Very close to Classic Burger Joint Sodeco you can spot this place that is currently under renovation with the word “PIZZA” written on the outside. According to the people at CBJ it should soon be opening as a pizza joint, having almost the same concept as CBJ and the same owner too.
I believe some people will shortly just follow and open similar joints somewhere else (Hamra?), just like every time something new is introduced in Lebanon. Anyway, let’s see how good they will be!
I saw this post by Blog Baladi today and recalled I took the below photo a few days ago with the intention of writing about the same subject, the overpriced items at Zaatar w Zeit!
I went to the ZwZ last week for the first time in 2 years and was surprised with their new menu. Stating that the Labneh plate you will serve is “to share” definitely doesn’t justify pricing it at 9,250L.L! And what’s the price of the add ons to the “Bayd Aadi”?
I honestly used to go there everytime I was low on budget and still wanted to have a good meal at a nice place, but now it doesn’t seem like one of the cheaper alternatives anymore… I wonder if they’ll listen this time too.
Aside from a simple thyme or cheese man’ouche, what else beats a breakfast at Paul??
A 300 words summary of how did the 2010 go according to +961!
January:
2010 Started with Victoria Beckham opening a new store in Tarik El Jadida, Israel smashing out hummus records, and me getting disappointed by the new Beirut Souks.
February:
February was a bad month for Solange Gemayel and Nayla Mouawad who were caught stealing some candies, and that was also when stolichnaya dispayed a girl inside a bathtub to promote one of their products!
March:
I went to Meen’s concert at USJ, I had bonjus for the first time in 9 years (that was big!), Shankaboot was launched, and K-Lynn did their yearly ritual.
April:
Lebanese politicians played a silly football game, and we got to enjoy a successful motor show.
May:
Beirut got some playboy playmates, Rima Fakih won Miss USA pageant, and I went to Le Chef for the first time!
June:
Everybody got crazy about the world cup, and a controversial ICT law surfaced.
July:
People were still having the world cup fever,a new miss Lebanon was elected, and Octavia Nasr got fired because of a tweet!
August:
Rahaf Abdallah proved to be really dumb, some retards got into a “personal” fight in Bourj abi haidar, and we were melting in very high temperature.
September:
I got rotten meat from TSC, and we enjoyed carless streets for a few days during the hamra festival.
October:
I ranted about people who park their cars like douchebags, I accused Bank audi of planning to replace Ahwet El Ezez by a new branch, but then I apologized because it turned out to be wrong.
November:
Super night clubs started mass mailing us, we got speeding radars working in the country, and some iPhone applications violating our privacy!
December:
I found out we had Arz missiles back in the 50’s and 60’s, and Ahwet El Ezez announced it will be shutting down by the end of the month.
I wish you and your loved ones a happy and prosperous new year! 🙂
Is it really right to name a street in Beirut after a personal bodyguard?
Yehya Al-Arab was the head of Rafic Hariri’s security team and got killed with him in the explosion. All the respect to that man and his family and we were all saddened by his tragic death, but I thought streets should be named after writers, scientists, philosophers, politicians, etc… i.e. people with great achievements.
I went to watch TRON at ABC Achrafieh last night and was surprised to see that they have deployed a new system for their parking spaces, a system that I have been wishing for the Lebanese malls to have because of its effectiveness especially during peak times of the year.
Several boards are installed at the mall entrances to display the number of empty parking spots on each floor, and then above each spot there’s a small light to indicate whether the spot is free (Green) or occupied (Red), so you’ll directly know where to go depending on parking availability.
The system will definitely reduce the traffic problem at times where the parking gets really crowded (e.g. Saturday’s and Sunday’s). I hope the people at City Mall get jealous and install a similar one too!
I’m not sure though how will system reacts when someone occupies two parking spots, should it probably be configured to display an “Asshole” sign when it detects such thing..?
Update: According to Tarek & Mustapha, a similar system is already available at Beirut Souks.
Merry Christmas to you all!
According to an article published in Byblos Bank’s issue number 193 of “Lebanon This Week“, Facebook users in Lebanon will soon reach 1 million!
As of the end of November there was a total of 968,780 users, which means 1 out of 4 Lebanese currently has a Facebook account in Lebanon! That’s pretty good given that we have the 5th slowest Internet speed in the whole universe, another proof that nothing can stand in the way of our willpower. 😛
Figures on the usage of social networking site Facebook indicate that there are 968,780 Facebook users in Lebanon at the end of November, accounting for 0.2% of worldwide users and for 4.8% of users in the Arab world. As such, Lebanon ranks in 67th place among 213 countries and in 8th place among 18 Arab countries in the number of users of the social site. Globally, Lebanon ranks ahead of Kenya, Guatemala and Bosnia & Herzegovina and comes behind Uruguay, Albania and Costa Rica. Lebanon’s number of Facebook users is lower than the global average of 2,696,998 users and the Arab average of 1,122,076 users.
The Facebook usage penetration rate in Lebanon, or the ratio of the site’s users to the total population, is 23.4%, ranking Lebanon in 83rd place globally and in third place in the Arab world. Lebanon ranks ahead of the Martinique, Costa Rica and Hungary and behind Estonia, Bulgaria and Seychelles globally; while it comes ahead of Kuwait and behind Bahrain in the Arab world.
The article also details the user age distribution, which might be of marketers’ interest.
Unbelievable! 😀
That’s another ad I got by e-mail from Excalibur Show! This time they’re on a mission and look pretty serious about it, they’re giving Santa a break!
But their previous e-mail looked much better, this one looks more like a lingerie ad… Shu hal sheghel!
2010 is parting in a few days and it seems like it is taking away one of Gemmayze’s landmarks with it!
According to this article from The Daily Star, Ahwet El Ezez will soon shut its doors after losing a legal battle with the building owners regarding the continuation of pre-civil war rents.
The premises will now return to the building owners, who have been embroiled in legal disputes with the café for years over the continuation of pre-Civil War rents.
What will become of it now remains unknown. Building owners have assured conservationists that the site will not be demolished but speculation is rife over what will become of one of central Beirut’s last traditional cafés, with rumors circulating it will be turned into a new snazzy bar, maybe even a Starbucks or a bank branch.
Do you think it is time for us to finally accept that those small pieces of Beirut’s heritage are not meant to last forever or at least survive the real estate boom in the city?
