If It's Tuesday, This Must be Neyla

I was supposed to sign up for a gym membership sometime this week, but opted to go out every night for Restaurant Week instead. (I love writing for DCFud. Anywhere else I would have to defend that choice, but you....you guys really get me! *sniffle*)

The Boy took me to Neyla in Georgetown the other day. Neyla is named for the Mediterranean spirit of prosperity, abundance, and success, but while the regular menu includes dishes like baba ghannoug, stuffed grape leaves, and chicken shawarma, executive chef Faisal Sultani has mysteriously created a restaurant week menu showing almost no sign of Mediterranean inspiration--an olive here, some goat cheese there. I briefly considered ordering off the regular menu, as I am usually helpless in the face of Mediterranean temptation, but that idea fell by the wayside when I saw, I kid you not, watermelon gazpacho on the restaurant week menu. I was not about to pass up the chance to try watermelon gazpacho.

Of course, the problem now is that I have a fever, and the only prescription is more watermelon gazpacho. It was fruity and sweet but not overpowering, with rock shrimp and tiny scoops of pickled canteloupe and honeydew. The Boy, who practically has a black belt in gazpacho, also detected some red wine vinegar, which kept it from being dessert-y. In any case, this dish was the best thing I have had so far during this RW go-round. I wanted to pick up the bowl and drink from it, but figured that sort of thing would go over especially poorly in Georgetown. We also had the sauteed calamari tossed with scallions and shaved garlic served with a lime-tomato fondue, which was tart and spicy and tender.

We usually don't order the same thing in restaurants, but neither of us could pass up the pan-roasted New York strip served with sweet and sour dandelion greens. That meant we didn't taste the swordfish or the egg pappardelle, but I regret nothing. The steaks were beautifully marbled, tender, and juicy, and I thought they involved gorgonzola, but that might have been a beautiful dream, because it does not appear on the otherwise-accurate online menu. The coconut panna cotta was fine but not amazing, although I may have liked it more had I not just had the transcendental amaretto panna cotta at Coeur de Lion the night before. One thing--the server, who was mostly excellent, was a little taken aback when I asked for the panna cotta without the pistachios on top, due to a nut allergy. I understand that chefs don't like omitting ingredients, but when your only real dessert option (nope, berries don't count) includes a topping to which many, many people are allergic, you have to be prepared for the request.

Another nice thing about Neyla--it's very pretty. When I heard that it was a "place to be seen," I naturally assumed that it had the same kind of masculine, ultra-modern steel-and-glass decor found in Zaytinya, IndeBleu, and to some extent Rasika, but despite the huge windows, Neyla is softer and more feminine than other hot spots in DC. The windows look out onto a gorgeous old brick courtyard, and the light glow rather than gleam. The front patio is a great space to people-watch.

I highly recommend this for restaurant week, but I can't vouch for the regular menu yet. More research is clearly needed!