Three months after our first Yelp Elite dinner in Cleveland Park, the series came to Virginia. On July 12, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, about seventy-five Yelp Elite members filled our Chantilly restaurant at 13872 Metrotech Drive for an event hosted with Patina Betchar, Community Manager for Yelp Northern Virginia.
Chantilly's dining room — 71 seats across fourteen two-tops and eleven four-tops — was rearranged for a buffet, and owner Hamid Kerim welcomed the guests himself with a short account of who the Uyghurs are and why he opened Dolan.
The centerpiece was a Whole Lamb Tandoori Kebab, slow-roasted in the clay oven and carved at the table. Around it:
- Hot Chicken Stew — our bone-in chicken braised over hand-pulled noodles.
- Polow, beef and vegetarian — the Uyghur rice pilaf with carrots and golden raisins.
- Korma Chop, regular and vegetarian — the signature stir-fried noodles.
- Samsa and Kawa Samsa — meat and butternut-squash pastries.
- Fried Green Bean, fresh Tandoori Naan, and our Special Uyghur Salad.
- Baklava for dessert, with Dolan Gul Chai on every table and sodas.
Afterward we wrote a thank-you to the Elite community: an unforgettable evening, made so by the enthusiasm of the guests.
Buffet nights like this one taught us how well Uyghur food scales. The same dishes now anchor our catering menu — half trays and full trays of samsa, polow, noodles and kebabs — and the Whole Lamb Tandoori Kebab remains the showpiece we recommend for large celebrations at any Dolan.
This article is our own account of the coverage; short quotations are attributed to Yelp Elite Events, which holds the copyright to the original piece.
