Capitol Hill Tandoor & Grill

419 8th St SE, Washington, DC
202-547-3233
http://capitolhilltandoorandgrill.com/

 Stopped by here for dinner. It was a beautiful day, and unlike everyplace else on the street, their small outdoor area (two tables on the sidewalk) was empty. Two of our party had been there before, so this didn't make us leery.
I asked about a few dishes and the server recommended the regular Lamb Chops ("marinated in chef’s special sauce and barbecued in clay oven on skewer - $16.95) instead of what I asked about (which was pretty similar to lamb chops). The waiter said they were his favorite thing on the menu. I also ordered Cheese Naan as an appetizer. The Naan was unremarkable. Not bad, but not worth getting again. The Naan itself was solid, but the cheese was not particularly noticeable to me. It was only $2.99. I got the Lamb Chops medium done with medium spice. They came out with a small mixture of vegetables and about four large lamp chops. They were excellent. They were remarkably tender with a strong mix of spices. Even the accompanying vegetables (peppers, onions, etc.) were quite good. The portion size was very satisfying and while I was not stuffed upon finishing, I did wish partway through that I had not gotten the Naan as it was clearly not necessary.
At $16.95 the lamb chops were at the high end of the prices for entrees, with most meat dishes falling in the $11.95 to $16.95 range and non-meat or appetizers falling under $10.

With the restaurant being basically empty except us, the food came back quickly and service was attentive. (Our server basically hung around a reasonable distance away quietly chatting with another server.)

Cava Mezze (Capital Hill / Eastern Market)

527 8th St SE, Washington DC 20003 (also has a Rockville location)
http://dc.cavamezze.com/home

I had heard about Cava Mezze from an acquaintance who is a regular at one of my regular bars. The restaurant did not disappoint. Although my experience was rushed because I was running late and had to make another event, the mezze that I ordered was outstanding. Also, the atmosphere was quite nice as well. Dark, long room, with nice wood decor. Also a nice outdoor area, although it was in the 90's so we ate inside.

Because of our press for time, the hostess recommended that we order non-meat dishes. The Washingtonian review that I looked at just before heading out had recommended: Spicy lamb sliders; watermelon salad w/ feta & mint; pork souvlaki; meatballs in tom sauce; avgolemono soup; disco fries; Greek yogurt w/honey & walnuts; loukoumades (Greek donuts). We didn't get any of that. In fact, some of it was not on the menu anymore. Instead we ordered: Grilled Haloumi cheese (with mint), Tyropita (dodonis feta, goat cheese, phyllo), Crazy Feta (dodonis feta & whipped jalapeno), and Eggplant Dip. I listed these in order of amazingness. The first three were really close with a gap before the merely quite good eggplant dip. The portions for mezze weren't as small as some I have seen around DC, so splitting four of them between two people filled up my date and left me satisfied - all the cheese was pretty rich. Also, as I closed the menu, I spied a Cherry Mojito. It was pretty darn good.

Anyway, I was disappointed in Yanni's Greek Taverna and have yet to make it to a Greek place in Old Town that I've heard about, so this place is clearly my favorite Greek place in D.C. Heck, I'll put it above those in Chicago as well and I suspect it even bests my favorite Greek place in St. Louis. More significantly, this is probably the best small dish restaurant I have had in D.C., with the Lebanese Taverna in Woodley Park being the next best. And yes, I have eaten at Jaleo, Zaytina, and most of the Penn Quarter places, even if I didn't rate them here.

Also mentioned briefly in my European section.

Update:
I stopped by Cava Mezze again. While waiting for my friend I tried a Dark and Stormy. It is a rare drink for me, so I am far from a good judge, but it was okay. I'd stick with the Cherry Mohijo. Anyway, the point of this update is the food. We had the Haloumi (again), the Lamb Sliders, Orzo, Tomato Meatballs, and Disco Fries. I might look up exactly what each of these was comprised of later, but the Lamb Sliders were fantastic, the Orzo (pasta shaped like large grains of rice) was quite impressive, and the Disco Fries (basically fries with a tomato and cheese mix dumped on them like spaghetti) were also great. The Meatballs in Tomato sauce were tasty, but not as good as the other dishes. We were stuffed and with 2 drinks the bill came to a reasonable $63.53, so without drinks $47, which is reasonable considering we could have fed 3.

Belga Cafe

- 514 8th Street, SE (Eastern Market)
- Belgian & Flemish
- mussels, pommes frites (fries) supposed to be good
- recommended by people
- around $20 per entree

This summary had been on my "places to try" post for a while. I went during what was deemed "mussels" week, during which Belga was claimed to have wider variety of mussels dishes available.

There was some kind of gathering or event going on in the front, which probably made it louder than usual, but I liked the decor and atmosphere nonetheless.

I ordered a Green Curry mussels dish, I think. My mussels were solid, but I certainly wouldn't include them in the top tier of mussels I have had in D.C. Certainly, the ones at Brasserie Beck, some bar on Wisconsin, or some other place that I ate outside of also on 8th street were better. Perhaps I went for an experimental dish that is not a good example of Belga's best, but I found the flavoring to be weak, pleasant, but weak, and certainly not delicious. My (white) wine was average and unmemorable. So, in my initial foray, Belga's disappointed. While I won't make an attempt to return there, not with so many other proven options, I wouldn't oppose going again if someone else really wanted to.

Note: Belga's is supposed to have a good Belgian beer selection, but I did not try any.

European

Hey, it's a region and I haven't had enough of any type to give it their own space. Pizza, even if Italian, has its own post.

Cava Mezze - A very good Greek place on 8th Street in Eastern Market. I had a rushed meal so I only got four non-meat mezze, but everything was spectacular, as was my cherry mojito. See full review HERE.

Granville Moore's - good Belgian beer selection, good burgers, haven't tried other food. A bit pricey for what it is.

Brasserie Beck - good beer selection, quite good food. We had clams and something else. The cheese tray was pretty good too.

Belga Cafe - I had mussels here during mussels week. It wasn't bad, but it was disappointing after the good things I had heard. See full review HERE

Pines of Florence - Old Town: a bit shabby inside, but food was good, cheap, and generous portions. Italian.

Old Europe - The food here didn't seem exciting or exotic, but it was very good. It really stuck to your ribs (filled you up without being huge). You can order liters of good German beer too, but it's not really a bar. The decor was tacky, but that's pretty much German as far as I can tell. German. Cathedral.

Yanni's Greek Taverna - It's been over two years since I ate here, but I clearly remember that I came away unimpressed. It was by no means bad, but it was unimpressive. Even my beloved Saganaki (flaming cheese) was unimpressive (other than the flaming spectacle part). Cleveland Park