I had my fingers crossed that I would find a good Lebanese place in Arlington. Ever since the Lebanese Butcher’s restaurant closed (the butcher still exists), I have been perplexed at not finding a suitable replacement. With so many places to choose from and a sizable Lebanese population, you’d think it would be a snap.
Zazzy is a bit hipster. The menu says they do not fry anything, only bake and roast. Even the falafel? Oh yes, baked falafel. It’s either counter service or ordering from a QR code at the table. The menu has plenty of ‘bowls’ in it for those who get nervous when they stray from the Cava/Sweetgreen/ Mezzeh/Chipotle paradigm.
We ordered a fattoush halloumi salad. It’s expensive and comes in a big bowl probably enough for four. Though they still manage to skimp on the halloumi. This is the kind of salad that you tire of before you can finish it. The pomegranate molasses dressing is far too sweet and is composed of too much lettuce. The hit of salt from the halloumi is the only saving grace, but not enough to make a dent in the salad. The pita crisps are thin and tasteless. This salad gets a zero.
They also have a selection of flatbreads called Ousheh ,and we ordered the lahme biajine, very much a cousin to lahmajun. Menu proclaims it is “a recipe form my mama, Alia,” Except that this was very, very oily. Mama leans heavy on the oil! That bread was always going to come out far more soggy than crispy. I give this a three.
The corporate setting does not make you think of a proud mama in the kitchen. And neither does the cooking.
Sounds like one of the worse aspects of the Arlington food scene. I think the ethnic cafes in Arlington have held on pretty well but the hipster ones have not been as satisfying. Arlington Kabob, Lebanese Taverna and Bangkok 54’s grocery store “cafe” were still good but the Ballston area popular cafes were kind of tired.
Sad to hear that the Lebanese Butcher cafe has closed but to be honest, I have not been there in years. Falls Church proper (as opposed to 7 Corners) just fell off my radar.
Lebanese Butcher closed their restaurant years ago, so not a recent development. Still, I have very specific memories of their food that I find hard to duplicate in this area.
My one memory of the Butcher Cafe was convincing my GF to go there with me and we were having a pretty good meal and then the bandsaw in the butcher shop kicked on and my GF looked like she was going to jump up and run out of the place.
Sadly, she chose the cafes we went to for the next couple months.
Did you know that Wednesday’s were toddler days at the Starbucks on Old Dominion?
LOL! It is funny now.
Starbucks paid performers to come and do singalongs in the upstairs area so at least it was separate zone and there was no drop off, the parents had to stay.
But listening to toddler songs with our coffee was a pain.
And that was “our” coffee place.
But on the Lebanese subject, i have to say that i liked the Lebanese Taverna places in Arlington enough that i seldom went to Falls Church for Lebanese even though i had enjoyed the Lebanese Butcher in the past. Sometimes proximity to work is crucial.
