Roadster is giving away a heart shaped “Together Forever” fridge magnet along with a post card with every delivery order for valentine today!
Here’s what I just got.
It’s a nice gesture by Roadster while a lot of restaurants are abusing this day to overcharge their clients for a “romantic” dinner!
I was invited to a tasting at Eau de Vie Phoenicia last night which has been renovated and re-opened in November with a new design and exquisite menu.
I’ve never been to the place before, but I’ve been told it used to target old people prior to the renovation, and they’re now trying to attract younger people. Although I’m not really sure how many “young” people will be able to afford the prices on the menu, but I believe the overall experience of the place is worth it!
The staff was so friendly and took us on a small tour around the place to show us their new wine, whiskey, and cigar storage rooms, the new lounges and how small private areas can now be booked for groups of 50 people without really disturbing other guests, and of course their fantastic view of the Mediterranean and the mountains.
And then came the food… which was no less than awesome! We first got served some smoked salmon and a variety of salads, followed by our choice among 4 mouth watering main dishes, and finally a variety of really really REALLY GOOD desserts.
I totally recommend the place and I really hope they maintain their taste and quality of food, unlike other places in Beirut.
Oh and now that Valentine’s day is getting near, I suggest you book a table for two by the window at Eau de Vie if you’re on the look for a nice fancy place for you and your loved one, and I guarantee it’ll be your winning card 😉
Finding a good cup of coffee is an easy job in Beirut, but finding a good cup of tea where most places serve you a hot cup of water along with a Lipton tea bag is a totally different story!
A friend of mine introduced me a while ago to a place in Achrafieh called “Gou”, a Restaurant/Patisserie/Salon de Thé, or so says the sign at the entrance. Anyway the place has several menus for food an beverages, and totally separate one for tea only containing at least 30 different selections! Each with a brief description about the ingredients and it benefits, along with the recommended infusion time.
On my first time there I order “thé du Hammam”, a Turkish blend I guess, and on my second time I had a Russian selection called “Anastasia”. The former was my favorite, although the latter was not bad at all.
Any tea you select is priced at 8,000 L.L (almost double the price than any other place), but you’ll actually get served a hot pot of water, along with the tea to infuse, that will make you at least three good cups of tea guaranteed to make an hour of your afternoon. I know it worked for me! 😛
If you’d like to try it, Gou is located at Tabaris, Saint Nicolas street, right behind IBL bank.
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.
Seems like Beyonce’s new Heat perfume ads were too provocative for some people! I was on my way to work this morning when I noticed they were vandalized overnight at Dora highway. (Same as what happened to Marie France’s ads back in May)
The act is pretty weird though… there are much more other explicit ads all over the country, why did they decide to just target this one?
Anyway, it’s good no one thought of playing the video commercial of the perfume at one of the newly installed outdoor giant screens!
Everyone seems to be on the quest for the best burger in Lebanon nowadays! Especially with the rise of several new burger places, like Classic Burger Joint, Brgr Co., and few others.
Until last week, my favorite burgers were the ones I usually have at Roadster Diner and Classic Burger Joint. But that totally changed as soon as I got introduced to Smokey O’z! And I bet you’ve seen their ads on Facebook a lot lately.
I decided to give it a try after I saw the extensive talks about the “Big Bad Wolf” burger on their Facebook page. The place is located at Sassine Square Achrafiyeh, and to my surprise it turned out to be so small! It only has a bar with 6 seats where you get to see the chefs preparing your burgers and sandwiches, no tables, and it mainly relies on take out and delivery orders.
Anyway enough talking, let me show you what I had!
They first start with charbroiling a drooling half pound patty…
Ketchup, mustard, and swiss cheese…
Crispy onion straws, aged cheddar cheese, and the juicy patty, waiting for tomatoes and iceberg lettuce to complete it.
… making up the Big Bad Wolf! Accompanied by just good enough french fries.
It was a treat! I had the burger for dinner after skipping lunch that day, so I leave you to imagine how delightful it was! The overall taste was really good, juicy patty, soft fresh bun, good cheese and fresh tomatoes.
Oh and it is easily eatable regardless of how oversized it looks! I mean you will not suffer from the patty (or any other ingredient) suddenly slipping out of the bun. A definite winner for me, and totally recommended. The burger is priced at 15,000L.L, and you get fries and a soft drink for an additional 4,000L.L.
Finally, the two chefs behind satisfying my hunger that night!
So.. are you drooling already? 😛
… Yep, the same one that got Sietske into trouble when she was taking a photo of it. Fortunately no guards came to forbid me from shooting the tree though one of them saw me taking a panoramic photo using my cell phone, I believe it all depends on what gear you are using!
It’s pretty cool to see, in addition to the decoration they set up on the 3rd floor.
Thanks to global warming, the weather on the independence day in Beirut was just awesome! Warm temperature and -almost- clear blue skies made it perfect for a walk at Ain El Mrayseh.
Fortunately the corniche was not congested with joggers and bikers, but fishers were just everywhere, and standing at the most bizarre places!
… the guys above were actually standing right where sewage water is dumped into the sea!
How can they still eat the fish they get from the sewage water is beyond my understanding, unless they sell them to other people like the man below was doing.
However, I seem to have missed a cool initiative by the Lebanese army and Leo Burnett! At around 3:30PM, a military helicopter flew at low altitude over the Manara corniche, releasing thousands of red roses attached to miniature white parachutes, carrying a message “Bihimayat Al Jonoud, Tanmou Al Wouroud”, or “Roses flourish under the protection of our soldiers”. The operation was called “Roses from the Sky” (you can watch a video about it here)
@chaftari from Leo was kind enough to share these photos with me.
I personally had mixed feeling about this operation… what do you think?
I couldn’t resist taking a photo of today’s sunset when I saw how colorful it was, and wishing I was out of the office somewhere near the sea with my DSLR.
November usually carries the best times to shoot sunsets in Lebanon, but unfortunately the sun sets so early at 4:30PM nowadays, leaving too few opportunities for employees like me who like shooting photos.
Eid El-Adha is the time for Muslims to recall prophet Abraham’s obedience to god in his willingness to sacrifice his own son Ismail, before god intervened and gave him a ram to sacrifice instead. And so the act of sacrificing an animal later became a ritual for Muslims.
That’s when it becomes normal to see sheep stored at very unusual places in Beirut, like rooftops for example.
… and when it also becomes very normal to see butchers slaughtering sheep in the streets.
