Place your order at this well-kept cafe, then troll the adjoining butcher shop/grocery for Middle Eastern specialties like the eight-pound containers of tahini on the shelves and the gorgeous array of halal meats in the lighted case—owner Kheder Rababeh buys whole animals and butchers them himself.
Then sit down to a feast that might begin with aya meze, 13 not-so-little appetizers—it’s hard not to fixate on the lush and smoky baba ghanoush, the lemony tabbouleh, or the crusty meat- and nut-filled ovals called kibbeh.
From there go on to more substantial pleasures like the multilayer lamb, yogurt, and fried pita pileup known as fateh, here elevated by the wonderful house lamb.
Whatever you order, you’re going to be carting something home.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
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.
