July 18, 2008
Restaurant Recommendations from Post food critic Tom Sietsema
CASBAH CAFE (**)
1721 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 202-342-7100.
Entrees $11.95-$15.95
Half the choices are Moroccan, half are Greek. So I enlist my waiter for some direction. "Go with what you like," he responds. "If you don't see anything you like, we'll try to make something for you." That won't be necessary, because lots of dishes are calling to me: chicken tagine, moussaka, kefta. Indeed, the menu reads like a greatest-hits list from the Mediterraean. What follows from the kitchen proves my server right. Herby falafel on a drift of garlicky hummus and cinnamon-spiced ground beef swaddled in cabbage pay nice tribute to Greece. Meanwhile, fat phyllo "cigars" of shredded chicken and almonds and a fluffy pyramid of couscous with chicken and artichokes do Morocco proud. T.D. Diab, the Egyptian-born owner, hints that the script at his tidy Georgetown eatery might change down the road. "I don't like people to get bored," he says. Fat chance, I think to myself, hoping to find more foreign intrigue the next time around.
Dirndl-wearing server Blaire Shelton, left, delivers one of Schmankerl Stude's most popular dishes: pork shanks. Above, the phyllo "cigars" from Casbah Cafe are a Moroccan treat. (Photos By Scott Suchman)
SCHMANKERL STUBE (**)
58 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown; 301-797-3354. Entrees $18-$26
Your waitress wears a dirndl. The music could accompany Oktoberfest. And the food, which is German (of course), is apportioned as if a soccer team expects to eat it. If you like meat -- and you better if you visit Schmankerl Stube -- plan to go on a Wednesday night. That's when the chef serves what might be the single best, and possibly the biggest, savory item on the menu: pork shanks. Rubbed with garlic, caraway and paprika, and baked for almost four hours, the meteor-size chunk of meat emerges from the oven with a crisp rind and a succulent interior. But there's more to like than just pork. Light appetites should aim for the herring, its vinegar tang foiled by crisp bits of apple dressed with sour cream. Desserts ring true, too. Black Forest cherry cake is moist with whipped cream and spiked with drunken cherries, while the cheesecake made with cottage cheese proves surprisingly light and lemony. (Reviewed June 29)
To read complete reviews of Casbah Cafe and Schmankerl Stube from The Post Magazine, go to http:/
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