The Weekly Feed: Rotating Roast Edition
Doner kebab from Urfa Tomato Kabob (Alicia Mazzara).
Ahh, the elusive doner kebab. A close relative to the gyro, doner kebab is a popular late-night snack in Europe and the Middle East, but remains relatively obscure in the U.S. This Turkish specialty is typically made with slices of lamb, stacked on a vertical spit, and basted in its own fat as it roasts. The meat is then served with vegetables and stuffed inside warm pita. The accompaniments vary widely by location -- Japan likes theirs with mayonnaise, France puts fries inside the sandwich, and Norway piles on the Thousand Island dressing. Unusual variations aside, doner kebab is generally served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and tzatziki or hot sauce.
There are a number of restaurants offering doner kebab in a sit-down setting, but we like this meal best as good old street food. The closest we've found is Urfa Tomato Kabob, a newish carry out spot in Chinatown. Urfa serves chicken doner, lamb and beef doner, and falafel on home-baked bread. The sandwiches come with the typical vegetable trimmings, as well as tzatziki and roasted tomato sauce. For 6 bucks, it makes for a cheap and filling lunch, or a late-ish night snack (Urfa is open until 11 p.m. daily). If you can't make it to Chinatown, Cafe Divan in Georgetown, Meyhane in Capitol Hill, and Nizam's in Vienna also serve doner kebab, though we haven't tried their versions yet. Do you have a favorite doner kebab joint? Let us know in the comments.
Small Bites
It's Rickey time
The DC Craft Bartenders Guild is holding its Second Annual Rickey Month. A variety of rickey recipes will be on menus from Owen Thomson of Bourbon, Chantal Tseng of Tabard Inn, Dan Searing of Room 11/Warehouse Cafe, Tiffany Short of the Gibson, Clinton Terry of PX, Jon Arroyo of Founding Farmers, Sebastian Zutant of Proof, Andrew Shapiro of Inox, Rico Wisner of Poste Brasserie, Jill Zimorski of Café Atlantico and minibar, Diego Zeballos of Jaleo, David Fritzler of Tryst, Rachel Sergi of Zaytinya and Jason Stritch of Rasika. You can vote for your favorite on Metromix. The month-long event will culminate in the announcement of a winner at Bourbon in Adams Morgan on August 3 from 6:30-10:30 p.m., with a $10 cover that includes one free drink.
Save the seals
Policy Restaurant will be hosting "In Our Hands," an event supporting 'Sirens for the Seals' and the Humane Society's Protect the Seals campaign. The campaign seeks to end commercial seal hunting in Canada, a practice that usually involves clubbing the animals to death. The fundraiser will include food by Restaurant Eve, Equinox, and Vidalia, and drinks by PX, The Gibson, and PS7's. A portion of drink sales will be donated to the campaign. The party starts at 5:30 pm on Tuesday; to attend, send an RSVP to celine@restauranteve.com
I scream, you scream, we all scream for pierogies
If you're looking for a little more Polish food in your life, head over to the National Polish Center next Friday to sample four kinds of pierogies, Eastern Europe's answer to ravioli. The tasting runs from 6 - 8:30 p.m., suggested donation is $15. Send your RSVP to assistant@polishcenterdc.org.
Birthday on a budget
Urbana Restaurant will be celebrating its third birthday on Monday by kicking off a week of $3 happy hour drink and appetizer specials and a $30 three course tasting menu. Happy hour is offered daily between 4 - 7 p.m. and 10 - 11 p.m.
Pits for Olives?
Last Saturday, Olives closed for renovations, which chef/owner Todd English personally came in to announce. Olives suffered a kitchen fire a few months back, so the renovations are likely related, but we can't help but be reminded of the way Galileo "closed" for renovations. This concern seems even more relevant in light of English pulling out of Cha at the Donovan House, and now Missy Frederick writes in the Business Journal that restaurateur Scott Conant has his eyes on the prime Olives space, which is undergoing lease negotiations.
Line Up Now for Junkpunching
Nick Cho announced on Don Rockwell that he is hoping to open Chinatown Coffee Company during the week of July 20.