A new eatery paying homage to toum, a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce, will launch this fall inside NAJA Mediterranean at the Mosaic District.
The Merrifield restaurant announced last week that its founder, Tariq Alaeddin, has been developing the new concept “and toum” to introduce the D.C. region to the combination of broasted chicken and toum that was a staple of his childhood in Lebanon.
“After moving to the U.S., I missed the roasted chicken and toum I grew up eating so much that I started buying Costco rotisserie chickens to pair with my family’s toum recipe,” Alaeddin said in a press release. “Trying to recreate that meal from my childhood is what ultimately led me to this concept.”
And Toum will serve a menu of halal broasted chicken and toum separate from the broader Lebanese and Mediterranean-inspired dishes served by NAJA.
According to the press release:
Unlike the fried chicken common in the United States, broasted chicken is made using a sealed pressure-frying method that cooks the chicken at 12 to 14 PSI and 360 to 375°F. The pressurized environment locks in moisture while keeping oil from fully penetrating the meat. The result is chicken with extra-crispy skin and a juicy interior, while being lighter and less greasy than traditional fried chicken. Broasted chicken will be available in 2- and 4-piece orders, as well as 8- and 12-piece options, perfect for sharing with a group.
“Broasted chicken is something you see everywhere in the Middle East, but it’s much harder to find in the U.S. I’m excited to give people who grew up loving it a taste of home while introducing those who have never tried it before to a new style of chicken,” Alaeddin said.
The team spent months testing and refining toum recipes until they landed on the ultimate garlic sauce for pairing with the chicken. The menu will feature four varieties: classic, Ezbicy (a traditional extra garlicky toum), Zoum (a hybrid of toum and Zhoug), and a rotating, limited-edition toum of the month. and toum’s signature garlic sauce will also be available for retail purchase, allowing guests to bring it into their own kitchens.
And toum will initially operate inside NAJA Mediterranean at 2911 District Avenue, Unit 140, for takeout and delivery only, starting early this fall. But Alaeddin’s goal is to eventually open the concept as a permanent, standalone restaurant, the release says.
Since it took over Kirby Club last September, NAJA Meditarreanean has been regularly experimenting and shaking up its offerings. Earlier this year, it partnered with neighbor Mom & Pop for a late-night shawarma and coffee pop-up, and it recently rolled out a new weekend brunch inspired by traditional breakfasts enjoyed in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
