1300 Connecticut Ave. Northwest, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 833-9788
Closest Metro: DUPONT CIRCLE (Red Line)
Moby Dick House of Kabob is a little Persian kabob restaurant just south of Dupont Circle, on N Street between 19th and Connecticut. If you’re not careful and not looking very closely, you just might miss it. The restaurant is in a building that blends easily with the buildings adjacent to it, and when I went there were no street signs announcing its presence. It was only the couple of signs on the restaurant itself that revealed its existence.
Entering the restaurant is truly no better. With yellow walls and brown wooden tables, pictures on the wall of localized photos of DC, the first word that comes to mind is “unassuming.” The restaurant was also playing nothing but very soothing music while I was there. Any signs of accomplishment were placed directly to the right of the door, which is facing away from the restaurant and not immediately viewable when entering the restaurant. This included a plaque that features the cover of the Washingtonian “Where to Get Great Stuff Cheap” and below that an award from Express (a publication of Washington Post) for best Kabob. Needless to say, ostentatious they are not.
There is no waiter service in this place. One just goes to the counter and orders, sits and waits. This is one of those places too where there is a soda machine for fountain sodas. I spoke to the manager who took my order and asked him what he would recommend here, and he told me “chicken or beef kabob.” Makes sense, given that this is a kabob place. I ordered the chicken joojeh kabob platter. ($8.29) This consisted of boneless chunks of white meat chicken which was marinated in their seasoning, over a few pieces of pita, with salad, consisting of lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, olive, and a little feta cheese. It also came with rice, which was a blend of yellow and white rice with no seasoning or spices, and cucumber yogurt sauce, which is essentially tzatziki sauce.
The chicken was outstanding. It had a chargrilled taste with a hint of lemon, yet very soft and juicy. The cucumber yogurt sauce might have been a little thinner than I expected, but not to the point of being liquid. The salad and rice were pretty much standard fare. But the real highlight of the show was the pita bread. The restaurant has its own clay oven, and the bread is baked fresh on the premises, so it comes out warm, and is not very doughy, like the pita bread one would buy in a grocery store. The place also has bottles of Texas Pete’s hot sauce, which also goes well with the chicken, if you are not into tzatziki sauce.
I sat in this restaurant marveling at the simplicity of it all. This is a very simple place with simple food. But what they do serve here, they do it well. It seems that they have more complicated dishes, such as Persian stews, which are reserved for their weekday lunch specials. Overall, I’d have to give this place an 8/10. Above average food, and portions, which are filling but not heavy, are perfect for lunch or a late night snack after a night out in DC. It’s good to know that this place is open until 4 AM.
Vegetarian Options: They exist here, such as falafel, melted cheese over fresh mushrooms, onion tomato and spinach on the pita bread, and a few different salads. One notable salad is the Shirazi Salad, which is a mix of diced cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with a lemon/olive oil dressing.
Amount spent: $8.29 for the chicken joojeh kabob platter
