I was passing by Bechara El-Khoury a few days ago when I noticed Just Falafel will soon be opening there close to Falafel Sahyoun.
I recall hearing about Just Falafel from some of my friends living in Dubai, and what basically makes it special is that it offers various Falafel mixes which are Lebanese, Indian, Greek, Egyptian, Emirati, Italian, Mexican, and Japanese.
Let’s see how will it taste compared to our local Falafel joints such as Sahyoun or Khalife for example…
Looks to me more like part of a prank TV show to be aired during Ramadan, don’t you think?
According to this article in elnashra fan, the video turned to be nothing but a teaser for an upcoming series starring Ward, and the people behind it thought of posting the video on YouTube to create a media buzz around their new work, which eventually worked since they got more than 60,000 views in a couple of days. Anyway, I personally think it falls under cheap advertising…
Update:
The video turned out to be real and Ward is filing a lawsuit against whoever is behind the whole thing.
Update:
The whole thing was a promotion to LBCI’s new drama channel!
I decided to try Chez Maguy restaurant in Batroun after reading about it on several website claiming it serves some of the best sea food in the region.
The place is quite nice, it’s actually a small house (or a shack maybe) that was turned into a restaurant having a cool view over the sea since it’s located right on the coast.
During winter, I was told Maguy usually serves guests in her dining room, while in summer season you get to sit on the beautiful terrace by sea, but be aware of the mosquitoes when you’re outside, as they can really eat you alive!
Unfortunately the food was not as good as the restaurant’s setting. We were 4 people and among the order we made was 1Kg of mallifa, and below is the plate that we got, which is barely enough for one person! Anway, overall the food tasted quite average compared to other seafood restaurants, unlike what some articles on the internet claim.
We had another kilogram of fish with a couple of appetizers and drinks and our bill came to $120.
I don’t know how to provide you with direction to the place, but if you’re planning to go there just ask about Chez Maguy when you reach Batroun as everyone there knows where she’s located!
P.S: I know the review is missing a photo of Maguy, which is plain stupid from me!
P.F. Chang’s, the popular Chinese-American chain, opened in ABC Achrafieh around a month ago, and I decided to try it out last week because of all the positive feedback I heard from some friends who have tried it in Dubai.
The place has a really nice interior and is being almost always packed that you feel so lucky if you can get yourself a table, especially on weekends.
Anyway, back to food business, we were a group of 6 people and decided to share several dishes among which were Dynamite Shrimp, Chicken Lettuce Wrap, Crispy Honey Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Singapore Street Noodles, and a couple more seafood dishes.
The food tasted all great, and was much different that any other Chinese restaurant in town (especially Chopsticks). And best of all, the menu covers a variety of tastes from chicken to seafood to beef to vegetarian but is not dominated by the sauces you often encounter at other restaurants like sweet and sour, mushroom and others.
The appetizer I liked the most was the Dynamite Shrimp consisting of fried shrimp covered with yellow spicy sauce. It felt a bit too spicy for some, but it was really good! On the other hand, Mongolian Beef was my favorite main dish consisting of tender steak cooked with scallions.
And if you’ve got room for dessert at the end, try their Great Wall of Chocolate. It has 6 layers, and the below photo definitely doesn’t do justice to how big the portion is.
Overall, and even though it’s not the traditional Chinese cuisine we lack in Lebanon, P.F. Chang’s is definitely recommended to try at least once since it offers something totally new here.
Update:
Sareen brought to my attention that I forgot to mention how is the food priced at P.F. Chang’s. Here you go, starters vary between 9,000L.L and 21,000L.L (Dynamite Shrimp is for 21,000L.L), soups and salads are between 7,000L.L and 22,000L.L, while main dishes are almost all between 25,000L.L and 28,000L.L except for seafood dishes that are in the 30’s.
If you’re a fan of Zaatar W Zeit then here’s your chance to get a 30% discount on their meals simply by visiting their Facebook page and getting the offer they’re currently posting. Once you click on “Get Offer”, you’ll instantly receive an e-mail from them that you’ll have to present at the restaurant to get your discount.
It’s actually the first time for me to see a Lebanese company making use of the Facebook Offers, expect more to start doing the same!
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.
I was passing by Beirut Souks last night and noticed BRGR Co will soon be opening there.
It will will be accessible from Patriarche Hoyek street, close to where Bershka, Stradivarius, and Pull & Bear are located.
It would be fun if “Akho Man2oushe” someday becomes a real competitor to places like Zaatar W Zeit and Leil Nhar!
Spotted at Saloumi
Pasta Di Casa has got to be one of the best restaurants I’ve been to over the past months, a true gem! Located at the end of Jounblat street in Clemenceau, the restaurant’s exterior doesn’t look pretty much appealing, but the inside is really nice, it has a quiet simple decoration with old family photos on the walls making it feel so cozy.
Upon receiving our order, a couple of appetizers and a main dish for each of us, were surprised by how generous their portions are, in fact 3 our of the 4 of us didn’t even finish their meals.
I personally had a half portion of lasagna and tasted a bit of one of their steaks (“coeur de filet” I think) and shrimp pasta, all of which were really really good.
A meal for two with soft drinks at Pasta Di Casa will probably cost you 50,000L.L or even less, and the place if definitely recommended.
The name pretty much says all what this restaurant has to offer, entrecote meat. I went there a while ago an totally loved it. They have a fixed menu consisting of a lettuce-and-walnut salad as a starter, followed by two servings of steak cooked to your taste with butter sauce and fries on the side. And trust me, the steak is really really GOOD, I had mine medium cooked.
A dinner for two with drinks will cost you around $75-80, and I know you would be paying less than that for a bigger portions at e Cafe, but Le Relais de l’Entrecote offers a really different (don’t read better) experience and atmosphere that are worth paying for.
While one could save Le Relais for romantic dinners, e Cafe is to me more suitable for casual outings, and they’re both my favorites.
Le Relais de l’Entrecote is located at Abdel Wahab el-Inglizi street and has two other branches at Verdun and Downtown.
