Why go: This leaf-green cafe is frequented mostly by a takeout crowd that comes for Reem Azoury’s homey Lebanese cooking. But the place’s ragtag-cool vibe, with Scrabble boards and cookbooks strewn about, make it tempting to grab one of the few seats and stick around.
What to get: Tender chicken cooked in a tagine with preserved lemon and olives; a salty-sweet Brie-pear-and-fig-jam sandwich; dips such as hummus, baba ghanoush, and labné; tangy bulgur-wheat salad; Moroccan chickpea, beet, and carrot salads.
Best for: An afternoon snack; vegetarians.
Insider tip: When it’s warm, Azoury puts a few umbrella tables on the patio and just about doubles the place’s seating capacity.
Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
>> See all 2009 Cheap Eats restaurants here
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
