Location: 916 G St. NW
Readers’ Choice: Jaleo’s Goat Cheese Stuffed Red Peppers
If it were up to me, the entire food pyramid would consist of cheese.
It makes everything better — burgers, pasta, dip, hot dogs. Restaurants have realized that, fully cutting out the middleman and performing a genuine public service: serving us cheese straight off the rind.
D.C. isn’t known as a cheese city. I yearn for the cheese bars of Amsterdam, where conveyor belts deliver the finest dairy straight to your plate. But if you’re looking for a tasty night out in D.C. with a dairy loved one, try Urban Roast’s “glazed halloumi cheese” ($14).
Halloumi originates from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, usually comprising a mixture of goat and sheep milk. The cheese’s abnormally high melting point allows it to be grilled or fried, an ideal condition that lets chefs work their magic as they would with a steak or other entrees.
Urban Roast’s halloumi arrives at the table in four small slabs, each atop a pita. The cheese itself, of course, is delectable. Besides being warm and chewy from an effective grilling, the cooks devised a perfect glaze for the dish, a mixture of sweet honey and sesame seeds that contrast the milder umami of the halloumi.
The slightly singed cheese is firm and squeaky, making the texture as much of an adventure as the flavor. And the softness of the pita complements the mouth-watering succulence of the halloumi in a way that will leave you satisfied and asking for more.
The quartet of halloumi slices is perfect to share with a partner — it’s no wonder the next season of “Love is Blind” was spotted filming at Urban Roast.
Urban Roast, located near Gallery Place, offers a selection of meals and drinks beyond this brilliant cheese too. The seasonally decorated restaurant (rows of pink cherry blossoms dangle from the ceiling today) also crafts up some excellent charcuterie, an ever-rotating cast of cocktails and even s’mores.
But sometimes, you’re just in the mood for cheese, and it’s okay to admit that. Hop over to Gallery Place, ask the server for three orders of halloumi, relax and take it cheesy.
