Thursday, July 3, 2008

Cava

Greek Mezze Style.


Last night I ate at one of my favorite Greek restaurants in the Rockville area. When you first walk in the door you are met with an unusually loud volume level for such a nice restaurant. The atmosphere carries a distant echo of a modern dance club with the Greek techno music thumping quietly in the background. The restaurant is dimly lit, but surprisingly inviting. While this may not be the best restaurant to hold an important conversation, if your date enjoys quality food you can't go wrong here.

The food is ordered and served Mezze style. This simply means lots of small dishes. They all come out at different times to keep your taste pallette interested and your stomach from discomfort. The first two dishes we received were the Greek Village Salad $9.95 and the Hummus $5.95. The village salad is prepared with large cubes and wedges of cucumber, tomato, feta cheese; slices of red onion; black olives; capers; and a fresh and tangy vinagrette dressing over top. The flavors all mix to form a perfectly exquisite dance on the tastebuds that make you want to scrape your plate clean with the fresh baked pita bread included with your meal. The hummus is also very good and has a light olive oil drizzled over the top with an olive in the middle for presentation.

The next dishes we received were the Meatballs $5.95 and the Calamari $6.95. Calamari is something I try at least once at every restaurant I try, so I feel I have the credibility to judge the quality. I can honestly say that the Calamari at Cava is the best I have ever had. The way they fry it leaves no rubbery pieces, only a crisp golden buttery shell around the always tender rings of food. The dipping sauce is a spicy cream sauce that isn't at all overpowering, but pays the perfect compliment to the perfectly cooked Calamari. And even with all of that praise, the meatballs were just as good! They aren't technically meatballs, but thick juicy patties which are seasoned with a hint of acidity and just the right tangy zest to make them absolutely stunning. In my opinion, this is one of the most important items on the menu to try because it resembles the care and attention to detail that Cava shows in all of their dishes.

For the main courses we ordered the Chef's Prime Cut $14.95 and the Baked Chicken $9.95. The Prime Cut really took me by surprise. The flavors of the brown sauce were very engaging, and when I sank my teeth into that perfectly cooked slice of beef my heart absolutely melted! The tenderness and the juiciness was second to none and I just sat there chewing it with my eyes closed enjoying the flavors. At this point I decided to taste the Baked Chicken. This is a very delicious combination of feta cheese, juicy cubes of chicken, a light sauce and some fresh basil. It was a very good dish, but after tasting that prime cut, I was hooked.

Overall I would highly recommend trying Cava for an amazing lesson in flavors. The food was above par in every way possible. Two of the women in my group complained that it was cold inside, so you might want to bring a jacket. My advice would be to sit outside since that would avoid the extremely loud noise, and the cold at the same time. Best of luck to you and let me know if you try anything I didn't mention!

CAVA

9713 Traville Gateway Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
301-309-9090
Lunch: 11:30 am - 2:00 pm Monday thru Friday
Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5:00pm - 10:00 pm
Friday-Saturday 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm

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