Date Visited: 8 August 2010
Meal: Lunch
Diners: 2 - Me & Wendy
Experience: Another new restaurant in Leesburg has risen from the ashes of an old one. Zara Kebab features Turkish Cuisine and is located in the
Marketplace at Potomac Station, in the spot where
Zpizza used to be. They join the growing number of restaurants there, which currently includes the
Greene Turtle,
Subway,
Manhattan Pizza,
James Cafe,
Arby's, and
Moe's. Zara Kebab joins the family of restaurants in Leesburg serving kebabs, along with
Red Kabob (Jordanian) and
Doner Bistro (German-style). In the U.S., people are fairly familiar with the term Gyro (Greek), but not so much with Doner (which is the original Turkish version). They are very similar, differing a bit in the specific spices and proportions used. Gokhan said that their Doner was about 80% beef and 20% lamb, made fresh daily - never frozen, and cooked on a vertical spit. You can read up on the
Doner Kebab phenomena on Wikipedia; amazingly, Leesburg is mentioned in the article as one of the few places in the U.S. where Doner Kebabs are known and served!
Zara Kebab co-owner Gokhan graciously helped us through the menu, making suggestions giving us background on many of the dishes. On this visit, we started off with an appetizer called Cigar Borek ("Feta cheese with parsley wrapped homemade dough and deep fried"). The feta was very mild, and they were perfectly fried, hot, and fresh tasting. Gokhan explained that this dish is very common in Turkish homes.
For my entree, I got the Shish Kofte ("Ground beef gently spiced and grilled served with rice, lettuce, pita bread & cacik sauce"). The "shish" means it's grilled on a skewer, and the "kofte" is the ground beef, which is served on top of the pita, and looks somewhat like a large sausage. Gokhan said that the secret is that the meat has been marinated for at least 24 hours, and I could tell - it was juicy and delicious! Most of the dishes at Zara Kebab come with their homemade Cacik sauce ("Plain homemade yogurt with chopped cucumbers, fresh mints, dill and garlic"), which was good and refreshing. Most of the dishes also come with two kinds of rice: white rice with orzo pasta toasted in butter, and whole grain rice (kind of yellow-orange). Gokhan said the whole grain was the healthy one!
Wendy got the Doner (Gyro) Kebab ("Thin sliced marinated beef, cooked with an open flame on a vertical spit, shaved-off in tender thin slice, served with rice, lettuce, pita bread & cacik sauce"). Like my Kofte, it was very juicy and wonderfully marinated.
There are plenty of other dishes to try at Zara Kebab, and we'll be back to try 'em. Gokhan and the rest of the staff were very friendly, making our visit a pleasure. We can enthusiastically recommend that you give Zara Kebab a visit, and support a local Leesburg business!
Location: 659 Potomac Station Dr., Leesburg, VA 20176, 703-777-3515
Web site: none (yet)
Total bill: $30.75 + $6.00 tip = $36.75
Date Visited: 9 August 2010
