“Jerusalem Restaurant is where Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others enjoy the foods of the crossroads of the world,” states the website of Falls Church’s Jerusalem Mediterranean. It’s one of the lovelier, more inclusive sentiments I’ve seen on an “About Us” page on a restaurant website. But this is the kind of restaurant where there’s a pile of free books waiting with the entreaty to “take one.” During a recent lunchtime, groups flitted in picking up pastries or sitting down for a meal, with a hello from the staff that signaled recognition. It was clear that Jerusalem Mediterranean is about community as much as it is food.
But that notion is reflected on the menu. There are dishes from Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, and seemingly everywhere in between. After consulting with my Saudi server, he approved of my order of lamb kabsa, a dish that I knew as Yemeni, but that he said he used to eat back home. A little research taught me that the rice plate is served all over the Arabian peninsula and beyond. But the melting pot of a menu really revealed itself even before my entrée arrived.
Main dishes at Jerusalem Mediterranean are served with puffy house-baked flatbread and a bowl of soup. I chose harira, a tomato-based Moroccan specialty. The steaming bowl was thick with lentils, but also contained chickpeas and tender noodles. A bit of cilantro brightened up the already cheery-tasting soup, a great companion for my mint lemonade.
The kitchen forgot the raisins that the menu said would be on my kabsa, but the server quickly brought them out for me to add to the dish. The bits of chewy sweetness were a welcome punctuation to the aromatic rice and vermicelli piled on the plate. Fork-tender chunks of fatty, bone-in lamb were full of flavor on their own, but even better when dipped in the spicy, tart side of fresh zhug.
My main takeaway after my first visit to Jerusalem Mediterranean is that there’s much left to explore. And if I’m craving anything from muhammara to koshary, I will find it there.
3400 Washington Dr., Unit A, Falls Church
Feature image by Alice Levitt
For more stories like this, subscribe to our Food newsletter.
