Yabba Baba Good

The dinner I had at District Oven was very good, but I did not get any fresh pita. So for my brunch on Sunday, I made sure to double up on dishes that came with oven-baked goods: baba ghanoush ($7) and manakeesh ($8). The eggplant dip came with a piping hot pita, fresh and puffed up from the oven. It was delicious to taste the transitions of the pita. In the beginning, it was soft and fragrant. As it cooled, the bread became chewy. There was more than enough of the rich dip to spread liberally with every bite. I thought it was a tad acidic on its own, but was perfect with the bread.

The pizza-like manakeesh didn't quite hit the same spot, though it was very good. The flatbread base was nice but my chosen topping of labaneh (strained yogurt) and zatar (herb spread) took some getting used too. The combination was a bit odd for my palate. Perhaps just the zatar or alternatively, the akkawi cheese, would be a better choice. With tax included in the price, this was a cheap brunch given the superior quality, and more interesting than other spots.