By: Laurie Wallin
Capital Cooking Contributor
What do you think of when you
hear “Balkan cuisine?” To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure, so I was happy to have
dinner at Ambar, located in DC’s Barracks Row neighborhood and discover it for
myself. I discovered Ambar was born from a dream that owner Ivan Iricanin
had – to bring the cuisine from his homeland of Serbia to the U.S., and Ambar’s
menu is based on the best dishes from the Balkan Peninsula and were developed
by Iricanin and restaurant partner Richard Sandoval’s travels to Serbia in
2012. The menu features slow-cooked meats, fresh seafood and a diverse
selection of salads, vegetables, spreads, and meat mezze all expertly prepared
by Chef Ivan Zivkovic. Ambar recently updated their menu for spring, so I was
excited to visit for the first time and discover what Balkan cuisine is all
about.
I began with one of Ambar’s
seasonal specialty cocktails – the Pear Daisy made with vodka, triple sec, pear
and cardamom. The drink was smooth, light, and refreshing – the perfect start
to the meal.
I sampled the Urnebes, which is
an aged cow cheese spread with ajvar and chilli flakes, along with the Ajvar
(roasted pepper, eggplant, and garlic) and my favorite, the Garlic Beans with
onion, dry roasted pepper, and paprika, all served with house-made bread (somun
or fried sourdough or mixed). The Urnebes was so smooth and creamy and I really
enjoyed the Garlic Beans.
The meat mezze plate featured
several meats, including a Kulen (spicy salami) and Karlovacka (beef/pork
salami).
I tried the organic baby spinach
salad with horseradish dressing, which had quite a kick, along with the leek
croquettes with ajvar emulsion and breaded with a panko crust. These were
delicious and crunchy and not oily at all.
I’ve had grilled octopus before,
but cold octopus was a new one for me – and Ambar did it well. The cold octopus
salad was served with garlic beans and sliced cucumber and I loved the way the
flavors came together. The Mediterranean branzino with tomato, garlic and
spinach was light and delicious – I loved the addition of the tomato, where the
acidity balanced the fish’s sweet flavors.
My favorite dish of the night was
the spicy pork sausage with green peas and root vegetable stew. The flavors of
the sausage were nicely complemented by the vegetable stew and this dish was
incredibly hearty and would be lovely on a cold winter night. This dish also
paired wonderfully with a 2010 Bibich R6 Riserva Babic, Plavina, Lasin, from
Croatia. I know nothing about wine from this part of the world so I very much
appreciated Ambar’s “wine glossary” at the bottom of the wine menu.
Next, I was poured a small Rakia,
which is an alcoholic beverage produced by the distillation of fermented organic
fruit. It is a popular beverage throughout the Balkans and considered to be the
national drink of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Albania, among other countries. This
particular Rakia was made with apricot and was served alongside pickled
vegetables, and Ambar features an extensive menu of Rakias. How unique!
Ambar’s most popular dessert is
the Forest Gnocchi, made with chocolate mousse, bitter orange cake, ground
chocolate, orange gelee, tarragon gnocchi, passion fruit espuma and black tea
sauce. A real variety of flavors, it is presented beautifully and then up to
the diner to use the black tea sauce to mix everything together like a soup.
There is so much to choose from
on this menu, and thanks to Ambar’s “Bottomless Balkan,” diners don’t have to choose –
for $49pp, you can have unlimited plates and drinks (with a few exceptions) and
for $59pp, the entire food menu is game. What a great way to explore more items on
the menu.
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