Category — Restaurant News & Reviews

courtesy of Neyla

Giddau would hunch over the giant bowl of lamb, carefully threading each cube onto metal skewers long enough to double as javelins. They were artful, these skewers, a confetti of green peppers, red cherry tomatoes, white onions and the brown-red vinegared lamb. “Meshwi,” as it was called, tasted even better than it looked, charred over coals in the backyard. We would wrap a piece of Syrian bread around the skewer and slip off its contents, making sure every drop of juice was caught by the bread.  A little cucumber on the side, a dollop of yogurt. It doesn’t get better than that.

I’ve had this dish many times in restaurants, of course, but it’s always been called “kebab.” The word “meshwi” was nowhere to be found. Until now.

Washington, DC-based restaurant Neyla has just launched a “Meshwi Menu” — that’s right, not just one dish, but an entire line up of grilled, skewered meats. Granted, they’re still calling the skewers themselves “kebab,” but at least they’ve named the traditional open-pit grill and the menu it produces a “meshwi,” or, loosely translated, a “barbeque.”

The word “kebab” (or kebap, kabab, kebob, kabob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, qabab)  is Persian in orgin, but it has become a generic for any Middle Eastern meat-on-a-skewer. By using the mostly Syrian and Lebanese word “meshwi,” the restaurateurs — and hopefully the public — are moving toward making distinctions between the rich and varied cultures of the region’s individual countries. [Read more →]

Beef Bobotie/by Darko Zagar

Tired of beer and sandwiches with your FIFA World Cup action? In honor of the world’s most beloved sport and its host country, DC’s Peacock Cafe is featuring a special South African menu to be enjoyed along with high-def coverage of the games on the restaurant’s two televisions. South African classics like Beef Bobotie, a curry and meat dish served with yellow rice and a side of mango chutney, Karoo Lamb Pie, and Vetkoek, puffy bread filled with meat and cheese, should take the edge off not being able to get to the games yourself. If you are truly crazed — meaning you get up to watch the early games — Peacock is also offering fresh pastries for morning games. Like the games, the menu runs through July 11.

In New York, supporters of Team France will find bar and dinner specials during every French Cup game at Meli Melo Restaurant, a bistro with a massive flat screen and Cote du Rhone. How good is that?

courtesy Gourmet Latino Festival

What do you know about culinary tradition and the power of women in Latin America? Nothing, right? Okay, maybe you do, but I don’t and I would LOVE to.

If, like me, you don’t have enough cash to reach Buenos Aires head instead for the Gourmet Latino Festival, an eight-day celebration of Latin foods, cocktails, wines and coffees that kicks off in New York this weekend. The festival brings together more than 40 of well-known Latin chefs, mixologists and tastemasters from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, México, Perú, Uruguay, and elsewhere.

The festival boasts seminars on rum, agave, coconut. There will be dancing. There will be music. There will be eating. There will be lots of stimulating conversation. All that, and a brunch featuring levantamuertos (awake the dead) food and drink.

And if you see Chef Aaron Sanchez, who’s hosting several events, tell him he’s my dude (you gotta love him. He’s the nice one on Food Network’s “Chopped”) The festival runs June 4-June 12 in New York. See their website for more details and to buy tickets.