Jason Stratton is back! The former chef/owner of Cascina Spinasse, Aragona & Vespolina is now the executive chef of Mamnoon. During his absence he’s been busy in “Spain” filming Top Chef, which will be aired December 2nd and 3rd. 
Mamnoon is Seattle Restaurant of the Year 2013, serving modern Lebanese and Syrian cuisine. This review is for their three year anniversary dinner.
Course #1:
Spiced yellow split pea sambusek with quince jam, /, calamari with beet bi zeit, lime leaf, and pomegranate, /, carrot bi tahini with cumin and lime served with Mamnoon’s famous khobz (flat bread):
Course #2:
november tabbouleh of freekeh, shaved celery, fennel, black radish, and celeriac:
I really like the texture of the freekeh, along with celery and black radish. Very refreshing.
Course #3:
Shorabat ya’teen: winter luxury pumpkin soup with blood orange and angelica oil, cilantro, and labneh:
This is not your usual sweet creamy pumpkin soup, it is packed with exotic flavors. Angelica oil apparently has many health benefits.
Course #4: (We picked all three)
Turkey kefta with baharat, brown butter yogurt, chestnut, and barberry rice:
Grilled daurade with tahini, roasted romanesco cauliflower, and preserved meyer lemon:
Bulgur dumpling with red bean, chard and red pepper sauce:
Of the three, we liked the fish and the dumpling dish. The kefta was a little too dry to our taste.
Course #5:
Spiced figs with labneh mousse, phyllo, and candied cocoa nibs:
This was our absolute favorite. A delicious concoction of textures and flavors, put together just right. Carrie Mashaney, the former pastry chef of Aragona and Cascina Spinasse followed Jason’s footsteps to Mamnoon. I thought I tasted a little familiarity here :).
We finished dinner with a glass of Orange blossom water:
Jason stopped by and signed our menu:
At the end of the meal, we felt elated and slightly intoxicated (I blame that to the orange blossom water 🙂 ). There were musicians playing Middle Eastern music throughout the night. We had the urge to belly dance but it is kinda hard to shimmy when you are sitting at a table. Under an army of menacing headless chickens, I only wished none will land on our heads.
Happy eating indeed!
Mamnoon
Address: 1508 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
Phone: (206) 906-9606
Webpage: http://www.mamnoonrestaurant.com/
