Tuesday, March 16, 2010

NomNoms: Me Jana (DC Metro)

Okay, so I'm not going to lie. I love Los Angeles, and one of the reasons I love Los Angeles is because of the food. There is so much variety and it's all so good no matter the price range you're looking at. DC has disappointed me so far in the food category. Restaurants that I would go back to in DC, I would never dine at in LA.

Me Jana is a Lebanese restaurant that Matt and I tried to go to in January, but it was ridiculously crowded so we wound up leaving. For Valentine's Day, we tried again and this time called before we arrived. Again, it was completely packed and tables were turning over like crazy.

We ordered a variety of cold and warm mezza, which are small plates like tapas. Only a few of the dishes were good. The goat cheese salad and the seared cheese were delicious, although it was difficult to eat more than one piece of the cheese. It was heavy but tasty. I think the dates put the goat cheese salad over the edge, and I have been adding dried dates to my lunchtime salads since. The mozzarella was okay. You would think that figs and mozzarella would be amazing, but I think the dressing was its the downfall. The sea scallops were just awful. An overcooked, rubbery mess. You can tell that they will be awful just by looking at the photo. The lamb was also okay, a little overcooked for my tastes but the flavor was there.


 
Goat cheese salad with mixed greens, oranges, dates and walnuts with a citrus vinaigrette

    

Mozzarella, tomato, figs, basil & balsamic vinegar

 Seared cheese with pears and dates

  

Sea scallops with saffron lemon yogurt

 
Lamb chops

For dessert, we went out on a limb and ordered the achta. It has the consistency of ricotta, but the taste was the interesting part. Imagine taking a single red rose in one hand and then sticking the entire head of the flower into your mouth. That's about what it tasted like to me. In fact, as I continued eating it, I imagined myself doing just that. It was more palatable when including the pieces of fruit in my bites.  

Achta with bananas and strawberries

Whenever we go out to eat in LA, at the end of the meal, Matt will inevitably ask, "How many stars would you give them?" But in DC, we have learned that the million dollar question is, "If you were in LA, would you eat here?" Me Jana, the answer is "no."

Me Jana
2300 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201

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