Gotta tell you about a really good new restaurant: Mediterraneo 3520 Lee Highway Arlington VA major credit cards wheelchair difficult (L-shaped entry) Appetizers about $4-6 Entrees about $16-22 Desserts about $4-6 It's a fairly unprepossessing place, looking for all the world like your local Athenian Tavernoid place, you know faux stucco and Mediterranean motifs, not in bad taste, just very commonplace. Restaurant seats about 50 comfortably and unpretentiously. Appies: The squid rings in oil and balsamic were tremendous, fresh squid barely cooked and with a pleasantly tart dressing. Large serving. Croustade of rabbit giblet and lamb liver was a big, rich serving of tender grilled meat over toast - simple, plain, good, and too much for an appetizer. The lamb liver was especially notable - meltingly tender and mild, reminding one more of foie gras than lamb. Salad of semi-wilted spinach seemed closer to normal food than the rest of the dishes, except that it came with little profiteroles stuffed with mystery meat (rabbit, I'd guess, but I had just a taste). Some at table thought it the best spinach they'd ever tasted, but I found it rather standard (it was that flat goosefoot spinach). Mains: Grilled venison medallions were medium rare and superb. Rack of lamb was medium rare and superb. The venison was garnished with cigares stuffed with duxelles, the lamb with harissa, baked fennel au gratin, red pepper puree, and couscous. Roast pheasant with cranberries I thought a little underdone but very tender and savory. It came with the red pepper puree and a rich and unexceptionable pommes Anna. Duck tajine was half a flavorful, tender bird gussied up with Moroccan-style spices and lots of fruit - figs, apricots, and whatnot; quite spectacular, and the fellow who ordered it cleaned his plate so fast that I gave him a lamb chop because I felt sorry for the poor starving kid. Desserts: Gorgonzola and figs may be a classic combo, but it doesn't work with dried figs. Anyway, I guess we could hardly expect anything else in February. Good ingredients, but I wouldn't have ordered it. Mango sorbet was not too sweet, a rather viscous essence of mango. Very good for what it was. The winner (my order, of course) was the creme brulee, extraordinarily creamy and tender - but served cold, which I didn't expect. - - - Salads don't come with. A breadbasket with whole-wheat sourdough (very good) and sourdough French (good) does come with. * KingQWK 1.05 # 187 *
Washington, DC