It’s definitely the time of year to try new places. A recent restaurant visit took me to Cava Mezze in Rockville, MD.  This is the real restaurant vs the fast-food version, which is Cava Grill.

The restaurant offers a wide selection of shared plates (like tapas) and good drink menu.

They start you off with super warm pita bread and nice olive oil and harissa.

After looking over the wine list, we opted for a house wine, Black of Kalavryta. Wow! It’s labeled as a dry Greek red.  Got a slight hint of leather and some great dark cherries and strawberries.

Jumping ahead, we asked if we could buy bottles to take home, and it was not possible. Going to do some research as to who makes this stuff.

The waitress suggested 2-3 tapas per person, so we ordered 2 each to start and sort of share.

Taramosalata — salmon roe, lemon, breadcrumbs.  First I had to look up what this really is.  Per Wikipedia: Taramasalata is a Greek and Turkish meze made from tarama, the salted and cured roe of the cod, carp, or grey mullet mixed. Let me tell you: tasty!

Roasted Cauliflower — cumin, olive oil, fried capers, lemon yogurt. Such a nice taste from the roasting and apparently the yogurt was amazing!!

Octopus — grilled octopus, black beluga lentils, green harissa.  OMG, enough said.

Lamb Chops — two baby chops, crisped potatoes, extra virgin olive oil. Perfectly done.

This was a phenomenal dinner. The only thing bad is that it had taken me so long to get there. It is a small place so when you check it out, make a reservation.