The expectation of where to find great food changed dramatically in the last few years. There’s killer tacos from a food truck and the freshest greens from a counter operation.
Fava Pot started as a truck, and opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant last fall, serving sit-down quality food ordered at the register. The Egyptian menu lists plenty of Middle Eastern staples, like grape leaves, wrapped taut and skinny, maybe a quarter of the size of otherwise chubby tubes, but packs four times the flavor. It’s beefy and smoky, like that prized last bite of rice collecting run-off from a piece of steak.
Bits of veal with the fat still clinging on help moisten a plate of rice mixed with little strings of vermicelli. Though it’s a meat-and-potatoes type of dish—there are actual potatoes mixed in too—it remains light because of the tender, delicate veal.
This country’s bowl of carbs, koshary, packs elbow noodles, rice, lentils and chickpeas in a tangy tomato sauce laced with caramelized onions. It’s comfort in a different language, but also brings punches to an otherwise heavy combination.
Ful medames, a starter, which is available packaged in a trio for less than $10, is heady, rich and tender fava beans, and is a subtle standout, but also lives up to the pressure of having an entire restaurant named after it.
