Me Jana

Review by Ontheside on October 26, 2007

Me Jana's name conveys the Lebanese restaurant's desire to make its customers feel like family. Diners are greeted with a kind word and a basket of warm pita at the table akin to the soft, pillowy bread served at Zaytinya. A small plate in the center of the table contains olives, zatar (a spice), olive oil, and labneh (a thick yogurt), and the pita is well-served by a quick swipe through the olive oil and a dip in the labneh.

Me Jana’s interior suits its neighborhood. Red walls, glossy wood floors, and dark wood tables set a hip, stylish tone. Black cloth napkins, candles on the table, and stemless glasses for red wine help round out the ambiance, but the restaurant is not so urban, upscale, and/or grandiose in appearance that it seems out of place in Arlington. One can walk in wearing jeans and a sweater or a going-out-on-the-town outfit and feel comfortable.

The dinner menu consists of over 40 small plates and fewer than ten entrees. The small plates range in price from $5.00 (thyme fries) to $14.00 (lamb shank); entrees range in price from $17.00 (kafta kebob) to $29.00 (lamb chops).

Me Jana’s prices are a potentially fatal problem and may scare many diners away, particularly the diners in surrounding apartment and condominium buildings who might otherwise become regulars. The fattouch salad, at $7.50 for a small bowl, is almost two dollars more than at Zaytinya and over two dollars more than at the excellent Pita House in Old Town Alexandria. The savory, minty salad, a Lebanese restaurant staple, is also more expensive than at Me Jana’s closest geographic competitor, Aladdin’s Eatery. Seven dollars for four small falafel patties exceeds the prices at Aladdin’s, Pita House, and Zaytinya, and many other items are similarly overpriced.

Price complaints aside, the food does not disappoint. The aforementioned fattouch salad is a strong rendition, featuring well-diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cucumbers doused in olive oil, enlivened by sumac, and complemented by pita chips. The kitchen may wish to ease up a little on the mint and be a bit more generous with the sumac and pita chips, but those are minor issues; the salad is a superb start to a meal. The goat cheese and oranges salad also won approval from its recipient.

The falafel is one of the better versions in the area, superior to the offerings of Aladdin’s Eatery or Pasha Café, and on par with the chickpea patties at Zaytinya. No unappealing dryness or crumbly texture here, and every drop of the shallow pool of tahini sauce on the plate deserves to be swept up.

Me Jana’s version of fatteh, consisting of two long, thick strips of fried eggplant covered in thick yogurt sauce, chickpeas, and pita chips, reads well on the menu, but loses something in translation from paper to plate. The dish is satisfying, but some aspect of flavor is missing; maybe the omitted element is tanginess in the somewhat bland yogurt, a dusting of zatar, or hot, melted butter (which saturates the fabulous version at the Pita House). Despite the need to revisit the recipe, the dish is worth keeping on the menu.

Cheese-centric plates are crowd-pleasers. The cheese rolls, which are, in essence, manchego- and feta-filled spring rolls, were roundly hailed. Zucchini fritters were enjoyed, but at least one diner opined that the dish fell a hair short of Zaytinya’s version. The potato kibbe, potato dumplings filled with melted feta cheese, elicited nothing but positive remarks, and the four potato dumplings come with a small bonus mound of tasty baba gannouj in the center of the plate.

The baba gannouj is also available as a separate small plate, and while it is a high-grade version of the eggplant dip, $6.50 is a D.C., not Arlington, asking price.

Me Jana’s staff seems well-trained, and is inarguably enthusiastic. A host or hostess greets patrons with a big smile, and servers are equally cheery. Water glasses are filled quickly after a diner indicates that ice water is fine, bread comes out (and is replaced) quickly, fresh cups of coffee appear without request, and one can expect to be asked at least twice during a meal whether he or she is enjoying the food. Despite a few dishes that are stilll works in progress, the answer will almost certainly be “yes.”