Lebanese Taverna, Arlington, Va.

Robert and I had dinner the other night in Arlington, popping in to Lebanese Taverna for some of their mezza offerings. Mezza is a series of small dishes similar in style to Spanish tapas, but with each serving being a little larger than the typical tapas. We were, fortunately, just early enough to be seated immediately; soon after, the place got crowded.

Robert ordered the laban b'khyar, a salad made of yogurt with cucumbers, garlic, and mint (sorry about the overexposed photo; it's hard to take pictures of white food in a white dish in a dark room) and the lamb and beef shawarma.





I started with the hommos special, the usual puréed chickpea and sesame seed dip, but what made it "special" is that it was topped with ground meat, pine nuts, and almonds. Then I moved to a Lebanese salad, which was a large lettuce salad with good sized quantities of tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, parsley, mint, and onions all tossed together and in a light garlic dressing.





Neither of us opted for dessert. With our first courses, Robert drank a Reserve Du Couvent Ksara white and I had a La Dame Blanche Kefraya white; with the second course Robert had the Silver Selection Massaya red. All of the wines were from Lebanon.

And, here's Robert with his Kody Pose: