Greek and Afghan Cuisine in Virginia

This week we splurged and enjoyed the luxuries afforded by living in an extremely diverse area. Arlington may not be New York City, but there is still plenty of diversity around. Latin, Arab, Asian and African diasporas bring not only strong work ethics and family members when they settle in this humble area, they also bring amazing flavors.

The Greek community may be smaller in numbers than some of the ethnic groups around but they make up for it in pride and festivity. We wandered upon a Greek restaurant, Taverna Creketou, with a friend during the week. While hesitant looking at the prices on the menu on the window, the live music, warm atmosphere and suggestion of a random passerby that it was the best food she'd ever eaten caused us to jump in. Once inside we really felt transported to a warm Greek island. I didn't recognize many of the names of optioins on the menu but would recommend the eggplant mousse appetizer and moussaka as well as the house red wine. However, even more than the food, what I enjoyed was the live music and lively dancers. In particular there was a dignified lady with white hair and a talent for performing who is one of my new role models for how I want to enjoy old age when I hopefully get there.

Then last night, exhausted after training capoeira and acrobatics, my boyfriend and I fell back on one of our favorite restaurants down the street, the Kabob Palace, for sustenance. The Kabob Palace is owned by an Afghan family. The place is small but decorated with beautiful paintings and pictures of Afghanistan as well as with a few American flags. The food is amazing - delicious kabobs, vegetable side dishes, and soft, warm bread. I love the shrazi salad and the mango lassi.

Next week we will have to go back to our usual home-cooking which is a little easier on our budget, but if you happen to be looking for good places to go out to eat, I'd definitely recommend these two restaurants.