Today for dinner Anna, Jenn, Mas and I went to
Zaytinya. I have eaten at this restaurant a few times before, but everyone else was a newbie. Except Anna has visited the restaurant last year to see how the kitchen was run. She told this fact to our host and asked if the chef she observed last year was in the kitchen: he wasn't.
But, we received 6 free appetizers on the house: thanks, Anna!!!!
Hommus
puree of chickpeas and tahini
Labneh
Lebanese strained yogurt with zatar
Baba Ghannouge
puree of fire-roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon and garlic
Htipiti
marinated roasted red peppers mixed with feta and thyme
Tzatziki
yogurt with diced cucumbers and dill
Taramosalata
“light as air”
The rest of the food we ordered ourselves :)
The Menu
Fig salad with tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta
Grape-Leaves Dolmades
grape leaves with rice, tomato, fennel, pine nuts and
golden raisins over labneh
Kibbeh Nayeh
ground to order: Lebanese style beef tartar,
bulgar wheat, radish and mint
Fried Squid
olive oil-crisped squid with garlic-yogurt sauce
Asparagus Ezme
grilled asparagus spicy tomato-onion sauce
Sea Scallops
seared scallops with yogurt-dill sauce
Hünkãr Begendi
traditional Turkish braised lamb shank with an
eggplant-kefalograviera puree
Baby Squash Couscous
sunburst spinach, baby zucchini, crispy garlic,
tomato-lemon broth
Crispy Skirt Steak
spicy zhough sauce, yogurt radish salad
Roasted Cauliflower
sultans, caper leaves and pine nut puree
Seared Salmon
herb marinated salmon with roasted garlic yogurt and micro cilantro
Swordfish Kebab
seared swordfish, roasted peppers, red onion and parsley sauce
Thoughts: this was one of the most satisfying dinners I've had in quite some time! Our choices were right on (other than maybe cous-cous). The food was fresh, flavorful, imaginatively prepared and filling! No room for dessert.