About me
Danny and Johnny Dubbaneh
are two of the brothers behind Z&Z Manoushe Bakery in Rockville,
MD. Z&Z specializes in the manoushe, a traditional flatbread popular
in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and across the Levant. Manoushe is the
singular form of the plural mana'eesh which comes from the root verb
naqaša (نقش), 'to sculpt, 'to carve out' or 'to engrave'; meaning that
after the dough has been rolled flat, it is pressed by the fingertips to
create little dips for the topping to lie in. Classic toppings include
the famous herb blend za'atar, cheese, labneh and lahm bi ajeen/lahmacun
amongst many others.
After five years at farmers markets in the DC area, Z&Z opened their
first brick-and-mortar location in late 2021. Since then, the
restaurant has been honored to be named one of the 50 Best New
Restaurants in the US by Bon Appetit Magazine in 2022, and one of the 25
Best Restaurants in DC by The New York Times in 2024. As kids, Danny
and Johnny used to wake up to the smell of their grandma baking fresh
za'atar mana'eesh on the weekends.
