Maybe I got the Cilantro Jalapeño by mistake. The Labneh Ranch is very creamy with a bit of tang and some garlic, while the Green Shug seems to be cilantro and parsley with jalapeño in oil. Nancy and I perked them up with a bit of the sauces, which the chicken didn’t really need. My fears of a strong maple taste were unrealized, and they were nice enough carrots, coming in different colors rather than the usual orange. And the Old School Cucumber Salad was terrific, fresh and with a bright peppery taste. What brand should I buy? The chicken smelled of, what, cardamon? Ground coriander? Cumin. Was that fragrance from the za’atar? I’ve never used za’atar, but I’ll buy some now. I might buy it just to sit in my car and breathe it in. Little Sesame makes what may be the best smelling chicken on earth. I got out of the wind and into my car and was bowled over by the smell of the chicken. Thursday at 5:30 I was outside in the cold and wind, watching a stream of customers pick up their orders and drivers coming to pick up batches of orders for others while the staff filled bag after bag with food in a coordinated frenzy. I guess I still could, but I was disinclined to do so mid-order. I could have googled Shug and Labneh, which I think is some sort of cheese. I could figure out most of them offhand except for Labneh Ranch and Green Shug, so, ever eager to learn, I ordered those. There’s simply a list of the various options - Green Shug, Harissa BBQ, Labneh Ranch, Roasted Onion Tahini, Cilantro Jalapeño - again including no descriptions. The sauces are not described on the menu, at least anywhere I saw. I like that price.įor sides, I chose the cucumber salad and Nancy opted for the carrots with maple. All of that for $25 plus tax and over-tip. It came with our choice of two sides, two sauces of our choice, hummus, and pita bread.

Nancy and I had ordered a chicken schwarma dinner with a half chicken. I’ve resigned myself to a life of such surprises. I called and they patiently noted that when they are sold out, the web page clearly states, to anyone paying a modicum of attention, that orders would be fulfilled on the following day at 5:30. That automatically bumped my order to 5:30 Thursday, to my consternation. I tried ordering at 6:00 or 6:30 on a Wednesday night and they were already sold out. When we do both, we all win.We have another good place to eat! Nancy and I finally had a chance to try the Little Sesame pop-up at Sugar Fox, the sweet shop associated with the Red Fox, next to Buck’s and across the street from Rosemary Bistro and I’m Eddie Cano. We’ve long believed in the power of food to make the world a better place and this year, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to serve food that’s good for you and good for the planet. Most importantly, we had the honor to feed you and your families during such a crazy year.

We launched our ROTISSERIE! (shawarma spiced, of course) and also announced our upcoming pop up at Sugar Fox with our friends from Little Red Fox which launches on January 6th. We traveled across Virginia, feeding poll workers, election officials and everyday folks waiting in line to make sure their voices were heard. We wanted to make sure democracy won in 2020 so we partnered with Chefs For the Polls, Fuel The People and I Will Vote. And even made appearances in two new cookbooks: Joe Yonan’s: Cool Beans and Julia Bainbridge’s: Good Drinks!

Hosted chef collaborations with Call Your Mother and Your Only Friend. We poured wines from Lubanzi and Old Westminster Winery. While events were a-little-bit-different from the years past, we co-hosted two dinners with A Rake’s Progress and Mercy Me. Big thanks to 4P Foods, Farmsy and Number 1 Sons, for getting our food into people's homes during such a trying year. When we pivoted our model and started selling hummus by the pint we leaned on small local businesses to reach new audiences. We threw our first ever (virtual) Earth Day 5K with ultramarathoner Mike Wardian and over 1,000 people from across the world joined us to #run4motherearth! Who’s running with us in 2021?! We served 75,000 meals over the 25 weeks to the community around Kelly Miller Middle School - and just last week we returned for a celebratory holiday meal to wrap up the year. You donated nearly $100,000 so we could feed our neighbors hit hardest by the pandemic. We closed up shop on March 15th and transitioned into a community kitchen, partnering with Dreaming Out Loud, No Kid Hungry, Power of 10 Initiative, World Central Kitchen and ALL OF YOU. But we stayed safe and healthy and had some fun along the way. What a whirlwind, and whirlwind doesn’t begin to do it justice.

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