Betzabroad…My personal recipe for tasting our big, fat, wonderful world

Let me preface this by saying that I am a harsh critic of Greek cuisine because that is my heritage. A recent post-graduation luncheon at Zaytinya has me rethinking my roots in much the same way any chef re-imagines a dish from their native country to take it up a notch and make it more modern. This is what has made Chef Jose Andres so successful with his ventures in the Metro DC area and elsewhere. He has tweaked his native Spanish fare to be more modern and acceptable to the American palate. He is constantly educating us about some of the wonderful cuisines we long to taste in situ but may never have the opportunity to. And he has managed to bring so many of these little “pearls” to Zaytinya.
We of Mediterranean descent love two tastes that are quite far outside the comfort zone of most diners: mastiha and rose. Yasou Jose,for including them in several of your menu items. It is daring AND smart. We sampled quite a few dishes and some were real standouts. The best of our lot were:
lamb tongue souvlaki with snap peas, fried trout with perfectly prepared skordalia (garlic dip made of potatoes, oil, garlic and vinegar or lemon), loukaniko and grilled baby artichokes, kibbe naya ( c’mon try it beef tartare lovers), trio of ice creams including one made of olive oil, one of rose, and one of mastiha and Turkish delight with a rich chocolate cake in the center of little cubes of gelatinous wonderment.
Jose continues to amaze!