Zorba's Cafe: Hellas good

When I studied abroad in Greece, I was completely enthralled by not only the friendly people and unspeakably gorgeous countryside, but also the bright and savory flavors of Greek food. I still dream about the lamb gyros from the street vendor in the the Plaka, a neighborhood in Athens, near the apartment where I stayed. The thing about Greek food (and much Mediterranean cuisine, actually) is that it needn't be complicated to be good. In fact, most often, the simplest dishes are the best.

And when I'm feeling nostalgic for the simple pleasures of taverna-style food, nothing satisies my craving like Zorba's Cafe. The Dupont Circle establishment that serves up excellent renditions of classic Greek dishes like Mousaka, Souvlaki, Pastitsio, and of course, Gyros, as well as awesome hummus and - my favorite - tzatziki.

So when my sister and Megan were in town visiting me, and we wanted a quick yet satisfying bite to eat, Zorba's was a no-brainer. I ordered the Gyro Plate (or Yero Plate, as it's spelled on the menu) - marinated sliced beef and lamb on pita bread, a Greek salad, and french fries. My sister got the Fasolia Plakee, which is white beans cooked with tomatoes, onions, and herbs, and Megan ordered the Kefte Kebabs (Mediterranean meatballs).

It was an unseasonably warm night, so we took our food out to Zorba's patio to people watch on 20th Street while we ate. (Zorba's doesn't do table service. You just order food at the counter and then can either dine in or take it to go.)

The food was simple and delicious. The service was friendly, the vibe relaxed. It's not the Plaka, but it's about as close as it gets here in the District.

Good to know:
Zorba's Cafe is located at 1612 20th Street, NW, pretty much across the street from the north entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro Stop on the Red Line.

Photo of Zorba's Cafe by Flickr user Skippy13.

Adams Morning

Happiness is waking up slowly with a cup of freshly brewed Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee (ground from whole beans, which you can find at Marvelous Market), sitting by my window and watching the morning's first light tiptoe over the rooftops on the other side of Kalorama Park.

Photo of morning light in Adams Morgan by Flickr user Pappa91.

A classic combination at Cafe Mozart

DC's thriving food scene has produced some pretty sexy restaurants of late. Wolfgang Puck is serving up his signature upscale cuisine at his newest outpost, The Source, at downtown's Newseum. Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin renown, has DC's scenesters flocking to the West End, for haute bistro fare at his aptly named Westend Bistro, while Michel Richard dishes up luscious $29 lobster burgers at Central. And you can't talk about DC's restaurant scene without mentioning Jose Andres, the man who brought such sleek venues as Cafe Atlantico, the minibar, Oyamel, and Zaytinya to our fair city, delighting the palates and emptying the wallets of Washingtonians eager to dine at restaurants as sophisticated as any you'll find in the traditionally great restaurant cities of NYC or San Francisco.

Indeed, as anyone who's been to Penn Quarter lately will attest to, DC now boasts an almost dizzying array of these chic joints. And don't get me wrong - I wouldn't turn down a reservation at the minibar if I were Wylie Dufresne himself.

However.

Sometimes a girl just wants some sauerkraut.

And a beer.

That's where the oft-overlooked Old World charms of Cafe Mozart come in. It doesn't look like much from the outside of its H Street location, its lit-up deli storefront the lone bit of life in this gray and blandly landscaped part of DC's office district. Hidden behind its modest exterior, however, lies the type of humble gem that reminds me why I write about food in the first place.

Cafe Mozart is actually a deli, lounge, and restaurant all in one. Upon entering, you are greeted with a konditorei-like area, where you can peruse the large variety of German snacks, confections, and groceries, or have a seat to sip some coffee or have a snack from the deli. Walking further into the establishment, however, the neon lights of the deli give way to a dimly lit lounge area, paneled in dark wood, which, in turn, leads to the actual restaurant itself, a quaintly-decorated dining room, whose formality is tempered by its cozy size and the soft strains of live classical piano music.

Jason and I both ordered the sausage sampler, a plate brimming with bite-size samples of about five different kinds of sausage, accompanied by wonderfully briny sauerkraut, red cabbage, and German potato salad (which was flecked with bits of bacon). My favorite of the sausages was actually mild and slightly garlicky, which, judging from the descriptions on the menu, was probably the Smoked Chicken Apple sausage. There was also a nice, hearty bratwurst somewhere in there, along with what appeared to be the Polish Kielbassy. In addition to a mouth-watering variety of sausages, Cafe Mozart's dinner menu also offers lots of other traditional German entrees, including six different kinds of schnitzel.

On the beverage front, beer was the obvious choice, alhough I can't recall what kinds we ordered. Mine was a Pilsen-something, and tasted a lot like Heineken. In taking our beverage order, our waitress asked if we would like a "small, half-liter, full-liter, or (and I am not making this up) a keg with a straw." Being reasonable human beings, we went with the half-liters, but I'm pretty curious to see what happens should you choose the last option.

I was definitely tempted to order the Black Forest Cake for dessert (Chocolate cake, with a Kirshwasser flavored filling of whipped cream and Morello cherries), but, alas, I was too full to justify it. We ended up ordering some schnapps instead though, peppermint for Jason and apple for me.

Happily buzzed and talking only half-jokingly about planning a trip to Germany for Oktoberfest, we ventured back out into the chilly January night. Walking down 14th Street, I realized we were nearing the stylish Butterfield 9, whose glittery decor and upscale modern American cuisine I've been wanting to experience since it opened to critical acclaim a couple years ago. I usually lust after it each time I walk by.

I don't know what it was, but this time, I found myself pining just a little bit less.

Good to know:
Cafe Mozart is located at 1331 H Street, NW, about equidistant from the McPherson Square Metro stop on the Blue or Orange line, or the Metro Center stop on the Red, Orange, or Blue line. Atmosphere is pretty casual. For those with cars, please designate a driver if you order the keg with a straw.

Photo of sausage platter (or wurstplatte) by Flickr user Bopuc. (It's not a photo of Cafe Mozart's sausage platter though, which I couldn't find online.)

Pixie Dust

One of the best things about living in Adams Morgan is the continual
sense of being surrounded by things as-of-yet undiscovered. The
neighborhood continues to reveal its nuances, and, perhaps to the
surprise of some, I'm finding that there's more to this place than
bars, clubs, and absurdly large slices of pizza (though admittedly,
about 96% of the joints along 18th Street fall into one of the three
categories.)

Happily, though, the other 4% can hold their own. As evidence, I
present one of my favorite recent discoveries, Miss Pixie's Furnishings & Whatnot, a thoroughly charming treasure trove of antique and vintage furnishing and...whatnot. With an eye for the feminine, the ornate, and the fabulous, Miss Pixie's pink-painted walls house a whimsical - yet, well-edited - collection of furniture, kitchenware, art, and all sorts of other knickknacks.

I'm not sure who Miss Pixie is, but she has impeccable taste, with sort of an Anthropologie meets Charlotte York vibe, only less expensive (on both counts). On my first trip, I found a sweet little mustard-yellow end table, with an even sweeter price tag in the double digits. More recently, on New Year's Eve, upon realizing that I had no champagne flutes, I headed over to Miss Pixie's and scored a vintage set of four for $12.

Unlike some antique emporiums, Miss Pixie's is not overly cluttered. In fact, browsing the neatly displayed collection feels pleasantly like wandering around your most stylish friend's apartment, whose furnishings just happen to be for sale. Plates of chocolate chip cookies add to the coziness factor, as does a sales staff who remembers faces and names.

Chatting with the uber-friendly sales assistant on my last foray, I found out that Miss Pixie's neighbor, the beloved lounge/coffeeshop Tryst, actually buys most of its furniture from Miss Pixie's. (I'm actually typing this post from Tryst, in case you're wondering whether all those yuppies on their iBooks are actually writing things of substance or just typing emails to Mom. Ok, so I did that too. Hi Mom.)

And, um, all this writing about Miss Pixie's is making me wonder what new stuff she's got in the store, so I think I'll finish my latte, close up the iBook, and head on over.

Good to know:
Miss Pixie's is located at 2473 18th Street, in the heart of Adams Morgan. It's Metro-accessible, well, you know the drill, dear readers...Dupont or Woodley on the Red Line. Take yer pick.

Photo of 18th Street (Miss Pixie's is the store with the pink awning, naturally) by Flickr user Eye Captain.

A Raw Deal on U Street

At long last, dear readers, my new power cord has arrived, and thus I make my triumpant return to the blogosphere.

Of all the places I've visited since my last update, U Street's awesome Ethiopian restaurant, Dukem, is the most deserving subject of the first post of 2008. I'd heard rumors of Dukem's excellence, and have had more than a couple cab drivers' recommend its savory fare, but it was actually Jason who beat me to the punch. Or to the beef, as the case may be.

I dunno about you, but as far as I'm concerned, with beef, rare is good, and raw is even better. So when Jason went to Dukem and came back swooning over its beef tartare (called kifto), I didn't need any more convincing. We went on a Friday night, without reservations, which is a gamble in itself - unsurprisingly, Dukem is no secret among DC's cognoscenti. However, we had a surprisingly short wait at the bar before we were seated.

Needless to say, I ordered the kitfo, which you can order by itself or in combination with other items. I got mine with a couple other things (a spicy lamb dish, and another beef preparation), however, the kitfo sticks out in my memory. Cool and buttery, with hints of chili and cardamon, the kitfo literally slides down your throat. Even the highest-grade tuna tartare has nothing on this stuff. Scooped up with some spongy injera, and washed down with a cold beer, it was definitely an experience I won't soon forget. However, I'll gladly return to Dukem to remind myself anew.

Good to know:
Dukem is located at 1114 U St., NW (at 12th St), practically steps away from the U Street - Cardozo Metro stop on the Green or Yellow line.

Photo of Dukem combination plate by Flickr user keegie_in_dc.

An Update

Dear loyal readers (and I know there are at least two of you),

Due to technical difficulties (namely, an ornery power cord), my ability to blog has been momentarily halted (with the exception of quick missives like this one dashed off on my lunch break at work) .

Not to worry, however. According to UPS, my new power cord should be arriving any day now, and in the meantime, I have been eating, drinking, and frolicking at lotsa neat places (raw beef, excellent Greek food, and a sweet antique shop are coming soon to a blog near you).

I appreciate your patience, and hope that you will continue to choose my blog for your web-surfing needs.

xoxo