The McLean, Va. Moby
Dick’s is small and less than efficient. I knew the food was going
to be fabulous before I took a single bite for two simple reasons: The
place was packed and the phone was ringing off the hook with carryout
orders. I watched as two overworked counter servers tried to take
phone orders, fill orders and wait on customers all at the same time;
another half-dozen people grilled, baked bread, made rice and cleared
tables haphazardly.
The menu is quite
confusing – a large board on the wall lists the dishes available,
platters of chunks of grilled meats with either rice or bread, salads
and sandwiches. The difference between the sandwiches and the
dishes are that the sandwiches are smaller and come with lettuce, tomato
and onion, and the full dishes include your choice of bread or rice and
more extensive toppings. A wonderful Greek Tzatziki sauce of plain
yogurt, chopped cucumber, onions, garlic and herbs comes with anything
you order, and this tangy sauce is an excellent accompaniment for any
dish.
There are four basic
types of meat, including grilled chunks of lamb, beef or chicken and
ground sirloin, or kubideh, a slightly spicy mixture of lean beef,
onions and spices that’s been wrapped around a skewer and grilled until
moist and meaty inside, crisp grilled outside.
The chunks of chicken,
which are marinated in a mild mixture of yogurt and spices then
chargrilled until crisp outside, are plump and juicy – in other words,
perfectly cooked. You’ve never tasted chicken kabobs like these
before ($5.25 with bread, $6.45 with rice, $4.50 as a sandwich), and
they’re even better with grilled tomatoes for added flavor.
The beef tenderloin and
lamb kabobs are also marinated before grilling, so they’re moist and
juicy ($6.50 with bread, $7.75 with rice, $4.50 as a sandwich), but the
chicken seemed to be the most popular during my visit.
The bread was a
disappointment. You can watch the dough being prepared
through a window while you wait for your meal, your appetite whetted as
the baker pounds a large mound of dough, chops it into small pieces,
then pulls them flat to bake until puffy. When they’re done, the
baker hangs the pieces of pita bread from a rack; later I noticed
they’re held over the clay oven to be reheated. Mine was tough,
like it had been on the rack too long then not beated long enough.
I’m sure the bread was excellent fresh and piping-hot, though ($1.10 a
la carte, or served with most dishes).
Moby Dick’s serves a
pretty good gyro sandwich, too. Finely ground meat is seasoned
then shaped into a huge roll, then sliced into thin strips and stuffed
into pita along with lettuce, tomato, onions and feta cheese ($3.95).
The tangy yogurt sauce cools and adds a refreshing zip to the seasoned
meat.
Fish kabobs are
different every day, based on what’s available. ($7.75 with bread, $8.95
with rice). The fish of the day when I visited Moby Dick’s was
swordfish, the thought of which made my mouth water until I was told
they were out. I’ll have to go back, but I know to call ahead.
Side dishes include
hummus, a popular dish of mashed chick peas with garlic, lemon and tangy
tahini paste ($2.30) and a dip of sautéed then mashed eggplant, onion,
garlic and boiled yogurt that’s a paste-like dip with an exotic, smoky
flavor ($2.75).
Baklava, a Greek pastry
of phyllo dough layered with honey, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and
chopped pistachios is excellent, but is more like a brownie than the
usual crispy, crumbly pastry ($2.75).
