Karamara Ethiopian Restaurant, Arlington, VA

3205 Columbia Pike

Arlington, VA 22204
703.271.0202

Next to the Panda Express Chinese restaurant, this place looks much smaller than it is. We came to Karamara for a "linner," so besides us there was only one other table occupied. Walking in, it seems like a tiny carry out, but the upstairs opens up to a large dining room. The feel of the place is dark and dingy. Railing along the stairs is broken exposing dried gummy glue. There was only one waitress, who was very nice, but clearly more preoccupied with getting the kitchen ready for dinner than with the diners in the restaurant.


We ordered a vegetable sampler of 5 items, including spicy lentils, a pico-de-gallo type of side mixed in with pieces of injera called "fit fit", a mixture of boiled cabbage, potato and carrots and chick peas. As opposed to most other Ethiopian restaurants, like Meaza or Merkamo or Lalibella, the flavors here were definitely toned down and not great. We ordered 2 types of tibs, which is the typical Ethiopian dish consisting of pieces of steak grilled with jalapenos. We ordered the house specialty tips, the Karamara Tibs, and the regular Beef Tibs. The Karamara tips were dry and flavorful. However the Beef Tibs came in a oily sauce that even as a fan of stews, I found very oily and runny, coupled with the fact that there was a very weird and unsavory flavor to them. It was like a mixture of being "gamey" and... just weird, not in a good way.

We tried this place because we had a Specialicous coupon and love Ethiopian food. Washington DC metro area is very lucky to have so many wonderful Ethiopian restaurants, so we have tried most of them. Unfortunately, Karamara is not a restaurant worthy of a second trip.

Cassat's Kiwi Cafe - a taste of New Zealand - Arlington, VA

4536 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22207
(703) 527-3330

If you put pico de gallo on a waffle, does it become Spanish? If you put wasabi paste on a grilled cheese sandwich does it become Japanese? If you serve burgers with curry, does it become an Indian burger? In all three cases, perhaps (but definitely not with the Indian burger); however, what these illustrations do prove is when cuisines can adapt it can work. When there is very little food that is “indigenous” to a particular country or region, you wind up with a menu that is disjointed and confused. Case in point – Cassat’s Kiwi Café. What cuisine indigenous to New Zealand? Lamb? Kiwis? No. This is a classic example of why there are no Canadian, Hawaiian, or even Sri Lankan-themed restaurants in the DC area or anywhere to be found outside those particular countries. New Zealand and Cassat’s fits this example.

We were simply confused. We found out that the place was owned by a Philadelphian who took some trips to New Zealand and converted a Philadelphia-themed storefront to a Kiwi café. Walking in the place seems more like a café/bistro than anything else. A small bar which holds a half dozen is halfway down the place surrounded by 15 dining tables. The restaurant is narrow and popular among the locals (especially on the weekends when they remove a few tables and have a house band play mostly folk and lighter music). The wait staff were friendly and the manager was engaging and talkative (perhaps a bit too less of the former and too much of the latter).

On to the food that we did not find to be particularly good. Here’s the rundown:

Calamari for appetizer. While we thought the appetizer we shared was void of the typical breading and deep fry was unique, the spicy sauce and bean cake lacked taste. 

Entrees. We both ordered meat pies but in retrospect, we’d probably order something else if we knew ahead of time. We ordered different types of pies—Elena ordered the chicken curry, Bill ordered the chicken, spinach, and cheese. Both served with a side salad and homemade tomato chutney sauce. The salad was typical and the chutney sauces perhaps a bit too sweet. The Chicken Curry pie was too sweet and dry, the Chicken Spinach was ok, but nothing special. Interestingly, depending on the pie, it’s either homemade or shipped in from the owner’s other establishment (can’t remember which ones are made on site).

Perhaps Cassat’s needs to rethink the whole Kiwi thing and go back to cheesesteaks.

RusUz Restaurant - Uzbek, Central Asian and Russian Cuisine - Arlington (Ballston), VA

RusUz was named one of Washington area's 100 Very Best Restaurants by the Washingtonian Magazine in January 2014!  Congrats, well-deserved!!  Below is our review from February 2013.  And by the way---  If you are wondering what to order when you go there, here are some certain gastronomic hits http://www.buzzfeed.com/dianabruk/delicious-uzbek-dishes-you-need-to-try-immediately.

1000 N Randolph St
Arlington, VA 22201
(202) 468-8472

We were amazed how crowded RusUz was after being open for only a month and no advertising that we know of, only word of mouth.  We definitely recommend trying this tiny new restaurant in Ballston. 

Be forewarned – they still haven’t received their liquor license, and they will be the first ones to suggest that the 7/11, about a minute-walk from them, will gladly sell you a few bottles of wine, with no corking fee charged. 

In a nutshell, the food is terrific, but the service… well…  they’re still getting the hang of it, so I am certain that it will improve with time. The waiters, all very nice and friendly, were clearly rushing around, so it’s possible that the kitchen could not keep up with the crowd.  Every table was taken and some people had to wait to be seated, so business was definitely booming. And this was on an early Sunday evening!  In other words, be prepared for a longer dinner time!

RusUz is owned and operated by a family from Uzbekistan, who has lived in Alexandria for several years.  They catered food to the local community for about 3 years and after being convinced by their regular clientele to start a business, have decided to open RusUz.  We have used them as caterers before and were thrilled to find out that they have opened a restaurant.

The menu selection in RusUz is a combination of two cuisines – Russian (rather Slavic), such as the all-familiar Borscht, Blinchiki, Pirozhki, Chicken Kiev, and Pelmeni (hope you like dill, as it is used ubiquitously in almost every Russian dish), and Uzbek (rather Central Asian), such as Plov, Manti, Dolma, and Lagman. We came to RusUz with a fun group of 7 friends.  Between all of us, we tried virtually everything on the menu, including the shashlyk, and all was delicious.  Our friends who had never had this food before and those who were somewhat familiar with it, all liked it, and even said they would come back.  As for me, I know this cuisine very well and can certainly attest that the food is good!

One of my all-time favorite foods is plov, a typical Central Asian staple meal to be shared with friends for dinner, which is always topped off with tea to help digest the heavy meal.  Plov is a rice-based dish, traditionally made with lamb, usually cooked slowly in a cast iron cauldron, with carrots and raisins and flavorful (not hot) spices.  For those of you familiar with Indian food, it is close to a biryiani, close, but not the same.  Plov is usually served with a tomato-onion side salad, which brings out the richness of the rice.  To try plov is to fall in love with it!  I have traveled to Central Asia many times and can attest that plov in RusUz is as authentic as it can get (although the tomato salad includes cucumbers, which is a local addition).  In the U.S. lamb is not nearly as popular as in Central Asia, so if you call a few days in advance, you can pre-order plov with either beef or chicken, but be prepared to order at least 5 portions, otherwise the busy kitchen will be unable to accommodate your request.

Our hope is that RusUz can find the right formula to stay in business.  Several Russian restaurants have come and gone in the Washington DC metro area over the years, some stayed longer, some shorter, but all disappeared with the exception of the landmark Russia House, which is not our cup of chai (pardon the pun).  A relatively new Café Assorti that also serves a mix of Russian and Central Asian food, has not risen to popularity in this area (we have never even been there, but maybe one day we will try it).  RusUz is definitely worth a go, and who knows, next stop for you may be somewhere along the Silk Road, like Samarkand or Bukhara!