The World on a Plate:
A Taste of Jerusalem

by Karen Krueger
Photos by Julie Wiatt

As downtown Silver Spring continues its rapid expansion, new and interesting restaurants and shops are pushing out from the compact, walkable core. Just a few blocks south on Georgia Avenue, the Hawa family has added one of the latest eateries, A Taste of Jerusalem.

A Taste of Jerusalem is a recent addition to the international flacors of Silver Spring.

The restaurant has a nice glass storefront that allows you to feel part of what's going on outside. It is rather narrow but deep. Booths run along both walls and tables are in the middle. There is a great "date" table up front, set a little apart, right against the glass up front. On the walls are photographs of Jerusalem, offering sweeping views of the old city.

Behind the restaurant is a bar area. It was early, so not much was happening there, but you could easily imagine this as a great place to hang out on a weekend afternoon or evening. There is built-in seating with small tables as well as a separate bar. There were some board games there, so clearly this area is meant as a place to linger, which is nice, and typical of Arab family restaurants.

The lighting was a bit too bright for dinner seating, but perhaps that was due to the dark skies outside or an oversight on the part of the staff. There was a very strange mix of music that looped throughout the evening - at first, 60's instrumental muzak, which changed (thankfully) into instrumental Arabic that immediately took its place in the background, contributing greatly to the atmosphere.

Owner/chef Kamal Hawa with his daughter Amani.

The restaurant boasts a large menu, so we opted for the "Feast for Two," which we later realized meant feast for two days . Six appetizers, two soups, two entrees and two desserts round out this generous menu option.

Fresh, warm khobiz and olive oil mixed with zatar arrived quickly at our table. Khobiz (pronounced more or less like "hobbuz") is what most Americans recognize as pita bread. Zatar is a delicious spice mixture including sumac, thyme and sesame seeds. Traditionally you take a small piece of khobiz, dip it into olive oil, then the zatar. This pre-mixed version looked similar to an oil and chili-pepper blend you would expect at any Italian restaurant.

There are fourteen appetizers on the mezze menu. The hummos, a blend of chick peas, tahini (sesame seed butter) lemon juice, garlic, and salt, was perfectly smooth. Both it and the Baba Ghannouge (a smoky, savory dip made with eggplant) were presented nicely, smoothed deep into bowls, drizzled with olive oil and nicely garnished. The chunky Foo M' Damas is made with fava beans and is a nice contrast to the smooth hummos. The sfiha is a little pizza topped with lamb ground to a paste, spices and pine nuts. It had a wonderfully tangy flavor that was hard to pinpoint. The falafel, fried balls of ground chickpeas and spices, were crispy on the outside and well seasoned.

Salmon in filo pastry with cream sauce (above). Appetizers include spinach fatyer, raita, and hummos (below, right).

There was only one soup on the menu that night, the Red Crushed Lentil. The soup was thick and hearty (more like a good winter soup), if a little one-dimensional.

For our entrees, we chose the Mixed Grill and the Seafood Combo. The Mixed Grill combined chicken, lamb, kifta (ground lamb, onion, parsley and spices) and vegetables on skewers, served with rice and eggplant stewed in a rich tomato-based sauce. The chicken and kifta were tasty; however the lamb cubes were very gamey.

The Seafood Combo was outstanding. A salmon fillet, sea scallops and shrimps were cooked to delicate perfection and served swimming in a fiery sauce made with wine, crushed pepper and garlic, which surprisingly did not overwhelm the delicate fish.

We pushed away our plates and begged for take-home boxes, and still the food kept coming. For dessert we were treated to Kataef, little pancakes stuffed with chopped walnuts and a syrup made with orange blossom water, served warm. Namoura features filo dough filled with a sweet dessert cheese and is infused with the same syrup as the Kataef. Light and delicate, they are the perfect ending to a meal.

There is a children's menu that features typical American fare - a grilled cheese sandwich, chicken fingers, and pizza. While I understand their reasoning, these menu selections are very out of place. They might be the best chicken fingers in town, but they are still chicken fingers. Perhaps offering a few Arabic items on the kid's menu might bridge the gap a little. A zater pie, for example, or mini khobiz with fresh vegetables and hummos, Arabic cheese and olives would be nice additions and very kid-friendly.

There were no vegetarian entrees. There are many tasty Arabic vegetable dishes, however, which could be easily added as entrée items or side dishes to be combined for a pleasing meal.

It is nice to see more Arabic family restaurants crossing the Potomac. Northern Virginia hosts a large Arabic population with wonderful restaurants and markets all around. Hopefully more families like the Hawa family will find there are folks in Maryland who are eagerly awaiting small family-owned Arabic restaurants in their neighborhoods.

Taste of Jerusalem, 8123 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, 301-495-3067. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Appetizers, $4.95 to $7.95, entrees, $13.95 to $22.95. Handicap Accessible.

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