On one of the first days of fall, as a gloomy haze settled over the District, we chose to commemorate the misty afternoon the best way we know how: with soup.
A twenty-minute walk from campus, the blue-and-white Zorba’s Cafe is a quaint Greek spot in Dupont Circle that offers a variety of Greek dishes, like Souvlaki Plates ($19), Veggie Pita Wraps ($13) and Baklava ($8). Established in 1984, the restaurant — named after the titular character of the novel “Zorba the Greek” — boasts a “homelike atmosphere” with homemade Greek dishes made from scratch, bouzouki music and scenic photographs.
Accompanied by two friends, we arrived at the building and walked through a front patio holding around six black tables, with strings of bulb lights hanging overhead. At 5 p.m. on a Wednesday, the spot was relatively empty, except for a few diners sitting at the small tables and wooden chairs on the first floor. With no one else in line, we ordered cups of all three soups from the menu — Avgolémono, Lentil and Fasolada — for $7 each, and our friends ordered an additional Lentil soup and a small Santoríni pizza ($22).
The white-walled interior — plus a couple colored accent walls — was moderately covered with gold-framed photographs of the Mediterranean, patterned rugs and brass pans. After ordering, we walked up the short staircase to a small upstairs seating area with around five tables, all with little blue ceramic vases and white flowers. A few minutes after sitting down at a table, a server brought us our three soups, along with three plates holding two pieces of bread each.
The first soup we tried was Avgolémono, a light chicken soup with a broth featuring amalgamated lemon and egg yolk. Despite coming for a fall atmosphere, the Avgolémono was refreshing and not too hearty — don’t expect to make a full meal out of it. With a simple rice and veggie base, the broth was the star of the show, and for a neophyte in Greek food like myself, the chicken, lemon and egg combination was a surprisingly pleasant blend.
What the Avgolémono lacked in heartiness, the Lentil provided — it was a thicker, warmer soup that provided the fall atmosphere we were looking for. The lentils and veggies were balanced by a touch of red wine vinegar, which provided a perfect bite of acidity to compliment the dense, thick beans. While the flavors of the soup worked really well, the lentil-to-broth ratio was a little too strong on the lentils.
The third and final Fasolada soup, considered by many to be the national dish of Greece, had a thin olive oil and tomato broth filled with soft white beans, along with small pieces of carrots, onions and celery. Slightly salty, and acidic from the tomato base, the soup was fairly filling, with the beans adding hearty sustenance to the mix of vegetables. The bread — soft with a slightly crispy crust — was an ideal way to soak up the extra broth and make the light soup more hearty.
As we finished our blend of broths, more patrons started entering the restaurant, sitting nearby in the upstairs alcove. We walked downstairs, out the door and back to Foggy Bottom underneath a slight drizzle, satisfied with our soup selections.
Next time we go, perhaps we will deviate from soup and try one of their dips that caught our eye, like the Greek Fire Feta ($10). Sometimes, all you need is a respite from the stresses and stimuli of life in D.C. — and as the weather cools, Zorba’s homey atmosphere and warm, satisfying dishes offer just that.
