"Those photos look like porn."
Taste & See: Have you ever seen a candid portrait of someone caught in a moment of pure, artless beauty? Not beauty because the subject objectively is beautiful, but because the eye capturing the image views his subject generously, indeed, uncovers beauty in something that is, perhaps, quite ordinary to an untrained eye. The adoration is channeled into the resulting photograph; you see this image, and immediately perceive the photographer truly loves his subject.
This was my gut reaction to my own photographs of the Persian & pan-Mediterranean food below. When I first showed a friend a full-screen photo of the jumbo shrimp, below, she promptly responded: "Those photos look like porn." The roasted vegetables and grilled prawns are luscious, even lusty. Soft candlelight bathes the food, giving mere glimpses and shadowing the rest in a kind of hidden intimacy, to be known only with senses beyond sight. The food is, how do I say it . . . sexy, objects of my unabashed adoration all.
It began with a goodbye dinner for a Persian colleague this past summer in Bangkok. Or was it a birthday meal at the lovely Zatinya in DC last February snug around a fireplace as flurries of snow built up outside? Or . . . well, maybe this particular affair crept up surreptitiously. All I know is now I see my own photographs and know immediately I am in love.
This is still a rather recent obsession, so please pardon the lack of tried & true recipes as I get to know a new range and combination of flavors: cinnamon, cumin saffron, raisins, almonds, dates, lemon juice, garlic, parsley. For now, please feel free to lust after the food in the photographs. I'm not a jealous girl; I'm happy to share this particular affair with all who wish to partake.
Zatinya: I have seriously considered hopping aboard the Chinatown bus for the mere pleasure of a meal at Zatinya, conveniently located in DC's own Chinatown. I have no doubt the food fantasies would pass the hours there, and the sighs of contentment the hours home. In the mean time I content myself with a visit every time I'm in town. Zatinya serves mezze, small platters meant to be shared with the whole table. Their website kindly informs that:
"Mezze, also known as meze, maza and mezethes, are the small plates of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East . . . the extensive menu reflects the rich, regional diversity of classical and contemporary Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine. It wouldn’t be accurate to describe mezze as an appetizer. These small bites are not typically served preceding a meal. Mezze are better described as party food, a meal meant for socializing. The perfect thing to serve at gathering of friends and family. A drink, a little conversation and mezze shared by everyone at the table."
I am perfectly happy to oblige with the drink and conversation, though with such lovely dishes even the best of us may find ourselves hoping a sudden bout of illness among our dining partners forces us to enjoy all the food ourselves.
During my last visit we began with Sarikopite ($7), a butternut squash puree in phyllo over yogurt topped with arugula and a honey vinaigrette.
Lately I've been loving the crispy-outside creamy-inside contrast, present here. Mildly bitter arugula provided a second lovely contrast to the lightly sweet dressing and squash puree filling.
I have high hopes of recreating the dish below. The flavors involved-- jumbo shrimp, butter, parsley, garlic, olive oil-- have so much potential they hardly need a skillful chef to delight.
What they do require is a deft hand, patience & trust; one must cook only just to the precise moment the beautiful shrimp are done, but not rubbery. As with tuna, it is all too easy to make lovely raw ingredients utterly unappealing by mishandling. Avoiding this is a skill that only comes through practice . . . which means I'll just have to keep practicing this dish at home. How I suffer for my art.
Seared Sea Scallops with Yogurt-Dill Sauce ($8.50), like seared-tuna, take patience, precision and faith. You simply cannot overcook them or all the time gone into prep will be wasted, the meaty sweetness giving way to flavorless rubber. These, however, were gorgeous, just a bit of a caramelized crust seared on top.
The absolute highlight of the meal came while I was absentmindedly sampling the waiter-recommended Seasonal Mushrooms ($10). I had ordered them with great hesitation; how good could plain mushrooms be? Turns out, very good.
A light dose of high quality olive oil & slivered almonds bring out a rich, woodsy flavor in the mushrooms. But the true jewel came in an unexpected soft caramelly jolt that momentarily brought conversation to a standstill. I gazed heavenwards and shut my eyes to absorb the incredible flavor-- and my partner thought I was choking. No, just admiring a piece of luscious roasted date.
I kid you not, when a friend asked about my weekend, all I could think to report was, "I had an amazing date." It took me a minute to realize this statement was open to misinterpretation.
We finished with meat, clawing to the bone two Lamb Chops with Hommus Bil Toum ($11).
The grilled lamb chops were served with roasted garlic atop a chickpea puree. I feel there is no need to elaborate on the pleasure of eating this particular dish; lamb chops speak for themself.
I accompanied my meat with a Mavrodaphne/Merlot, Antonopoulos, Achaia, Greece ‘05 ($12) which was a bit heavy on the tannins at first sip, but smoothed out as it had some time to breathe. (For those unfamiliar with wine terminology, 'breathe' just means the wine has some exposure to air in the glass and mellows out a bit.
Ravagh: When I planned a recent outing for a group I was charged with finding something charming, approaching fancy, and cheap as possible. I did a favor to my reputation for good eats by choosing Persian food from Ravagh, on recommendation from D, a Persian friend who, along with half of Yelp, claims it is the best Persian food in the city.
D helped me concoct a set menu scanning a variety of delights, including some surefire hits destined to please the least-adventurous eaters, and a few entirely new dishes. But with suggestions like Pomegranate & Walnut Chicken over Crispy Rice how can one go wrong? Best of all, our spread of multiple appetizers & entrees from several different families of food was a mere $10 pp. My only complaint-- I was forced to share all these delights with a huge group of equally infatuated eaters, none of whom wanted to hold off until everything had been properly photographed. I suppose is it my culinary duty to return for more involved research.
Our menu included, among other things, Mast & Moosir, homemade yogurt with shallots ($3.50); Torshi, a plate of homemade pickled vegetables ($4.00); Kashk Bademjan, eggplant with tomato sauce, seasonings & yogurt sauce ($5.00); Ash Reshteh, a Persian soup with vegetables, chick peas & kidney beans ($4.00); various Kabobs, each of which come with rice, grilled vegetables and a side salad; and several stews, such as Khoresh Fesenjan, the aforementioned pomegranate walnut chicken ($12.00).
To start with, piles of warm Flatbread:
And Crudites for munching:
Those lusty Grilled Vegetables:
Meat Kabobs & heaping sides of Rice, no threat to anyone unsure of their readiness to venture too far out, but thanks to succulent flavors and tender meat, far from boring:
To my dismay, no one ended up being unadventurous and I had to share the more intriguing, richly flavored dishes with everyone else. Alas. The important thing was everyone got to try a little something new and wonderful. And that the food was so sexy, it made us feel like dancing . . . When was the last time you left dinner saying that?
This was my gut reaction to my own photographs of the Persian & pan-Mediterranean food below. When I first showed a friend a full-screen photo of the jumbo shrimp, below, she promptly responded: "Those photos look like porn." The roasted vegetables and grilled prawns are luscious, even lusty. Soft candlelight bathes the food, giving mere glimpses and shadowing the rest in a kind of hidden intimacy, to be known only with senses beyond sight. The food is, how do I say it . . . sexy, objects of my unabashed adoration all.
It began with a goodbye dinner for a Persian colleague this past summer in Bangkok. Or was it a birthday meal at the lovely Zatinya in DC last February snug around a fireplace as flurries of snow built up outside? Or . . . well, maybe this particular affair crept up surreptitiously. All I know is now I see my own photographs and know immediately I am in love.
This is still a rather recent obsession, so please pardon the lack of tried & true recipes as I get to know a new range and combination of flavors: cinnamon, cumin saffron, raisins, almonds, dates, lemon juice, garlic, parsley. For now, please feel free to lust after the food in the photographs. I'm not a jealous girl; I'm happy to share this particular affair with all who wish to partake.
Zatinya: I have seriously considered hopping aboard the Chinatown bus for the mere pleasure of a meal at Zatinya, conveniently located in DC's own Chinatown. I have no doubt the food fantasies would pass the hours there, and the sighs of contentment the hours home. In the mean time I content myself with a visit every time I'm in town. Zatinya serves mezze, small platters meant to be shared with the whole table. Their website kindly informs that:
"Mezze, also known as meze, maza and mezethes, are the small plates of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East . . . the extensive menu reflects the rich, regional diversity of classical and contemporary Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine. It wouldn’t be accurate to describe mezze as an appetizer. These small bites are not typically served preceding a meal. Mezze are better described as party food, a meal meant for socializing. The perfect thing to serve at gathering of friends and family. A drink, a little conversation and mezze shared by everyone at the table."
I am perfectly happy to oblige with the drink and conversation, though with such lovely dishes even the best of us may find ourselves hoping a sudden bout of illness among our dining partners forces us to enjoy all the food ourselves.
During my last visit we began with Sarikopite ($7), a butternut squash puree in phyllo over yogurt topped with arugula and a honey vinaigrette.
Lately I've been loving the crispy-outside creamy-inside contrast, present here. Mildly bitter arugula provided a second lovely contrast to the lightly sweet dressing and squash puree filling.
I have high hopes of recreating the dish below. The flavors involved-- jumbo shrimp, butter, parsley, garlic, olive oil-- have so much potential they hardly need a skillful chef to delight.
What they do require is a deft hand, patience & trust; one must cook only just to the precise moment the beautiful shrimp are done, but not rubbery. As with tuna, it is all too easy to make lovely raw ingredients utterly unappealing by mishandling. Avoiding this is a skill that only comes through practice . . . which means I'll just have to keep practicing this dish at home. How I suffer for my art.
Seared Sea Scallops with Yogurt-Dill Sauce ($8.50), like seared-tuna, take patience, precision and faith. You simply cannot overcook them or all the time gone into prep will be wasted, the meaty sweetness giving way to flavorless rubber. These, however, were gorgeous, just a bit of a caramelized crust seared on top.
The absolute highlight of the meal came while I was absentmindedly sampling the waiter-recommended Seasonal Mushrooms ($10). I had ordered them with great hesitation; how good could plain mushrooms be? Turns out, very good.
A light dose of high quality olive oil & slivered almonds bring out a rich, woodsy flavor in the mushrooms. But the true jewel came in an unexpected soft caramelly jolt that momentarily brought conversation to a standstill. I gazed heavenwards and shut my eyes to absorb the incredible flavor-- and my partner thought I was choking. No, just admiring a piece of luscious roasted date.
I kid you not, when a friend asked about my weekend, all I could think to report was, "I had an amazing date." It took me a minute to realize this statement was open to misinterpretation.
We finished with meat, clawing to the bone two Lamb Chops with Hommus Bil Toum ($11).
The grilled lamb chops were served with roasted garlic atop a chickpea puree. I feel there is no need to elaborate on the pleasure of eating this particular dish; lamb chops speak for themself.
I accompanied my meat with a Mavrodaphne/Merlot, Antonopoulos, Achaia, Greece ‘05 ($12) which was a bit heavy on the tannins at first sip, but smoothed out as it had some time to breathe. (For those unfamiliar with wine terminology, 'breathe' just means the wine has some exposure to air in the glass and mellows out a bit.
Ravagh: When I planned a recent outing for a group I was charged with finding something charming, approaching fancy, and cheap as possible. I did a favor to my reputation for good eats by choosing Persian food from Ravagh, on recommendation from D, a Persian friend who, along with half of Yelp, claims it is the best Persian food in the city.
D helped me concoct a set menu scanning a variety of delights, including some surefire hits destined to please the least-adventurous eaters, and a few entirely new dishes. But with suggestions like Pomegranate & Walnut Chicken over Crispy Rice how can one go wrong? Best of all, our spread of multiple appetizers & entrees from several different families of food was a mere $10 pp. My only complaint-- I was forced to share all these delights with a huge group of equally infatuated eaters, none of whom wanted to hold off until everything had been properly photographed. I suppose is it my culinary duty to return for more involved research.
Our menu included, among other things, Mast & Moosir, homemade yogurt with shallots ($3.50); Torshi, a plate of homemade pickled vegetables ($4.00); Kashk Bademjan, eggplant with tomato sauce, seasonings & yogurt sauce ($5.00); Ash Reshteh, a Persian soup with vegetables, chick peas & kidney beans ($4.00); various Kabobs, each of which come with rice, grilled vegetables and a side salad; and several stews, such as Khoresh Fesenjan, the aforementioned pomegranate walnut chicken ($12.00).
To start with, piles of warm Flatbread:
And Crudites for munching:
Those lusty Grilled Vegetables:
Meat Kabobs & heaping sides of Rice, no threat to anyone unsure of their readiness to venture too far out, but thanks to succulent flavors and tender meat, far from boring:
To my dismay, no one ended up being unadventurous and I had to share the more intriguing, richly flavored dishes with everyone else. Alas. The important thing was everyone got to try a little something new and wonderful. And that the food was so sexy, it made us feel like dancing . . . When was the last time you left dinner saying that?
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