Cava Mezze's Spicy Balls

Dip Sampler at Clarendon's Cava Mezze

With all the buzz about Ben and Jerry's release of Schweddy Balls ice cream, I found it an amusing coincidence that the majority of items we ordered this past Friday at Cava Mezze came in spherical form. 

As the name suggests, Cava Mezze's speciality is small plates of Greek-style tapas.   The Clarendon location is the third and latest branch of this burgeoning micro-chain, but last Friday was my first experience.  I am half-Greek, and while I have always enjoyed lamb prepared by my grandmother on Easter and Mediterranean food in general, I have found oftentimes Greek cooking to be relatively bland, with earthy flavors, but not a lot of heat.  I realized I have been eating at the wrong places--none of the dishes we tried at Cava was in the least bit bland.  Every dish--from the mac and cheese to lamb meatballs--had a lively personality all its own. 

The dip sampler consisted of six orbs of unique dips, whose ingredients included salty feta, jalapenos, and red pepper.  The calamari, pepped up with banana peppers and tempered with a cucumber yogurt sauce, was reminiscent of one of my favorite Greek-influenced Providence College haunts.  Zucchini fritters were in the form of what else but balls.  These two-bite explosions, the star of the evening, combined thin shreds of the vegetable with gooey cheese, which were  then rolled and fried to a crisp.

And it was not only the balls that were spicy.  My cucumber jalapeno margarita was refreshingly intense--the cucumber put out the fire of the drink's slight burning burst.  This $9 cocktail was excellent, and I point this out because while a new micro-brew tap house springs up seemingly weekly along the Rossyln-Ballston corridor, finding a well-crafted cocktail generally requires heading over the river into DC.

Cava Mezze's flavorful dishes, potent drinks, and sleek dining space is a welcome addition to the Clarendon dining scene.  Just be forewarned, the volume inside is impossibly loud.  Hopefully, soundproofing is installed soon, as the volume level is not sustainable for patrons, let alone the waitstaff.  But, oh those spicy balls...

Humdrum Harry's

Harry's Tap Room in Clarendon never fails to underwhelm me.

But for some reason, I have continued to check it out every few months for brunch or lunch. It is always consistent (see above).

I have decided that this relationship is not working. I am done with Harry's.  That is all.

 

Coffee House without the Pretense: Northside Social

Northside Social, the relatively new occupant of the old Murky Coffee Shop in Clarendon, is fast becoming one of my favorite coffee houses. Full disclosure: I don’t actually like coffee. I do, however, love freshly brewed teas.  Fuller disclosure: I hated Murky and its antics.  Murky was dirty, its staff annoyingly pretentious, and the food selections almost nill.  Northside, owned by the same folks as Liberty Tavern and Lyon Hall, has remedied these issues, with ample bar, table, and couch seating, as well as an extensive soup and sandwich menu. And perhaps best of all, offers some wonderful desserts.  The upstairs transforms into a wine bar nightly after 5pm with the exception of Sunday.

The overall vibe of the new place is a vast improvement. The walls are adorned with a rotating display local art for sale and the music is usually a half mellow/half hipster upbeat backdrop which works well for catching up with friends, or in Eating Around DC's case, blogging.  Northside Social is the only place I have blogged about while actually sitting in the space!

When you take everything together Northside Social is a solid overall value with some decent (the savories) to fantastic (the desserts) food.

This chicken salad sandwich is flavorful with tarragon and bits of apricot, if a bit dry, and a tad pricey (but remember you get the atmosphere and free Internet for things like this post!). And the iced tea in the background, peach nectar, is the perfect antidote to a summer day.

It is the desserts though, which are the stars. I had a baseball sized black forest brownie the other day: a rich chocolate ganache on top of a moist cake, offset by the cherries contained within. Their homemade soft-serve ice cream has some interesting and ever-changing flavors, including a Graham Cracker which B thoroughly enjoyed. And this being a coffee house, I have heard the coffee is excellent too.

I feel like in many ways I am not  hip enough to be a coffee house person, but at Northside Social most of the servers, lack the typical I-am-so-much-hipper-than-you barista attitude.  Soups are $5, sandwiches served with a small green salad, potato salad, or chips are $7-8, Desserts and the ample beverage menu start at $2.

Just Okay, but Always Drawn Back: Faccia Luna

If you asked me whether you should head to Faccia Luna, part of a microchain in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, I would have to say: "probably not." Yet why do I continue to eat there when I have Monday nights free? Let me explain. On Mondays, for 24.24 you get:

• Two glasses of house wine (not swill, but not something I would normally drink),
• Two salads (these are decent with lots of shredded mozzarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, romaine, and creamy, zesty parmesan peppercorn dressing), and
• A pizza with two toppings (the quality here varies wildly, from classic old school pizza to completely undercooked as they are trying to rush pizzas out of the kitchen).

This is the type of place where you find yourself saying things like: “the service is actually good tonight” or “the pizza is actually cooked.” So be forewarned that it could very well suck. And other than the bartender who is friendly and keeps a great rotating selection of beers on tap, the service is most always ambivalent and sometimes non-existent.

Why go? Obviously the price is appealing, especially on the first day of the work week. The food can be really good – never great, but what do you expect for $25 for two. The space is warm, and it is great to unwind after a long day.

I think I like the routine of the whole thing, not having to worry about cooking on Monday nights. However, I have been in an MBA program that meets on Monday nights for the past four years, so when we do go it feels like a bonus to not be sitting in class eating Subway (I won’t even talk to that).

So if you need a cheap date, and can keep expectations in check, this is the place for you on Monday night. Otherwise, you can do better.