Thing 134: Sweet Mango Cafe

In my very first blog post, I wrote:

I am continually fascinated by this city -- its colonial, racial, and federal history, its jumble of cultures in such a very small space, its big city opportunities and small town realities. Its obsession with politics. Its free museums. Its stunningly high HIV rate. The vaulted ceilings of the metro and the cheap seats at RFK and the fantastic Jamaican food in Petworth -- I love learning about this district.

Emphasis added because...drum roll please...I am finally blogging about the fantastic Jamaican food in Petworth. Namely, Sweet Mango Cafe (fyi, that link also plays reggae).


I love Sweet Mango. I used to live in north Petworth, on Gallatin, and I used to get off the metro at Georgia Ave on my home from work, pop into Sweet Mango to order takeout, then hop on the bus to finish my commute. Once home, I would enjoy spicy, hot jerked chicken, smokey, fatty curried goat or sometimes spiced fried snapper, all with a generous heap of rice and peas (which is rice with red beans, not what Americans would think of as 'peas') and a scoop of boiled veggies. I'd often get a side of fried plantains or coco bread or a Jamaican beef patty.

Or in the summertime, when the weather was warm and heavy, I'd take advantage of their fabulous rooftop patio and adjacent bar to eat jerk chicken and savor a cold Red Stripe.

But then, alas, I moved to Logan Circle, and while vowing to continue my patronage of Sweet Mango, I haven't been back since. So I was thrilled when I threw it out as a lunchtime destination after a morning of looking at hairballs and war wounds and everyone agreed.

I love Sweet Mango's curried goat, but then at the last minute I was talked into trying something I've never eaten before, ever. I went for the daily special, which was ackee and saltfish with dumplings, yam and banana. I was told by one of my lunch companions that ackee and saltfish is a breakfast staple in Jamaica. He'd eaten it before, mistaking the ackee for scrambled eggs (they look similar but taste quite different). What is ackee? It's a fruit, that when cooked becomes soft and yellow and only mildly sweet. Uncooked, it makes you vomit a lot. But I ordered it anyway! And mixed with the saltfish it was salty and soft and light and altogether a delicious lunch. The yam turned out to be yucca (that beans/peas phenomenon at work), and the dumplings were doughy and really dense -- not my favorite thing on the plate. But I love trying new foods, especially ones I turn out to really like!


Others I ate with got either jerked or curried chicken and we all ate heartily (medical oddities work up the appetite, apparently). While we were eating, a long line formed as people placed their lunch orders.

What a treat to hit up one of my old favorites. When the weather warms back up (when? when will that be?!), you'll find me on their roof deck eating curried goat and oxtail, I promise.

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Thing 68: W Domku

Some of you remember a time when I lived in Petworth. I lived there for a couple years in fact, way up north on Gallatin Street in that formerly Jewish, currently Black and about to be White gentrifying neighborhood. I lived in a house with vegetable garden in the back yard, two friendly dogs, marble counter tops and no central air. It was a bit removed, a bit inconvenient, but overall a really great place to live.

Back then, my local was a bright and funky Scandinavian joint on Upshur: Domku. And I was tickled to be able to go back last night, to eat and drink with old friends over plates of smoked fish and pierogies.


Domku is located an easy three block walk from the Georgia Avenue - Petworth stop on the metro, on a very unlikely block. If you weren't seeking it out, I doubt you'd find it. It's tucked away on a commercial block of a residential neighborhood, a simple store front surrounded by a greasy Chinese takeout counter, a liquor store, a dry cleaner and a church.


Inside, the decor is bright and inviting, a bit eclectic and lived-in. It's a little bit like the coffee shop from Friends meets an art gallery. Large couches and mismatched tables from the Salvation Army fill the room, with paintings hung on brick walls, a canopy that changes with the season hanging from the ceiling, and ornate antique chandeliers. It feels a lot like Tryst, but without trying so hard.

The theme of the menu is Russian and Scandinavian, a cuisine you may not be used to and in fairness, you may not like. Although meatballs and potato dumplings are pretty appealing, pickled herring and smoked sprats are not for everyone, which GFD and I once learned after an unfortunate bout of fearlessness and optimism. This time, I stuck to what I know: a salad with house cured salmon, salty and rich and decadent, and Swedish meatballs served with lingonberry jam and creamy mashed potatoes.

The heavy meatballs get a nice pick me up from the sweet jam, and the mashed potatoes are smooth and rich, heavy on cream and butter and quite filling on this warm autumn day. (Can we have a word about the weather please? I want it to get chilly. I want leaves to change. It is nearly November, and what is going on?).




Jenny had a red onion and cheese pie, a little galette looking thing with a flaky crust and a filling heavy on the onions. And Jessica had the pierogis, those Polish dumplings filled traditionally with mashed potatoes and served slathered with dill and sour cream. Jessica has spent a good bit of time in Russia, so I trust her when she says those were some good pierogies. The menu also includes toasted sandwiches, stuffed cabbage rolls, sausages with 'kraut, and beet salad. If you are an Ashkenazi Jew like me, or if you yearn to try Slavic and Scandinavian cuisine, this is probably the best (and I think the only) place to go.

The drinks menu is where things really start to get interesting. They carry a wide selection of beers both bottled and on tap from Eastern Europe and Russia. I highly recommend the Baltyka series, which is numbered according to potency (a word of warning, don't drink more than one "9." You'll be unhappy in the morning). Domku also serves aquavits, made in house. These flavored vodkas that are popular in Nordic lands come in a dozen different flavors from the tame (orange) to the unusual (dill, rose petal or caraway). You can order them by the shot, in flights of three, or in one of their house cocktails, which are named things like the "Warsaw Uprising" and contain strange ingredients like herring juice.


We spent a couple hours at Domku, eating and drinking and then eating more and drinking more until we were sated and tired. The days when I lived a stone's throw from the place are long gone, but it was so nice to be back.