Northern Virginia Restaurant Blog: middle eastern food

Showing posts with label middle eastern food. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Fava Pot - Egyptian, Middle Eastern Food - Falls Church, VA

7393 D Lee Highway

Falls Church, VA 22042
Telephone: (703) 204-0609

To sum it up: Run, don't walk, to Fava Pot.

We won't mince words here. We loved everything about Fava Pot. There are at least NINE, yes, 9, great things about Fava Pot just off the tops of our heads that we wanted to share with you. We could probably think of at least one more to make it a 10, but by the time you finish reading this review, you could have been already in the car on your way to the restaurant. Besides, we wanted to give you a chance to think of what possibly we missed and to suggest a Number 10.

Here they are, not necessarily in ranked order:

1) Great food. A wide menu selection with an extensive variety of sides and appetizers that are sure to please everyone's taste buds. ALL FOOD IS MADE FROM SCRATCH in the kitchen, according to the owner, Dina Daniel. Vegetarians and vegans, as well as carnivores, can find delicious plentiful options. The portions are healthy, ample and filling. Fava Pot serves all three meals of the day - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. We came here on a sunny June Sunday for a late lunch.

OH, by the way, ONE IMPORTANT NOTE ON BAKLAVA. While there are five great desserts available at Fava Pot to choose from, we noticed the traditional Baklava is not an option. This is because everything at Fava Pot is made in its very own kitchen and since Baklava isn't made there, it isn't sold there. That's A-OK with us, since there are more than enough other delicious desserts.

Appetizer / Starter of three side dishes selected by you. There are 15 options to choose from! We selected the Baba Ghanoush, which was a little on the sweet side, the Spicy Feta Cheese, which had a slight kick, not very spicy, and the tangy mild Tzatziki, all sprinkled with olive oil and adorned with pomegranate seeds and all delicious. Served with a basket of freshly-baked pita bread.

This drink is not to be missed, especially on a hot summer day - Iced Mint Lemonade, the owner's creation. Its minty sweet freshly-prepared taste leaves you quenched and refreshed.

We both got the Chicken Kabob Platter. The chunky kebob pieces came accompanied by a Spring mix salad with marinated red onions, roasted potatoes (options are either Egyptian Rice or Roasted Potatoes), half of a hearty pita bread and a dollop of a fabulously strong garlic sauce on the side. Those who are salt-conscious may find the Chicken Kabob a bit on the salty side, but when coupled with the Tzaziki or the Pita, the combination is perfect.

The pita deserves its own mention. It is a hearty thick bread made from a mixture of wheat and white flour with a healthy layer of baked-on grains. Use it to scoop, to dip, or to open up and use as a pocket to stuff a bit of everything into one bite. It is definitely not flimsy and will not fall apart. Wow.

Since Fava Pot is famous for its roasted potatoes, per Dina, we chose this side with our Chicken Kabob, and were certainly not disappointed. Perfectly seasoned and roasted, these are excellent.

2) Great location. The Shops at West Falls Church is a great location: Easy to navigate, easy to park and can get some errands done while there, such as grocery shopping at Safeway or pick up some treats for your pooch at Petco.

The Shops at West Falls Church at the intersection of Lee Highway and South West Street.

Fava Pot is a stand-alone single-story restaurant.

3) Dina the owner. Is wonderful. Period. Some of our neighbors raved about the restaurant on our neighborhood's Nextdoor.com page, as well as about Dina's welcoming friendly personality, but meeting her in-person is truly a treat. Not only does her down-to-earth spirit form the foundation for her solidly appealing culinary creations, it also permeates throughout the restaurant's atmosphere in its cheerful staff and the satisfied returning clientele. You cannot help but catch her positive dynamic energy and carry it with you for the rest of the day. Brava, Dina.

4) Falafel ... THE BEAGLE! Those eyes! Those ears! Other than our very own most beloved beagle, this is probably the cutest beagle ever. Falafel is 4 years old and tries to be on his best behavior. Best behavior is not always easy with so many delicious smells and adoring fans around, but make no bones about it, Falafel is an intrinsic delight in this establishment. He is Dina's envoy to the patio, may be one way of looking at it. We loved him as much as the food, or maybe even more. Hands down... we will only sit on the patio so we can hang out with Falafel.

5) The story. Truly inspirational success story. Well-loved Food Truck transitions to a Brick and Mortar neighborhood restaurant. We love stories like this, and there are many. American Dream. Immigrant Dream. Female entrepreneur starts a tiny food business and transforms it into a popular neighborhood restaurant gathering spot, creating jobs and offering a taste of her previous home to her new community. Culinary Diplomacy at its best.

Fava Pot - Culinary Diplomacy

6) The setting. Fava Pot serves typical Egyptian / Middle Eastern food, but it is not what we would call an ethnic dive, a term that may well be on its way out, anyway. It stands as a stand-alone single-story eatery with large windows, a nice-size L-shaped dining hall and a sizable outdoor open canopied patio that faces the parking lot and the other stores in the shopping center. The setting is bright and clean. Murals with faces of famous Egyptians, some we know, some we don't, grace the walls.

7) The customers. For privacy reasons we are not posting photos of the families, friends, couples, etc. who were dining in the restaurant and on the patio, or the constant stream of carry-outs in large paper bags. We will also not post photos of customers standing in the fast-moving line to order food, which is brought out to the table quickly by friendly and efficient staff, or sometimes even Dina herself, with a bright smile. We just wanted to note the relaxed, pleasant, casual atmosphere that permeates to and through the patrons.

8) Prices. Prices are a bargain, especially considering the generous portions of delicious food in a friendly vibrant clean setting. It's no wonder that the Washingtonian magazine has listed Fava Pot both in the "Cheap Eats" category and also in the category of Washington D.C.'s 100 Very Best Restaurants of 2019.

9) Values. Being successful is admirable in its own right. Translating success into improving the lives of marginalized young children is transformational. Fava Pot donates a portion of its profits to improving the lives of Coptic orphaned children back in Egypt and toward helping improve literacy among girls and women in areas of the world were women are regarded as second-class-citizens. This is a new program launched by Dina as a result of her passion for helping these marginalized groups after having worked with them in the past. In this way, Fava Pot does not stop at good food. Its values reach back into the corners of the owner's former community, connecting Fava Pot customers to great causes on the other side of the world.

Can you come up with a 10th reason to love Fava Pot? Or is nine enough? ;) Please feel free to post in comments on this website or in social media.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Saba Yemeni Restaurant - Fairfax, VA

3900 Pickett Road
Fairfax, VA 22031
Tel:(703) 425-1130

If you are looking for a taste of Yemen without getting on the plane, we are lucky to have a new restaurant called Saba right here in Northern Virginia!

Saba Restaurant opened about a year ago, offering Yemeni comfort food specialties consisting primarily of large portions of meat and rice, cooked with delicious spices. If you are not a meat eater, your options will be limited, but it's definitely worth the visit anyway. After all, this newcomer made it on the coveted list of Washingtonian's 25 Best Inexpensive Restaurants in the DC area!

Saba is a medium-size restaurant, about 20 tables, with a large sectioned-off area in the back, where you can dine in a true Yemeni fashion, shoes off sitting on pillows on the floor. We opted for a table when we came with a group of about 10 friends. It is great to come with a group of adventurous friends, so that we had a chance to sample a variety of Saba's dishes. Unknowingly, we picked a popular night - Saturday - when Saba gets quite crowded, so the wait staff, though friendly and knowledgeable, were clearly stretched to their limit.

The crowded dining hall, coupled with the poor exhaust system of the building's older construction, where Saba is located, made for a somewhat stuffy and hot atmosphere. We visited the previous tenant of this space - Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, which we reviewed back in 2013, and this unfortunate feature of poor ventilation has remained. In fact, the decor, the furnishings, and even the plates were exactly the same in Saba as they were in Sheba! So, by the looks of it, not much was spent on overhead in the transtition from an Ethiopian to a Yemeni restaurant.

One important thing did change, however, and not for the better: There is no alcohol served in Saba restaurant. None served and none allowed on the premises, so no BYOB. This was quite disappointing.

The menu options in Saba are monotone: (1) Beef or lamb can be either roasted or slow-roasted; served on a bone, shredded or in a stew; (2) The spices seem to be rather identical from dish to dish; (3) The same side of the Yemeni salsa-type condiment called "sahawiq" comes with most entrees; (4) The generous portions of extra long grain saffron basmati rice or warm pita accompany all the food; (5) All platters are served family-style, ready to share, and all are sprinkled with wormy-looking onion bits; And finally, (6) all stews are topped with the same whipped-fenugreek dressing. The Saltah stew, offered with either beef or only vegetables, comes out in a hot pot. The other entrees are served on large family-style platters. All entrees come with generous portions of green salad with a light olive oil dressing, which the waiters brought out in large family-style platters, also. Though there is not much variety to the menu, all the food we ordered was very good, flavorful and enough to share with friends.

One note, that of the two portions of Lamb Mandi that we ordered, one was quite fatty. The staff, to their credit, offered to take it back and bring out another cut of lamb, so keep in mind if yours comes out this way.

We were disappointed when the appetizers we ordered never arrived AND when the restaurant actually ran out of silverware and gave several people in our group plasticware to use. Quite challenging to use plasticware with hot dishes, especially when it came to cutting meat! We understand that the restaurant was filled to capacity with large parties, but.... come on. Fortunately, the lamb and beef were soft enough to cut with a plastic knife.

Yet, a third disappointment came when we were ready to order dessert. The menu featured a list of about 6 or 7 desserts that all sounded delicious. Curiously, 5 of them ranged between $20 and $40 each! We were told that they were unavailable for single portion ordering, they could be served only for larger parties. So why list them on a menu? Individual portions were available only for two featured desserts: Rowani and Basboussa. BUT but they were out or Rowani! So, through process of elimination by the restaurant, we were stuck with Basboussa. We shared two orders among six of us, which was more than enough. The Basboussa was a bit grainy because of the semolina base, only slightly sweet, and overall a light and good ending to our meal.

In all, we had a nice dinner out with our our adventurous friends. Although we left happy and with full bellies, the experience was rather on the disappointing side and we are unlikely to return. Do we recommend that you go to try it once? Yes. But that's about it.