Restaurant review: Rumi
2001 L St NW
Washington, D.C.
202-331-1922

Rumi took over the space occupied by a lackluster pizza/Mexican luncheonette. Though the new owners must feel obligated to keep the truly mediocre pizza, some new menu items are worth a look.

Two sandwiches in particular are worth a try.

The falafel sandwich at $5.25 is a great deal. A handful of falafel nuggets (fava, not chickpea) are stuffed into a soft, oversized pita studded with sesame seeds. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onions are packed in, with a thin hummus (more like a watery tahini) rounding out the packet. The sandwich makes for a big meal, and if the falafel aren't fried too long, it's a delicious sandwich.

The doner sandwich is also tasty. The Turkish doner is quite similar to the Greek gyro, which is itself loosely related to the Middle Eastern shawarma. All versions are made with sliced or ground spiced meat pressed onto a spit, cooked, then shaved into slices. Rumi's doner--a beef/lamb combo--is served in pita with lettuce, tomato, onion and a yogurt sauce. It's a hefty sandwich, but at $6.99 it's not as good a value as the falafel.

The restaurant also has a very suspicious "by-the-weight" area with various gloppy pastas and meaty-type dishes, a smallish salad bar saved by the tabouleh and chickpea salads, and a couple soups.

Bottom line: Visit for the doner and falafel (the nearest tasty falafel may be George's King of Falafel at 28th and M) and not much else.