Soussi, sans soucis?

Soussi opened just before I moved to the neighborhood back in 2002, at the corner of 18th and Kalorama. I walked past it for more than three years, vaguely wondering if it was worth a try, but never bothering to find out. I'd not heard anyone say anything about it, other than my semi-delinquent street musician of a housemate, whose judgment on anything but music is suspect.

I ignored Soussi for too long; when I ended up there for the first time - just a few short weeks before moving out of the neighborhood – I wished I’d gone sooner. My first visit was on one of those warm early spring days, and we sat out on the lovely and comfortable patio, set to watch the WAKA kids stumble from bar to field (or is it the other way around?) amongst the commuters walking home, and the other happy hour crowds gearing up for a night of 18th Street's charming(?) tackiness. On two subsequent trips, gorgeous summer evenings inspired the same effect.

Service was slow the first two visits, despite the place not being at all packed, but very polite and friendly. On the second visit, unfortunately, our server was really kinda pushy. Once ordered, the drinks and food took their time appearing as well. On my third visit, service was prompt and very accommodating, even of NBC 4’s Scott and cameraman Jim! My server kindly obliged bringing out my meal twice so that the best shot could be had.

Soussi's enticing list of 'martinis' (some of which even contain gin, vodka and/or vermouth), most costing seven to eight dollars, promises much more than it delivers. Tasty, to be sure, but they’re fairly light on the booze. Two dirty martinis and a Tres Français (which was a bit too much like drinking straight Campari for my tastes), should have left me more than vaguely relaxed.

The beer service, on the other hand, is excellent. Though a small list (basically Hogaarten, Leffe and Stella, plus undrinkablesstandards like Miller Light, etc.), Soussi employs a "French-style draft," of which I had never before heard. The system looks unfortunately like a bidet – the glass is inverted over an upwards stream of cold water – but bartender Will says that it “just pours a better beer.” I like Leffe and Hogaarten, and they did taste pretty good, so I was happy.

And then there's the food. Nothing I or my companions had was anything less than good, and some was excellent. This is why you go to Soussi; good North African food at reasonable prices is a rare find in DC, and this is that.

We tried lots of dishes, both from the smaller plate and main menus - the lovely-but-not-really-unique bruschetta, a very tasty merguez sandwich with harissa, and a few real stand-outs.

Of the small plates, two really spring to the fore: the shrimp tagine and the merguez sausage. The tagine consists of a few shrimp, prettily arranged in a delicious, thick, earthy-tangy sauce that, after the shrimp are too quickly gone, makes a wonderful dip for bread. The merguez plate is a number of the small, spicy lamb sausages cut in half and arranged atop a bed of mixed greens. I really like merguez, and the salad underneath set it off quite well.

On the entrée menu, the two steak dishes we tried - the tagine and pomme frites - were excellent. The meat was tender, flavorful, and juicy. The tagine is of course the more remarkable dish, as it's not something you find that often in DC. Cooked with peppers and onions and a thick, earthy, somewhat spicy sauce (and, I believe, dry rubbed with spices), it is delicious. The steak pomme frites was similarly tender and flavorful, and adorned with frites which, while not remarkable on their own, made good dipping fodder for the assorted sauces left on our plates.

The lamb couscous with a sweet+sour plum sauce was also excellent. The meat was very tender and juicy, with a sweetness that was noticeable but not at all overpowering, the flavors subtly developing with each bite. this was one of my favorites, and definitely worth another go.

At only $15.50, I was dubious of the mahi mahi with couscous and mango salsa, but since I love both mango and mahi mahi, I went ahead and got it. Twice. It turned out to be, hands down, my favorite dish on the menu. The fish was beautifully prepared, dry rubbed I think with a tangy, slightly spicy compound (dried harissa?), with a mango salsa that was chunky and delicious, but didn't overrun the fish's flavor. The lump of couscous was a lovely, subtle addition to the plate, which was completed by a few lightly (perfectly, in fact) steamed veggies. Yum!

Another thing for which I must commend Soussi is their portions. Nothing is overwhelmingly huge, but nobody felt unsatisfied at all. This is an apparently lost art at many area restaurants, which either overload the plate in the name of ‘value’ or serve miniscule portions in the name of fashion. For all their drinks menu leaves to be desired, Soussi's food speaks for itself. I don't think I'd go every week, but I expect that I'll be seen there with some regularity in the future.