Mama Ayesha’s is one of those places we had been meaning to try forever — we walk by it all the time and it always looks *warm* Last night was the night we finally went, and it was good. We sat out on the patio, since it was unusually cool for a July night, and started with hummus and some drinks. The hummus was lemony with not too much garlic, which is always good in my book of hummus’s. I ordered the Koo’ sa Mahshi – yellow squash stuffed full of rice and lamb and “special spices” (the reason I choose it) and it was tasty but very filling. Shish Taouk– chicken with grilled veggies and rice– was Matt’s choice for dinner. The bite that I tried was spiced just right.
The two best parts of the meal, however, were 1) our very attentive and pleasant waiter and 2) the foot traffic going by on the way to the Adams Morgan bars. Not to take anything away from the delicious meal, but part of the appeal was watching all the bar-goers parade by us on their way out for the night. Lot’s of mini-skirts and 21st birthday tiaras… though next time we go, we’ll likely sit inside to experience what looked to be a very sumptuous interior space.
It’s also worth the time to read the front cover of the menu for the history of the restaurant. I won’t give it all away here, but it does involve foreign dignitaries.
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Mmm… deliciousness
June 9th, 2008
We are back in action after a 4-day trip to New Orleans, and celebrate we did! The highlight of the trip, for me at least, was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten — at Stella! Restaurant where Jill is working. Check out the amazing sorbet dessert above – it’s inside an ice bowl.
Old City Cafe is the bomb-diggity. They serve yummy falafel sandwiches and the best part is loading it up at their scoop-it-yourself toppin’ bar. I’m not exactly sure what all the fixings are, but there are a lot of them to choose from. Tzatziki, tomato salsas, sour cream, spicy green stuff, other spicy red stuff. Who knows? It all tastes good when mixed with the falafel balls.
1773 Columbia Road — and it’s open til 4am on weekends.
For awhile now, we had been meaning to try Zorba’s Cafe on 20th St. near Dupont Circle. The verdict: great choice for cheap and informal but very tasty Greek food. You place your order at the counter, and then sit and wait until your number is called. There is plenty of upstairs and downstairs seating, and all of the pretty photos of sunny Greece on the walls are for sale, which is fun. Combined with the Greek music that was playing, I will admit that it made me a little nostalgic of my trip there last summer.
Our Pizza Kerkyra and Combination Plate of souvlaki, kefte and rice, with hummus, pita bread, Greek salad, and two dolmathes (meat stuffed grape leaves) came out relatively quickly and were satisfyingly yummy. I wouldn’t say that the pizza was overly “Greek,” but I would still recommend it, and while anything stuffed with meat usually goes over well, the dolmathes were not our favorites. I think because the grape leaves scare me.
I’m looking forward to another visit during warmer weather, when we can take advantage of the outdoor cafe seating, and also try something from the not-overly-expensive wine list. OPA!
Lori and I continued our weekly (or almost weekly) new restaurant excursion tonight. In the past, this has taken us to such local gems as Afghan Grill, Thaiphoon, and New Heights. Tonight’s trip took us to Mediterra in Woodley Park (when it is cold out you don’t want to stray too far from home). Overall impression of this Mediterranean restaurant = over-priced with sub-par service. The waitress was generally inattentive and was not able to bring our dishes out in the proper order, nor did she not bother check how I preferred my steak to be prepared (what I got was over done and rubbery). The Lamb Pita that we ordered came out on a French Baguette. To be fair, it was still good on a baguette. The Roman Pizza was smothered in oil and was actually quite good, if you like lots of oil. The layout and furnishing of Mediterra did not help its case. The space felt too wide open and under populated with tables/chairs and streaky painting on the walls. Half of the chairs in the restaurant were made of chintzy metal with a bronze finish. Mediterra has a decent drink menu and pretty extensive list of Mediterranean appetizers but I would not come back for more than drinks/appetizers.
I give it a 1 out of 5 and don’t see a return visit in the near future.
Cold, Wet DC Winter: BOSSA Project
January 11th, 2008
BOSSA Project on 18th St in Adams Morgan was a good cure for the seasonal depression that could have occured on a cold, wet, foggy night in January. If you can figure out how to get through the heavy tangle of curtains on the way in, you’ll find a cozy sofa area with lots of pillows to relax upon. And also plenty of candlelit tables. Bow. chica. bow. wow. We ate Caprese and Fried Calamari–pretty standard– and waited for the 4-piece jazz band to start playing. Overall experience = 7 stars. Potential of a full 10 stars on a more crowded night, and maybe the food will be more exciting if we venture off the appetizzzzzzer list. The rest of the photo set…
ooooo! I almost forgot. The owner of the bar played guitar for the band. And so that was cool.
Redskins in the Playoffs! Nothing else do to but watch the game on the big screen at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. Surrounded by lots of excited, intoxicated, screaming Skins fans, it was a cool venue for the big game. We were lucky enough to get a group of seats together, without too many Seahawks fans around us.In a pre-game interview with Sellers 8-year old daughter, she predicted that the Redskins were going to win it 100-0.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and the first-round loss meant that we don’t get to take on the Cowboys again next week. Until next season, we will be rebuilding and keeping the memory of #21 Sean Taylor alive. Waiting for Campbell’s knee to heal. Wondering if Gibbs will return for another season. And waiting for Eastern Motors commercials to come on tv.
Bento Box Dinner #1 and Bento Box Dinner #2: on Friday night we tried out Fusion’s Alley on Connecticutt Ave. in Woodley Park. Overall rating = 5 out of 10. Food was decent, as was the service. Atmosphere and decor were a little uninspiring. Definitely not the best Bento Box I’ve ever had. Seems like it would be a better lunchtime stop.
