By Stefanie Gans
Driss Zahidi couldn’t be in two places at once.
When he resumed ownership and kitchen duties at Evo Bistro early last year, he predicted he’d have to let go of his other restaurant, Le Mediterranean Bistro. And that’s what happened. “It was too much for me,” Zahidi says.
Concentrating solely at Evo, Zahidi recently redecorated the room, adding carpets and fitting the tables with white tablecloths. The latter indicates the chef wants diners to focus on his updated list of entrees, like the halibut with morel mushroom risotto and steak frites.
At Le Mediterranean Bistro, restaurant newcomer Adam Turock and his wife, Konjit, will keep the restaurant in stasis. “Driss had a very successful theme going,” says Turock, who took over earlier this year. New in the kitchen is Betty “Mimi” Gebriwot, who most recently cooked in restaurants in Ethiopia. She’s a cousin of Turock’s wife (the third owner is cousin Helen Gebriwot, Mimi’s sister) and while heeding the French-Moroccan menu will consider bringing Ethiopian influences to the menu. So far, she’s added a scratch mousse, turning cacao beans into chocolate for the dessert.
The team will also begin brunch and lunch service this weekend with a salmon and fried-hard egg sandwich on a baguette, French toast, eggs Benedict, chocolate and fruit crepes and made-to-order omelettes. //Le Mediterranean Bistro: 4008 University Drive, Fairfax
