Vienna’s Joon was named to The New York Times list of their critics’ 50 favorite restaurants in America right now.
The Iranian restaurant is one of 32 recently opened restaurants to be featured on this year’s iteration of the NYT list.
Here’s what New York Times food critic Melissa Clark had to say about Joon and its Persian cuisine on “The Restaurant List 2024:”
“Through her award-winning cookbooks and acclaimed cooking classes, Najmieh Batmanglij has spent her 40-year career exploring the history and richness of ancient Persian and modern Iranian cuisines. In 2023, she brought these exquisite tastes to life by opening Joon (in partnership with Christopher Morgan, the ex-chef at the Middle Eastern standout Maydan) in this suburb of Washington, D.C. The cavernous space, accented in watery blues, is like a portal to another world, scented with rose water and saffron. Both are used exuberantly on the mostly classic menu, designed for sharing. Bring a crowd to savor heaping platters of lamb shoulder with fava beans and dill, duck fesenjoon with pomegranate and fried onions, and a stunning pistachio soup laced with sour orange that’s both creamy and tart.”
Led by Chef-Owner Christopher Morgan, who grew up in McLean, and Executive Chef Najmieh Btmanglij, Joon at 8045 Leesburg Pk., Ste. 120, Vienna, opened its doors to Northern Virginia diners in June 2023. Its dishes feature fresh and seasonal Persian ingredients and spices, giving the menu its rich flavor palate.
Also new to the NYT list is DC’s Moon Rabbit and Pascual, which both opened in January 2024, and Sperryville’s Sumac.
About Sumac, Clark wrote: “One of the best, most elegant bites I’ve eaten all year — slivers of golden tilefish with juniper and whey over sticky rice — wasn’t arranged on a ceramic plate in a fancy restaurant. It wasn’t served on a plate at all, but nestled into a paper bowl at a picnic table in front of Pen Druid Brewery in rural Virginia. That’s how it goes at Sumac, where all the proteins, dairy, vegetables and grains are grown within a 150-mile radius and cooked over a fire in a trailer parked in a field. The setting may be rustic, but Abigail and Dan Gleason’s cuisine is fiercely refined, with a menu that changes as the hyperlocal ingredients come into season, like the black walnuts paired with rabbit or the wild persimmons strewed over masa cake for dessert.”
Feature image of Joon by Michael Butcher
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