As I’ve mentioned before, Washington, DC, is filled with food adventures. Newly gentrified H Street in northeast DC is the newest “hot” area of international food eclecticism. It has quirky pubs, rice dives, and even the chain pizza restaurant has fancy pants “jamon iberico” on the menu. Plus, this being DC, you can even get pizza with sweet potato. And, of course, they bake the pizza in a wood burning oven.
At the Lebanese restaurant, they sell “ayran,” a salty yogurt drink, “mamoul,” a Fig Newton-like treat, plus the usual middle eastern treats like baklava. An extra experience we had was getting good tips on Iraqi music from the guy behind the counter (there’s an app for that!).
Oh my God, I totally remember ayran in Turkey. It’s their home remedy for stomach problems (which I had, and often – must have been the water), and my host mother seemed to have an endless supply prepared for me. Needless to say, I have no fond memories of ayran!
Thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear that ayran left a bad taste in your mouth! I love it.