Lebanese Taverna "Mosaiq" eNewsletter


	LEBANESE TAVERNA: "MOSAIQ" eNEWSLETTER: MAY 2006 GO BACK TO NEWSLETTER Editorial Review Sovereign of the Small Plate At 100 King, seafood and vegetables rule the day By Tom Sietsema Sunday, April 2, 2006 1/2 (out of four) "I never read about anything outside 202," a friend confessed to me not long ago -- over dinner in 301. He was referring to the Washington area code, the implication being that there wasn't much to interest a restaurant hound beyond the District's borders. I promptly hopped on my soapbox and told him what he was missing: first-class oyster stew and duck liver flan at David Craig Bethesda and luscious Tasmanian sea trout and hazelnut-paved pheasant at L'Auberge Provencale in White Post, Va. The era when exceptional food in the area was found mostly in the capital was ancient history, I said. For people who live outside Washington, there are more reasons than ever to eat close to home, their homes. The most recent evidence is 100 King Restaurant in Alexandria, named for its King Street location in Old Town and introduced late last year by the owners of the Lebanese Taverna Group, which counts eight Middle Eastern outposts in its near-flung realm. The family behind the local chain opted for something broader with its new restaurant, which goes well beyond baba ghanouj and skewered lamb to include small plates of food with accents running to French, Italian and beyond. Will the public ever tire of the concept of sharing lots of little tastes in the many tapas and mezze joints that dot the landscape? Probably not for the foreseeable future. One of the draws of such restaurants is their ability to please a rainbow coalition of whims. 100 King serves the trend du jour in a cool, all-white interior that spans two floors. "This reminds me of a poor man's Zaytinya," a gal pal tells me. Indeed, though it is owned by a different restaurant group, 100 King bears more than a passing resemblance to that sweeping, blue-and-white ode to the Mediterranean in Washington's fashionable Penn Quarter. I taste the similarity in every bite of the newcomer's creamy-crisp, half-dollar-size zucchini cakes. And I see it in the spare, stylish design of the address. Yet 100 King is no straight copycat. At night, the glass-enclosed foyer that leads to the host stand changes hue every few minutes, thanks to clever lighting, and there's generally a dapper manager on hand to open the door for arrivals. Nice gesture. Conceived by Denis Soriano, former chef of the historic Willard Room in Washington, the menu is a single page, but it's a long one -- more than 50 choices, about half of which are (pay attention, vegetarians!) made without meat or seafood. Soriano knows not to fuss much with his ingredients. Skinny green beans are sauteed to keep their bright color and crisp texture, then tossed with roasted pine nuts. Red and gold beets are simply roasted and lightly seasoned with a fruity balsamic vinaigrette. Baba ghanouj -- eggplant puree -- is rich with yogurt and garlic. No less enticing are the starches, save for the doughy gnocchi. The kitchen makes a saffron-fragrant risotto that manages the trick of being both creamy and firm, and a polenta souffle tastes like a cross between air and custard. Gilding the lily: a fondue of velvety mushrooms and blue cheese for the souffle to sit on. Rhubarb-pink swiss chard stems are neatly stacked like Lincoln Logs and moistened with tahini, but they are more pretty than tasty. A skewer of vegetables is ordinary, and tabbouleh is served at a temperature that suggests it came straight from the refrigerator; otherwise, the kitchen bats close to 1.000 when it comes to vegetable dishes. Ordering is made easier when you learn, through trial and error, that just about anything that once swam trumps just about anything that ever walked. Bites of meaty swordfish, threaded on a skewer and lapped with a bright saffron sauce, are delectable; dominos of pork on a bed of plain-tasting diced apples yield a yawn. Red with tomatoes, fish soup is prettily served in a square bowl and jazzed up with orange zest; braised beef provencal cries out for salt, its vegetables the best things going for it. Fine ringlets of tender squid sauteed with olives begins an addiction; a wan lamb chop is upstaged by its rich piped potatoes. One of the exceptions to this advice to "go fish" is Soriano's duck confit. I love how its golden skin shatters at the touch of a tine, revealing soft, sweet flesh. Winey, thyme- and garlic-scented lentils make the perfect nest. The backdrop is just that, but a lot of thought has gone into making 100 King an inviting place to break bread. In contrast to the white walls and cream-colored banquettes, the tables are either shiny dark wood or sea-green glass. The ground floor dining room and bar are broken into three areas, set off with curtains of tiny steel beads that dare you not to part them. Upstairs is even more alluring, with an endless ceiling and plunging chandeliers. By day, the place is light-filled and airy; when night falls, a sexier mood emerges. Either time, it's a very pleasant place to find yourself. An enthusiastic staff makes sure that the food comes out fast and your wineglass never goes empty. When things go wrong -- say, an order of chocolate cake doesn't show -- the servers are quick to make amends. "Sorry for the delay," one of them apologizes. "I've taken the cake off your bill." My patience is rewarded with a warm, bittersweet chocolate confection accented with a fresh basil-infused creme anglaise. 100 King Restaurant also gets a lot of the liquid details right, from the coffee that is poured from a French press to the nicely chosen wine selections: Panther Creek's slightly smoky and berry-rich pinot noir and Heitz Cellar's melon-fragrant chardonnay, among other options. Following the vogue in restaurants, the choices are offered in three portion sizes: three ounces, six ounces and by the bottle (more than a dozen of which fall under $30) -- a few more reasons to get out of 202 and explore 703. If you would like to be removed or to join** the Lebanese Taverna announcement list, please email angela@lebanesetaverna.com and please type your email address in the body of your message. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!