Most of America knows what comprises a Continental breakfast. They might even be familiar with the full English. But one of the best morning options on the planet doesn’t get as much play on our soil — yet.
In NoVA, we’re lucky to have a handful of full Turkish breakfast options. My longtime favorite is at My Cravingz in Manassas, and the one at East West Café, with locations in Tysons and Clarendon, is noteworthy as well. Fortunately for folks like me who live more than 40 minutes from both, a new daily Turkish breakfast has entered the chat.
Welcome Chantilly’s Moda Café & Bakery. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Sunday, diners can share one of the most complete breakfasts around. At $58, the full Turkish breakfast for two (the minimum order) isn’t cheap, but the price mirrors the satisfaction a diner is almost certain to feel when they’ve dug into the table-spanning feast.
What’s in a Turkish breakfast? Everything your day-starting stomach desires, as long as you’re not jonesing for pork products. At Moda, that includes two large skillets filled with whatever egg dishes you choose. My dining companion and I love scrambled eggs, so we skipped omelets in favor of two scrambles: creamy ezine cheese and the spice-redolent beef sausage, sujuk. Next time, we might order two of the latter.
The eggs are the only choice required. By default, diners get a cheese platter decorated with walnuts, two different kinds of olives, a vegetable plate that also includes air-dried beef called pastirma, dips, jams, breads, and a fryer basket filled not just filled spiced frites, but also cheese-filled sigara pastries.
It sounds like a lot, but it looks and feels like even more. I would have been perfectly happy to call it a day with just freshly baked, crisp-crusted bread dipped in ajvar, a pleasantly spicy red pepper dip. The only disappointment was that the simit, a Turkish cousin to the bagel, promised on the menu never materialized.
This was in keeping with the less-than-stellar service that met me at Moda. Tables are outfitted with buzzers. Although servers came quickly when buzzed, their follow-up after that left something to be desired. This was even the case with my dessert coming to the table. (Yes, I saved room for something sweet besides the pistachio-topped bananas and Nutella that were part of the breakfast.)
The front room at Moda is lined with pastry cases, each filled with a candy-colored collection of compelling treats. I knew I wanted something pistachio-flavored, but choosing between chocolaty baklava, kataifi, katmer, and a large selection of green-hued cakes was next to impossible.
Ultimately, I went with a pistachio-and-strawberry cake. It would have benefited from a bit stronger of a nutty flavor, but I couldn’t argue with the vanilla cream, chocolate pudding, and fresh strawberries in the middle.
Though Moda is still finding its feet, I’m excited to have it as an option in Chantilly. The restaurant serves until 10 p.m., and the diverse lunch and dinner options (many of which are hard to find in our area), are calling to me. There’s little question that I’ll be back for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
14513 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy., Chantilly
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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