the feta. In this case, the sweetness of the compote counterbalanced the saltiness of the cheese. I didn't know sweetness could do that; I thought salt enhanced sweetness and sugar enhanced saltiness. Whatever the case, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the feta thanks to its brilliant pairing.

After decapitating a pita, I took a bit of it between my thumb and forefinger and used it to pinch up a bit of the htipiti. The feta in the dish was not overwhelmingly salty, thankfully, so I encountered no problems in that regard. The red peppers were just what I expected: soggy. I don't like crunchy red pepper, but I like it roasted or marinated. The small pieces of pepper in the htipiti--although VERY abundant--were a fantastically slimy texture, if you can appreciate slimy foods.

The hommus at Zaytinya is smooth and creamy, without any of the grittiness some other hommuses have. The hommus was not runny like a thick soup, nor was it gloppy like mashed potatoes; it was somewhere in between. The hommus is presented in a shallow bowl. A well in the center is filled w/olive oil, and bright red sprinkles on top are the work of paprika. A few unsmashed garbanzo beans serve as edible decoration. The creamy, garlicky hommus is great. When Jeremy asked if we should have the waiter take it away, I shot him a look asking, "Are you freakin' crazy? Don't even think about it."

If I recall correctly, the three hot dishes arrived at the table at the same time. Since the rabbit was in the middle of the table (and the lamb was closer to me), we started on the rabbit. The serving looked almost like a puny chicken leg. But no, it was Thumper. The rabbit was served atop a bed of lentils, which I thought were overcooked a bit. Then again, I'm hardly a lentil connoisseur, but I digress... The rabbit was tender, just as I'd expect. I think of rabbit as game, so I thought it would be a greasier, darker meat than it turned out to be. The rabbit meat was light in color and not very greasy. It tasted like chicken (surprise!), so I didn't feel all that daring.

I did feel daring when Jeremy told me I had to eat some of his calamari. Now, I've had a piece of fried calamari from time to time, not really enjoying what I'm eating, but trying it just to make sure I still don't like it. Time after time, I still don't like it. Jeremy's calamari was not fried; it was sauteed w/spinach and butter and (supposedly) dill. I told Jeremy to fork me a small piece, but he must've chosen a piece sliced off the biggest tentacle on the squid. I asked him if I could wrap it up in pita. He said no. I asked him if I had to chew it. He said yes. Wanting to get it over w/, I slid the squid ring into my mouth. I brought my teeth together. I chewed. And chewed. And chewed. And chewed. Holy crap, is that thing like an Everlasting Gobstopper? No matter how much I chewed, I could NOT get the mass of seafood in my mouth to decrease in size. I was not enjoying myself, as I felt like I was chewing on a squid-flavored balloon. I eventually just swallowed. Ugh. The end result remains the same: I do not like calamari.

The lamb chop plate consisted of two chops atop a serving of the hommus, surrounded by some lamb juiciness in the form of a sauce. The lamb was cooked medium-rare, which was just right. Unlike some lamb I'd eaten earlier that week, this lamb was not gamey. I appreciate a piece of lamb that doesn't taste gamey. The spice rub on the outside complemented the natural flavor of the lamb, while the hommus was, of course, a welcome addition. I cut off small pieces of lamb, dipped them in hommus, and wrapped everything up in a pinch of pita: a mini shawarma at my fingertips--literally.

The service at Zaytinya was very attentive. Our waiter didn't talk much, but he didn't need to. He didn't seem to go out of his way to make us feel welcome at the restaurant, but at 9 p.m. on a Friday, how excited would YOU be to be working? Our water glasses were filled at least 3-4 times during our meal, and our pita basket was even replaced w/a completely new one when we had a little less than one pita left. We were well-attended to yet were left alone enough as not to feel as if our waiter were obtrusive.

We were offered the dessert menu, which we only glanced at. After sharing six plates of food and having two drinks apiece, Jeremy and I weren't really in the mood for dessert.

And as you noticed, I don't have any pictures. Why not, you ask? Well, Zaytinya is a nice place. I didn't want to be the strange chick who hauls in a big camera and takes pictures of food before anyone can eat it ("Don't touch the hommus! I need a picture of it exactly how it arrived!"). Plus, once I was walking to the Metro, I realized I'd left my camera in my apartment. So, if you want pictures from Zaytinya, go take your own. :o) You won't regret it.

Zaytinya
701 9th St., NW
Washington, DC
202.638.0800
http://www.zaytinya.com/