Last June, I was on a mission to dropped my (still license-less) brother off at nerd camp in DC. Now, the typology of aforementioned nerd camp doesn't really matter. Nerd camps have appeared in the fabric of bookish American youth forever, and other than some true tidbits of domain-specific knowledge, the biggest takeaway is always the sense of roaming around a strange place in a pack of confident, the-world-is-our-oyster teenagers.

After the dropoff, {high school U Stanford} (the only one) friend Susie took me out for dinner at Zaytina. Zaytina begins with a sizeable, airy plaza, whose feeling is continued in its simple but warm decor. In our section, the notable decorations were a towering grid of tealights and several vast vases of gleaming olive oil. Tables are set with scrupulously refreshed baskets of pita still warm from whatever process makes them thin, moist, and dramatically puffy.

First, a note: Zaytinya is famous for its mezze, a Mediterranean name for the now-ubiquitous Spanish tapas. Have the damn mezze. To do otherwise is to order entrees at a dim sum place.

The Paula Wolfert style mussels were my absolute favorite. (Balked a little at the American name when we were ordering, but I've since found out that she's an expert in Mediterranean cooking). I'd been hesitant about mussels, but these were delicious without being exotic: a light and perfectly-balanced tomato juice with wine, garlic, feta, and a teensy bit of a kick. For $7.25 (fairly high where almost all plates fall between $4 and $8), it keeps giving and giving: once you've finally finished off the generous portion of mussels, the juices can be mopped up forever with pita. Havuç Köftesi (carrot and apricot fritters in pistachio sauce), Almond Trout, and Lamb Kebab were other dishes that I remember a year later.

This might just be the blase metropolisian in me, but after having eaten out almost wholly in the New York and Silicon Valley areas, an elegant, capricious, and delicious dinner (no wine) at under $50 for three hungry people is also an incredibly good deal.

Zaytinya
701 Ninth Street NW
Washington, DC
202/638.0800
http://www.zaytinya.com