Dish of the Week: Bastilla
Where: Marrakesh, Le Printemps, Capital Harvest Market, Taste of Morocco
Bastilla does a number on what ingredients we expect should be paired together. It’s a savory Moroccan pastry, with leaves of warka dough (like phyllo) sandwiching bits of chicken, onions, and boiled eggs. Actually, no, it’s a sweet pastry. The cinnamon and powdered sugar make it undeniably so. Almonds could go either way. Serve some slivers on top of a chicken breast and you’ve got chicken almondine. Chop them up and put them in dough, I’m thinking baklava. But more like a chicken baklava and without the honey.
Bastilla, also spelled pastilla, is a pie served on special occasions in Morocco, or seen on the starter section of the menu at Moroccan restaurants. Squab or pigeon is traditionally used, but it is more common these days to find braised chicken doing bird duty in the dish. Beef, lamb, or fish can also be used. The sweet notes of the cinnamon and sugar hit your taste buds first. Savory comes in the follow through, though those sweet notes linger. Along with the unexpected combination of flavors, a lot of texture play also goes on in the dish. The dough may vary from crispy and flaky to moist and soft depending on how fresh a slice of the pie is and what’s inside. The finely ground nuts give a crunch to each bite contrasted with the straws of onion and the meat and egg combination within.
Restaurant Week Gone Rogue
D.C.’s Summer 2013 Restaurant Week gets underway on Monday with three-course $35.13 dinners and $20.13 lunches to be had during these dog days of August. That’s still not a price point that Washington’s exclusive tasting menu dining rooms can meet, but that doesn’t mean they’re not trying. Along with their 24 and 16-course menu, Rogue 24 typically offers a 4-course menu from Tuesdays through Thursdays for $75. From August 26 to 31 (the week after official Restaurant Week), it will be available every night of that week and for only $55.
Pizza In The Morning, Pizza In The Evening, Pizza At Brunch Time
The 14th Street NW outpost of Piola will begin offering a weekend “No Limit” pizza brunch tomorrow. For $15.95, tables can order all of the 12-inch pizzas they want, fine for a group of pie lovers, though not an ideal set up for a small party that wants to try several of their specialties. Breakfast themed options include a Beirut pie with za’atar and labneh, and the oddly conceived and named Cancun which has tomato sauce, mozzarella, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and onions. Unlimited sangria and sparking drinks can be added for another $15.
Top Secret Doi Moi Dinner
The first rule of the August 25 Doi Moi preview fundraising dinner is you do not talk about Doi Moi. In advance of Doi Moi’s late August opening, the Southeast Asian-inspired restaurant will host three seatings next Sunday night to benefit a local youth development non-profit. Diners will get to sample cocktails and dishes from Hadar Karoum’s new menu. Reservations can be had for a minimum donation of $100 per person with all proceeds going to Brainfood, which helps kids build life skills through food and cooking.
Zengo Test Kitchen
Richard Sandoval’s Latin-Asian fusion restaurant has launched a test kitchen concept where the kitchen will feature select dishes every few months fusing the cuisine and spirits of one selected Latin and one Asian country. Chef Graham Bartlett put together a Hong Kong to San Juan menu that will be featured on the Zengo menu through September. We particularly enjoyed a Hong Kong roast chicken, which takes on boozy notes from the Shaoxing rice wine it does time in the oven with. Items on the menu range from $7 to $20 and can be ordered a la carte along with items from the regular dinner menu.
