I was thinking some parties were making exaggerated promises to get people to vote until I heard what Sarkis Sarkis has in mind for the Bourj Hammoud Landfill, now I believe they’re quite modest and realistic. The man believes petroleum can be extracted from there.
Back when I posted about Varouj, several people recommended that I go try Onno, another Armenian restaurant in Bourj Hammoud, and I totally regret not doing so until lately as I found it really fantastic!
The restaurant is located right underneath the bridge that connects Achrafieh to Dekweneh facing Life Center, and it is quite small and cozy with a few tables that fit around 20 people I guess. So don’t go there expecting something fancy, as the focus there is the food, which is cooked by the family who owns the place.
We ordered the following: Basterma with quail egg, two pieces of soubereg, cherry kebab, batata harra, mouhammara, soujouk, and two soft drinks.
The portions were pretty generous and tasted quite good as well, I especially loved the cherry kebab and basterma since it was the first time for me to try it with quail eggs. And the best part had to be the bill, which came at 55,000 L.L for everything we ordered,which is less than half what you would pay at other places like Mayrig or Mayas, for much more authentic Armenian food in my opinion.
Needless to say, Onno is totally recommended, and I’m planning to go again soon to try the other stuff they have like manti, quails, and frog legs. Check below what Alain Bourdain had to say about it in his travel and food show No Reservations back in 2011.
Update:
For those who are interested, Onno’s phone number is 03 801 476.
This bull escaped from Bouj Hammoud’s slaughterhouse and invaded a supermarket located in a gas station in Dora before getting stuck at the service area and die inside the pit!
It’s good no one got injured… I really wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of those who were inside the supermarket at that time!
Varouj is probably one of the best places I’ve lately discovered in Beirut. It’s a small restaurant hidden in Bourj Hammoud’s maze of streets and serves some really good traditional Armenian food.
The minute you step inside the place and get greeted by the owner who’s a relatively old man, you’ll be surprised by his character as he acts more like a dictator running his restaurant! But he’s not rude though.
There’s no menu for ordering there and the old man will just ignore you if you ask for it. Shortly after you get seated he’ll just come to your table and quickly list to you the available hot and cold dishes. We ordered Hommos, Fattoush, batata Harra, Mouhammara, Sou Boreg, Soujouk, Chicken Wings, Manti, and soft drinks, and although we tried to tell him which plates to bring first and which to delay a bit, he again ignored our request and decided to bring them as he pleases but didn’t disappoint us since he was serving us 2 dishes at a time that go really well together.
The food was so delicious that we wiped clean the dishes we ordered, all of them, and the old man was smiling every time he notices we finished a plate till the last bit.
Price wise, I have absolutely no idea how the pricing works there! We were not given a bill when we asked for it, he just immediately answered us “90,000 L.L”. That’s it all the 8 plates we ordered for exactly 90,000L.L, which is way cheaper that other Armenian restaurants like Mayass or Mayrig.
Varouj is TOTALLY recommended as the food is heavenly good, especially the Manti and chicken wings, next time I’m planning to try their little birds, frogs, and chicken liver. If you’re tempted to try it make sure you reserve beforehand as it only has 4 tables and always seems to be busy, their phone number is 03-882933.
I’m sorry I was unable to locate Varouj on Google Maps to show you where it is, so I appreciate if anyone can provide me with the coordinates to post a map of it. Here’s a map showing where Varouj is. Thanks to Roupen.
Right when we got bored of the numerous articles in The New York Times and other international journals about Zaitounay Bay, Downtown Beirut and always comparing the two places to a rising phoenix, comes this slide show by Newsweek to show the real pleasures of Beirut.
Jared Moossy, a photographer and also the author of this slideshow, unusually decided to shed light on the other side of Beirut and visit areas like Basta, Bourj Hammoud, the Cornish, and the pigeons’ rock. He’s definitely not the first one to write about these places, but it’s good to let tourists be more aware of these authentic areas. I mean it’s cool to have a dinner at the Beirut marina, but trust me it’s way cooler to have some authentic Armenian food at a place like Varouj in Bourj Hammoud, which I’ll soon be posting a review about.
You may click here to check the “pleasures” chosen by Newsweek.
I though I should share with you guys where I get my DVDs from after someone commented on the previous post that he never found them for less than 3,000L.L.
The place I go to is called “Serge” in Bourj Hammoud. Going from Achrafieh to Bouchrieh using the Yerevan bridge, you take the first exit on the bride, and you’ll find that DVD shop in a very narrow street to your right, situated just before the end of that exit. Serge’s collection is always up to date with a back room dedicated for old movies, and the best thing is that he’s always honest about the audio/video quality of any movie you’re buying.
I also heard there’s another place in Bourj Hammoud called “Rony” but I never knew where that one is…
Although the new price lists for gasoline were effective as of yesterday, almost all gas stations didn’t start to sell at the new reduced prices until today!
Anyway, here’s a list of 5 things we can now buy for the 5,000 L.L we’ll be saving on every 20 liters 😀 (though I’m confident they’ll soon be increasing the prices again):
What else?
And here’s the second round of the Christmas decoration shooting. The following photos were taken on Sunday night at Sassine Square Achrafiyeh.
I was on my way back home from Antelias last night when I decided to take photos of the Christmas decorations I encounter on the road, so I got you these photos while passing by Zalka, Bourj Hammoud, and Downtown Beirut.
On my to-shoot list, I still have Jdeideh street, the Ice creche at ABC, the other decorations at downtown and whatever I may encounter in the coming days!
Zalka:
Bourj Hammoud:
Downtown Beirut:
P.S: Sorry for the low quality, photos were taken with my phone.
