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I don’t think that anyone who lives in Paris is not familiar with Noura – a Lebanese restaurant and caterer. This renowned restaurant has been serving Lebanese specialties for the past 20 years or so. With more than 8 different locations distributed around the French capital, Noura has played a role as one of Lebanon’s ambassadors, providing quality everyone respects. Today, walking around the Val D’Europe mall, I came across one of their branches by pure coincidence and decided to check out what or how a Shawarma sandwich tastes-like in France, or at least how Noura prepares it.

The Shawarma, -called a Kebab sandwich in Europe- trend in Lebanon is developing at a phenomenal speed where dozens of new brands are seeing the light and promising to open hundreds of new shops or franchises locally, regionally and maybe internationally. Names like Shawarma Show, Shawarmanji, Joseph, Makhlouf, Jabbour, Barbar, Shawarma Republic and Boubouffe are a few at the top of my head. Today, with all these developments and popularity, the bar has been raised even higher and this one of a kind sandwich has minimal standards to abide with.

Noura Val D’Europe:

Located in the heart of Val D’Europe mall
The restaurant occupies the corner of the right side after entering the food court
A fast food walk-in and a restaurant able to host up to 50 guests at once
Red walls, green and pink leather chairs around square tables
Dimmed lighting and a cozy ambiance
The sandwich area hosts several fridges: Prepared salads, hummus, ice cream, baklava, cheese rolls and Lebanese bites, falafel in addition to two Shawarma rolls
A staff of four, handles the restaurant helped by chefs (three of whom I have seen)
Lebanese items like Caffe Najjar Arabic coffee, Kasatly Chtaura syrups, Lebanese bread, Baklava sweets, roasted nuts, maamoul, Cortas canned hummus and foul, pre-prepared desserts are here for sale

Four screens on each side, displaying the menu:

Nos Duo Mezzes (Hummus, Tabboule, Loubieh, Mousakaa, Samke harra, Stuffed vine leaves, Loubie, Bemiye…) 6,9euros
Nos Salades (8 choices) 6,9 euros
Nos Menus (Vegetarien, fraicheur, detente, vital) 7,5-12,9 euros
Nos Sandwiches (Labne, makanek, taouk, kafta, sojok, chawarma…) 5,9-6,5 euros
Nos Pizzas (not the Italian ones, but our local baked ones on round bread: Manakeesh, Arayess, Kellage, Lahme Beajine) 5,9-6,9 euros
Nos Accompagnements 5,9-6,9 euros
Nos Desserts 1,75-5,9 euros

I had for lunch: two shawarma sandwiches – one chicken and one meat.

I normally have minuscule sandwiches in France that are expensive. When I saw the sandwich at Noura I was impressed. Visually appetizing, both shawarma sandwiches are rolled in two layers of bread and filled up generously. The bread is fresh and a bit thicker than the one in Lebanon. A good quantity of meat (non chewy nor greasy) and vegetables are added into each sandwich: At 5,9 euros each, it looks worth it.

Now let’s taste them:

Shawarma meat: The parsley sandwich, oh sorry, the meat sandwich is a failure. There is more parsley inside than meat making it so unpleasant to chew. Parsley gets stuck everywhere in your mouth and makes the taste of the meat obsolete. Even dryer than the chicken, the meat is not marinated. Unfortunately the slice of tomato didn’t help making the wrap juicier. Dry, over cooked and wrapped with two layers of bread, the final product is not pleasant to eat. More so, the hummus and tarator are too sour. A strong lemon taste is annoying. Three bites and I stopped. The meat sandwich was not edible.

What I think:

Marinate the meat more and cook it less
Check again the proportions of vegetables vs meat inside the sandwich
I would definitely use one single layer of bread and not two

Shawarma chicken: The chicken is way too dry. A pity! Imagine dry bread- two layers of it – filled with dry chicken. What an unpleasant sandwich this is. The shredded lettuce, beetroot pickles, cucumber pickles and the garlic (in my case I substituted it with hummus) are not enough to make this sandwich juicy. Generous and fulfilling, some fine tuning is needed to make it as tasty as a real Shawarma, the way it should be served.

What I think:

Marinate the chicken more and cook it less
Use one single layer of bread. Two is really too much, especially since its thicker than the ones we are used to in Lebanon. You end up feeling the bread which covers all your taste buds. The sandwich becomes too chewy

In both cases: Toasted before serving, the idea is nice but the feeling of crunchiness would have been felt more if only they use less bread.

The Verdict: It’s a pity to see such a premium meat and chicken quality assembled in a bad sandwich. A perfect result can be obtained if fine tuned

The backlava piece offered with the sandwiches is good for a French product. It’s a bit far from our local creations but good enough for the foreigners who don’t really have something else to compare it with. I enjoyed it. The best part of it is the fact that it doesn’t cause a heartburn. I ate it and continued my day normally.

I am confident that Noura serves good Lebanese food, or to be more specific a revisited version of Lebanese food that French people appreciate. As for us Lebanese, we are more exigent about the taste of our country dishes. With some minor fine-tuning, Noura can be just great. I hope they consider them.

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On Rue Geoffrey Marie stands Cafe Della Pizza. This Italian ristorante offers pizza and fresh pasta dishes. I stopped by for an early dinner. A quick pizza sounds good to me. I sat on the sidewalk overviewing the Villa Opera Drouot Hotel enjoying a certain peace on a Friday night in this city ready for the weekend action.

Cafe Della Pizza is a nice place where red and black details decorate the place. The menu is simple across two pages: Starters, pasta, fresh pasta, specialties, pizzas, meat, fish and dessert.

I just ordered a pizza and waited while I enjoyed a cold draft Heineken beer. I was served water and spicy olive oil while dinner was served. A waitress, in a casual outfit, took care of the service with a smile. Calm and serene, the street does not have any particular action.

I ordered the Piccante Pizza: Tomato sauce, mozzarella with spicy salami. A 30cm pizza, paper thin and crunchy pizza. A toasted dough, that you can grab with your hands and actually stays straight, rather than bend from the weight of the ingredients. Covered with slices of spicy salami covering a rich and melting cheese, this pizza is worth talking about.

Every bite of this homemade pizza is rich and filled with salami and cheese. A soft dough in the middle that gets crunchier as you reach the sides. I liked it! It’s good, correct to say the least.

As I reached the other half where the crunchiness diminishes and the thickness of the dough becomes thicker, I enjoyed eating and feeling the different consistencies in one pizza.

Wow! Now I’m sweating. This salami hits deep inside. I feel it around my palate, lips and throat. Nice feeling though.

The only thing I’ll improve is that they fill the whole pizza with the same amount of toppings. Concentrated in the middle, the sides are almost empty. A lot of bread remains uneaten.

As for the staff, I honestly didn’t appreciate them working in their personal outfit. A restaurant uniform is better worn here.

A nice pizza, I said to myself, so why not try their desserts. They suggested I try the Amarena ice cream which is a cup of vanilla ice cream covered with cherry sauce and cherry fruit confit with rich whipped floating on top. Mmm! Delicious! Fresh cream covering premium vanilla ice cream where the cherry couli, floating all around, adds this strong sweetness that makes this dessert deserve its name. After every other bite, a cherry crunches pleasantly under your teeth. I really enjoyed it even though its a bit too sweet for my taste.

A family run business where every detail is mastered with love, this little pizzeria has a bright future in my opinion. Keep up the good work guys.

The easiest way to decide what type of restaurant you want to open is simple – so it seems in Paris – is to follow the trend today. A burger joint is what’s popular now and they have been mushrooming across the capital. A grill, a frier and some meat is all you need to have a fruitful restaurant where youngsters can come grab an American bite, but some reality check is required here. It’s not as easy as they make it sound… It’s not at all an easy task to compete at serving the best burger.

I came across Brown & Baker, a new Burger and Bagels shop, by coincidence. Facing the Trinity Church of Paris’ 9th district, the place looks interesting with a creative and appealing branding. It looks like a franchise, but it turned out to be a local creation developed by a young man.

The place is nice:

A small space with a couple tables
Yellow painted walls give this restaurant its identity
Green flowers wallpaper cover the left wall
Black and white squared tiles cover the floor
Pictures, the American way, decorate the walls
A kitchen with its open window at the end of the restaurant sends the orders to the hungry customers
A two levels space where the upper area feels more privacy
Yellow leather benches
Black wooden tables
Ketchup, tobacco and mustard are already set on the tables
The restrooms are underground

We were welcomed by a gentleman who answered all my curious questions, while having a quick discussion about other burger shops around town. I told him about Shwartz and Breakfast in America and what I didn’t like about both. He smiled, and agreed: Here, I expected to taste something much better than the other two… I was unfortunately wrong.

The menu:

Salads
Burgers
Extras
Bagels
Sweets
Milkshakes
Formule dejeuner sur place

We Ordered:

Chicken Caesar salad (Grana padano, sucrine, filets de poulet roti, oeuf mollet, croutons, tomates confites, sauce caesar) 13€. Fresh and tasty

Little Italy salad (Sucrine, roquette, jambon cru, mozzarella, tomates crues et confites, sauce pesto) 14€. Too salty with a fade aftertaste. Nothing is really special about this salad

Cheeseburger (Boeuf, cheddar, tomates confites, oignons caramélisées, laitue, sauce classique, pickles) 12,5€. Acceptable but not great

Burger Barbecue (Boeuf, cheddar, tomates confites, oignons caramélisées, bacon grille, laitue, sauce barbecue, pickles) 13€. The BBQ sauce tastes good but that’s it

Italian Burger (Boeuf, tomates confites, laitue, jambon cru, roquette, Grana Padano, sauce pesto, pickles) 14€. Too complicated and too watery. It contains too many cold sections making it annoying to eat

Dark chocolate mousse (Oreo facon crumble) 5€: Awesome! Bravo

Philadelphia cheese cake 6€: Tasty even though the biscuit is not crunchy

Ice cream (2 scoops) 5€: Good

Cafe gourmand (Marshmallow, brownie, lemon curd) 5,5€: An innovative idea. Bravo

The Burger verdict:

The meat is too small for the bun. 125g are not enough although the price is the same as the 280g at Shwartz. Half the quantity for the same price?
The thickness of the burger is good: Easy to be devoured with your hands
The meat quality is very good, fresh and non frozen, it crumbles under your teeth like it should
The bun is too dry and unpleasant to chew
A very average overall taste

The pluses:

The meat is great. Juicy, non fatty, fresh and tasty
All the vegetables are fresh and from a good quality
A special lunch formula makes it affordable for everyone: burger, fries and soft drink for only 15€
Expect to taste a new burger creation every week
The desserts are great

The minuses and must change: A lot has to be done…

The bread is too dry. Trying to be different by using French bread doesn’t make it tastier. Not a good idea after all
The meat is too small. For 13€/burger, and a meat that is only 125g, that’s way too expensive
The meat is smaller than the bread. Many bites are only filled with bread and sauce. Consider using a 150g minimum
The place is too noisy. Some curtains or some sound buffing tools are a must
The fries we received are under cooked and are dark brown color, they are soaked with oil and soggy. On the other hand, the table next to us received light yellow fries. The cooking homogeneity is not consistent. Each plate receives a different taste
Too tight: Tables are small are packed one over the other. Eating experience is unpleasant
The service is way too slow. All we did is eat burgers and we had to sit in here between 12:00 and 01:30pm. 20 minutes for the desserts to be delivered?
No coasters and no placemats: Each time you grab your soft drink cup expect to be soaked with water
Wet napkins are a must in a diner! Burgers are eaten with your hands
Where is the coleslaw salad? Is it by any chance those little few cabbage slices hidden under the fries? Those little tiny things that are too crunchy and taste nothing like a burger salad? It’s either you serve a decent portion of salad or just don’t. This way you appeared to be unacceptably stingy

When it was time to leave, we paid and left. The same person who I had a discussion about burgers and so on, did not seem keen to hear my opinion. The place was full and this is what matters. Happy customers or not, its not the issue!

At Brown & Baker, the only thing I’ll order again are the desserts – if I come back again. All the rest is not even worth trying. A long list of improvements has to be fixed before this place gets close to reaching the minimal American standards of a diner.

Three burger places already tried, each worse than the other.

I think I will be grabbing a ticket to head to London, after reading about this new burger in the Independent, but I have to gather £250,000 first – if I want to enjoy this new age burger…Would you pay this much for a burger…?

“Asked the cost of a regular beefburger, you might guess around £3… with fries. But, next week, a select group will be fed a patty. What’s the difference? This one was grown in a laboratory – from a cow’s stem cells

A week tomorrow, at an exclusive west London venue, the most expensive beefburger in history will be nervously cooked and served before an invited audience. Costing somewhere in the region of £250,000, the 5oz burger will be composed of synthetic meat, grown in a laboratory from the stem cells of a slaughtered cow.

The scientist behind the “in vitro” burger believes synthetic meat could help to save the world from the growing consumer demand for beef, lamb, pork and chicken. The future appetite for beef alone, for instance, could easily lead to the conversion of much of the world’s remaining forests to barren, manicured pastures by the end of this century.

The precious patty will be made of some 3,000 strips of artificial beef, each the size of a rice grain, grown from bovine stem cells cultured in the laboratory. Scientists believe the public demonstration will be “proof of principle”, possibly leading to artificial meat being sold in supermarkets within five to 10 years.

Stem cells taken from just one animal could, in theory, be used to make a million times more meat than could be butchered from a single beef carcass. The reduction in the need for land, water and feed, as well as the decrease in greenhouse gases and other environmental pollutants, would change the environmental footprint of meat eating.

Artificial meat could make a carnivorous diet more acceptable to the green movement as well as to vegetarians opposed to livestock farming on animal-welfare grounds. Animal-rights organisations have already given their qualified approval to the idea, and some vegetarians have said they would be happy to eat it given its semi-detached status from the real thing.

Next month’s culinary demonstration is the culmination of years of work by Mark Post, a medical physiologist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. His research into synthetic meat has been funded by a wealthy anonymous backer who, according to one source, may reveal his identify publicly by volunteering to be the first to taste the test-tube burger.

The public relations firm overseeing next week’s cooking experiment said that Professor Post was unavailable for comment. However, last year he described the rationale for the work when The Independent on Sunday interviewed him at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Vancouver.

“Eventually, my vision is that you have a limited herd of donor animals which you keep in stock in the world. You basically kill animals and take all the stem cells from them, so you would still need animals for this technology,” Professor Post said.

“Right now, we are using 70 per cent of all our agricultural capacity to grow meat through livestock. You are going to need alternatives. If we don’t do anything, meat will become a luxury food and will become very expensive,” he said.

Carnivorism is a huge global industry, producing some 228 million tonnes of meat each year – the retail value of beef in the United States alone is $74bn (£50bn). By 2050, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the world will be eating twice as much meat as we eat now, primarily driven by the increased demand from a growing middle class in China and other developing nations.

Each Briton, on average, eats about 85kg of meat a year, which roughly translates into 33 chickens, one pig, three-quarters of a sheep and a fifth of a cow. This kind of appetite accounts for why some 30 per cent of ice-free land in the world is used for growing food for animal livestock while just 4 per cent is used for crops destined for human consumption.

The essential problem with meat is that it is a highly inefficient method of converting plant material into human food. Every kilo of meat requires between four and 10 kilos of plant-based feed, and the oil-based chemicals used to grow it, whereas cultured meat uses only about two kilos of feed, which Professor Post hopes will eventually be nutrients derived from fast-growing algae.

“It comes down to the fact that animals are very inefficient at converting vegetable protein into animal protein. This helps drive up the cost of meat,” he said.

“Livestock also contributes a lot to greenhouse gas emissions, more so than our entire transport system. Livestock produces 39 per cent of global methane, 5 per cent of the CO2 and 40 per cent of the nitrous oxide. Eventually, we will have an ‘eco-tax’ on meat,” he added.

One assessment, published in 2011 by scientists from Oxford University, estimated that cultured meat uses far less energy than most other forms, apart from chicken, and some 45 per cent less energy than beef, the most environmentally destructive meat.

They also found that synthetic meat needs 99 per cent less land than livestock, between 82 and 96 per cent less water, and produces between 78 and 95 per cent less greenhouse gas. In terms of relative environmental damage, there was no contest.

Yet there are still formidable technical problems in turning artificial meat into a desirable, and affordable, consumer product. The first of these is that real meat is composed of a variety of different cells, not just the meaty fibres made by the myosatellite stem cells – which normally repair damaged muscles – used in Professor Post’s process.

Professor Post said that it is possible to add fatty tissue to the fibres to make them more palatable, as well as other nutrients to make the synthetic meat as nutritious as real meat, and possibly even healthier by reducing the saturated fats.

Minced meat or filling for sausages should be easier to make than a steak, but the use of biodegradable “scaffolding” and some kind of artificial blood vessels to deliver oxygen to a culture medium could overcome this physical limitation on the overall size of the finished product.

The Food Standards Agency said that before going on sale, artificial meat would need regulatory approval. The manufacturers would have to prove that all the necessary safety tests had been carried out, a spokeswoman said.

“In vitro or cultured meat is not yet commercially viable, but the technology used to produce cultured meat could be advanced enough for trials to take place. Any novel food, or food produced using a novel production process, must undergo a stringent and independent safety assessment before it is placed on the market,” she said.

“Anyone seeking approval of an in vitro meat product would have to provide a dossier of evidence to show that the product is safe, nutritionally equivalent to existing meat products, and will not mislead the consumer. This would be evaluated under the EU regulation for novel foods, prior to a decision on authorisation. There have been no such applications to date,” she said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), which runs a scheme offering a prize of $1m (£660,000) for the first person or organisation to produce artificial chicken meat, said that cultured meat would be ethically acceptable if it meant less slaughtering.

“We do support lab-grown meat if it means fewer animals are eaten. Anything that reduces the suffering of animals would be welcome,” said Ben Williamson, a Peta spokesman.

However, apart from the technical, regulatory and commercial problems of bringing artificial meat to market, the big question is whether the public will stomach eating something that started out as a pulsating pap of pink tissue in a factory fermenter.

Then there is the issue of taste. Could a burger made from artificial meat fibres and synthetic fat ever match up to a patty made from prime beef? In just over a week’s time, whoever gets to eat the world’s most expensive burger may be closer to knowing the answer.”

Serving up French-American cuisine in a bistro environment, La Maison Mère has a New York City vibe. The décor is engraved glass mirrors, retro fridges and tiled walls. The service is friendly and informal and the crowd is young and trendy, they’ve really pulled off the laid back NYC vibe here.

Expect to see a unique transatlantic mix on the menu with cheeseburgers alongside leeks vinaigrette and a divine chocolate mousse. With the stereotypical American options, you’re looking at pastrami with pickles, one of the best Parisian burgers you’ll ever try – cooked to order, steaks, smoked salmon, cobb salads and a fantastic cheesecake. It’s American comfort food in Paris.

While searching for the best burger in Paris, I receive a message on the blog from a dear follower, Nidal. Nidal proposed: “Maison Mère’s signature burger is the Black Label Burger (basse côte Black Angus «USA» coupée au couteau). Expensive but with pristine ingredients. Their Bacon Cheeseburger was also very good.” Here, you go, this review is for you. And thank you for the great recommendation.

The Place in few lines:

Mosaic red floor covers all the area with black dots decorating it
White ceramic tiles cover the walls. A bit too WC looking
Five black boards around the place, where the specials of the day are proposed, are lit with individual design lights
A single long metallic table fills the space next to the entrance. Wood square tables take care of the rest of the space
Brown dark wooden chairs
Ketchup and mustard are posed on all the table
Salt from Camargue
An American tissue flag decorates the corner
A little window shows the kitchen inside
An outside seating on the sidewalk. There smoking is allowed
A bar with six black hats pending from above with a light in each. A funky design
Tables covered with red paper protection with exactly the same design as the one on the back of the logo
Grey fabrics squares to remove the echoes cover the white ceiling
A list of prices, printed the old fashioned way, decorates the wall over the kitchen window
Metallic shelves over each table help you hide your stuff away from the floor
A light soothing background music accompanies your meal
Having a look on the upper floor is a must. A cosier space, parquet floor, library, paintings and carpets. Up there couple of sofas are much more relaxing

The menu:

Starters
Burgers & Hotdogs
Plates
Assiettes & Salads
Desserts

We ordered:

The cheeseburger 16€: Impecable. Proportional, juicy without being oily and simple. I ate it without adding any sauce and it was just great. If I want to compare it to the ones I already visited: Shwartz, Breakfast in America and Brown&Baker, La Maison Mere is the best by far.

The bacon cheeseburger 17€

The black label burger (basse côte Black Angus {USA} coupée au couteau) 20€: Really unique and worth every penny

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The MM hotdog 14€ : Two small soft bun sandwiches with a premium hotgog covered with pickles and caramelised onions

Salade Cobb (pousses d’épinards, bacon, avocat, champignons, œuf poché, sauce roquefort) 16€ Beautiful and fresh

The chocolate mousse 7€ One of the best mousse I’ve ever had in my life. Adequately sweet and adequately creamy. The overall flavour of chocolate covers on the milk making it a premium piece of dessert

Strawberry tart: bizarrely good but not conventional. Pink pastry, spongy dough, cut strawberries covered with a strawberry sweet

Cafe Gourmand 9€

The BURGER’s detailed description:

200g for the black label
150g for the normal burger
A meat having the same size as the bun
A mustardy tasty coleslaw
Tomato, pickles, lettuce and onions on the side
A great proportionality of the ingredients
A nice non frozen ground beef
Non oily and non fatty meat
The bun is soft and tender, filled with air bubbles
Soft and tender, the bun has a slight crunch provided by the crispy butter inside the two sides
Melting cheddar cheese and crunchy bacon
Fries, crunchy and deeply fried, non oily and adequately seasoned

“It starts by a soft feeling of meltingness where the bread is cut in half. Your teeth reach the great piece of meat that crumbles gently all by keeping its firmness as the cheese makes it steady and in one piece. A light crunchiness of the melted butter in the inner sides of the bread adds the needed class, this piece of creation has. After each bite, enjoy the non pealed crunchy fries and their beautiful brown colour.”

The pluses:

Coca-Cola in a large glass bottles served with ice without having to ask for it
A welcoming staff
A relaxed space where tables are spaced one from the other: You have enough room to breathe
Real Laguiole knifes help you cut your meat smoothly
The desserts are even better than the burgers. The mousse is just finger licking awesome! Bravo!

Generous portion, tasty burgers, unique platters, mouth watering desserts, crispy fries, beautiful decoration, spaced tables… La Maison Mere has it all.

I was really relieved and happy to discover a superb burger in the French capital. Finally, after visiting three this week, La Maison Mere made me smile. Going back to meet my friends, Nathalie asks me: “If you want to improve one single thing at this restaurant you visited today, what would it be?” I didn’t have an answer. I realized that today’s experience was awesome.

Doesn’t it make you sad to visit a place you love only to discover that it has become bad… ? It’s bad on so many levels. What used to be my favorite diner in town, Chili’s has now turned out to be the worst. I already published a review exactly a year ago expressing my dismay and I quote: “It saddens me a great deal to have to write a negative review about Chili’s but what I experienced today was unacceptable! There’s a saying that goes – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – everything was much better, why did you have to change things.”

That same feel still lingers on a year later…

With some friends, we decided to visit Chili’s, the famous Chili’s. The place that introduced the meaning of a diner to the Lebanese a long time ago.

We reached the restaurant and in front of the door, a pile of cigarette buds welcomes you: A first impression you don’t want to really see, especially if you want your appetite to stay intact.

Inside, a very well lit space decorated by the famous red Chili pending from the ceiling. A new menu triggered my curiosity. I wanted to try new items and not the burger I usually order.

The menu sections:

Premium and signature Margaritas
Specialty drinks, beer, wine
Appetizers
Soups and Chili
Salads
Sandwiches
Big Mouth Burgers
Southwestern Pastas
Baby Back Ribs
Fire Grilled Steaks
Southwest Grill (Quesadillas, Tacos, Fajitas)
Chicken and Seafood
Custom Combos and Side Dishes

We ordered:

Fajita Trio (Tender grilled steak, marinated grilled chicken and spicy garlic lime shrimp. Served with onions and bell peppers) 39,000L.L

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Triple Dipper (A combo of our three favorite appetizers. Generous portions of our Fried Cheese, Crispy breaded mozzarella sticks served with marinara sauce for dipping, Wings Over Buffalo®, Chicken drumettes tossed in our spicy Buffalo wing sauce. Served with cool blue cheese dressing, and Southwestern Eggrolls – crispy flour tortilla filled with smoked chicken, black beans, corn, jalapeño Jack cheese, red peppers and spinach. Served with avocado-ranch dressing- with sauces for dipping) 25,500L.L

Skillet Queso (Cheese dip with seasoned beef. Served with warm tostada chips and our house-made salsa) 14,500L.L

Chicken Crispers (Strips of hand-battered chicken fried to perfection. Served with corn on the cob, home-style fries and honey-mustard dressing) 25,500L.L

Classic Nachos (with melted cheese, jalapeños, beans, quest and a hint of seasoned beef. Served with house-made guacamole and sour cream) 21,900 L.L

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Molten Chocolate Cake (Warm chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling. Topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy chocolate shell) 21,500L.L

I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Samer, our waiter, for everything he did, his welcoming smile and professionalism, but unfortunately it was not enough.

Food tonight was below average!

Nothing seemed to be right in here:

Upon our arrival we ordered a bottle of water which took forever to come
Shared appetisers served without individual plates until we asked for them
Strawberry margarita came too sweet the first time and after we asked for it to be changed it was too sour. Frozen margarita is what made Chili’s famous and now…
The nachos with cheese platter didn’t feel fresh
The wings were warm and not hot enough
The mozzarella sticks look and taste too commercial
The fajita meat and chicken are dry and over cooked
Bread served with the fajitas is thick, chewy and bale. We were four persons and served a plate of three pieces of bread until we asked for more
The fries are under cooked and soggy
The chicken crispers taste like a reheated old batch of KFC’s chicken
The famous Molten chocolate cake that brought me here today doesn’t taste the same like it did a long time ago. It is still one of my favourite desserts in Lebanon but I expected better

Tonight, only four tables were occupied with guests. It was unpleasant to see an army of trainees (waiters), with nothing to do, just touring around our table.

The pluses:

Samer, the man in charge of training the waiters is just great: He came to our table several times asking us if everything was fine. We told him our margaritas are too sweet, so he changed the pitcher for free bringing us another recipe
Ashtrays available on all tables are reversed, reminding us that no smoking is allowed
The ambiance of this place is nice
The menu is rich and diversified

But I’m sorry to have to say it bluntly; I don’t see a bright future for this place. We paid and left with sad looks on our faces…

I like this place, and after tonight’s visit I like it more – more so the food. I believe that with some minor changes, Goutons Voir can become the best French restaurant in the Metn region.

The place is simple and clear. Some like it while others don’t. But I personally think it’s exactly what you need to enjoy a pleasant dinner without any sophistication. Simple walls with high ceiling, a few candles lit here and there, a bar and square wooden tables with a touch of color from the placemats.

The first impression:

Welcoming staff, a simple menu with English titles and toasted bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar…

“Goutons Voir” is a French place, I am not fond of mixing languages in a menu to be honest… but at least the whole menu details is in French
Toasting the bread looks like the bread is old and heated. The Italian olive oil is good and can better be enjoyed with fresh bread
Although friendly, the waiters clothing style does not fit the place. A shocking first impression, I’ll develop down below

Time for drinks:

Pepsi! This applies to almost all restaurants in Lebanon – please consider what the guests want and not just how to make some profit. We all know that it becomes more profitable when you are an exclusive Pepsi provider. But seriously this has to stop!

I was inviting my friends from France. Francois looks at me confused and angry while pointing at the waiter: “Am I supposed to drink what he decides or what I chose to? I want a Coke Zero not a Diet Pepsi.”

I laughed and told him: “My friend, welcome to Lebanon!”

The menu:

First
Second (On the grill)
Third
Wines (Lebanon, France, Italy)

A tasty dinner with delicious food:

Lemon risotto with asparagus and grilled calamari covered with frisee lettuce. A rich and concentrated lemon taste accompanies you during your meal. A perfect plate which I really enjoyed, 36,000LL

Lentil salad with tomato, balsamic vinegar, Lollo Rosso lettuce and salmon cut in small slices. An amazing creation and a perfectly seasoned salad. I enjoyed the lentils, adequately cooked while blending perfectly with the salmon, 24,500LL

Quinoa salad, three shrimps on top mixed with small mango cubes. A mix of Lollo Verde and Lollo Rosso lettuce, all perfectly seasoned. I am not a quinoa fan but this salad is unique. Yummy! 24,000LL

Goutons_Voir_Dbayeh_NoGarlicNoOnions48

Bufala mozzarella salad and grilled asparagus: I would personally change the bufala’s brand. Too commercial, too hard and too dry. On another hand the asparagus are crunchy fresh 27,000LL

Steak Frites is impeccable: soft and tender meat. Perfectly cooked fries. Delicious sauce, and a plate I enjoyed with a smile 33,000LL

Linguine aux crevettes: aldente and delicious. A rich pasta plate that deserves its price, 24,000LL

Entrecote Black Angus: Unique! Great meat and delicious sauce, 45,500LL

One deception: The Burger:

Burger: a big No, a huge NO
Condensed French bread with a thick outer shell, feels and tastes old
The bread choice has to be reconsidered. This is not a burger bread. So unpleasant to chew
A thick, non juicy, fatty and crunching fat meat
The meat expands like rubber
The meat size is smaller than the bread
Burnt from the outside and dry from the inside
Even though 200g, the meat looks cheap
Where is my coleslaw salad? Burger = Fries + Coleslaw salad

The little details I liked:

Thank you for finally updating the menu
The manager handling the restaurant is professional and welcoming
The plates are generous not only beautifully presented
The ceiling is covered with absorbent materials eliminating all the echoes
There is space between the tables – a relaxing feel
Four different placemats decorate the tables : Violet, green, red, brown

The things to change or improve:

Use more lights around the restaurant
The waiters wardrobe and style need changing, with all my respect to them, their funky look, hair style, Birkenstock slippers, Converse and cool attitude does not fit the place. I enjoyed their service, smiles and welcoming attitude but something was not right. In a place like this, you would imagine more mature looking personnel.
Remove the burger off the menu
When a burger plate comes 20 minutes after everyone has finished their meal, it should be offered free of charge. No?

I enjoyed Goutons Voir tonight… Will come back.

Goutons Voir Dbayeh: A Perfect Mix of French Flair

If you haven’t done so yet, this little piece of heaven is a must try. The Meat or Chicken Ouzi available at Abdul Rahman Hallab Tripoli and now Jounieh is an indulgence that can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner.

For only 6,000L.L you can enjoy a decent and healthy meal only a few people master around the country. Maybe some of you already know it, or maybe make it at home, but I personally discovered it at the castle of sweets.

A ball of baked bread is delivered to your table. White with brown toasted areas, this ball is filled with a complete meal. A mix of rice colored with saffron, green and red sweet peppers cut in small cubes, cooked minced meat and crunchy fried almonds. This plate reminds me of the Italian Calzone Pizza, prepared the Lebanese way.

Just imagine the aromas that fill the air. The smell travels through your nostrils to activate more than one of your senses…

Cut it in half to reduce its heat then start appreciating each and every ingredient:

Cooked rice with saffron
An envelop of baked dough! Not chewy and not crunchy but adequately cooked with a perfect consistency
Crunchy almonds
Cooked meat
Green and red pepper

A rich and generous portion at a reasonable price served with a side dish of fresh vegetables, this ouzi can be enjoyed a complete meal.

Nowadays, a normal cheese man2oushe costs 3,000 L.L. and if you add to it some vegetables, its around 4,000L.L. and it’s not even a decent meal… So I suggest you try this Ouzi.

Today, I enjoyed the meat version and looking forward to trying the chicken one sometime soon. I’ll surely keep you posted.

Around the 9th district where I’ve been spending the week in Paris, facing the Trinity church is Le Brigadier, a brasserie known by the local for serving generous lunch menus. I tried it with my friends on two consecutive days taking pictures of almost everything on the menu.

As we sat, we received a blackboard where the menu is written as well as another one hanging on the wall where the daily specials are listed; choose a starter and main dish or a main dish and dessert for 18€ only. But what was supposed to be a quick lunch-break unfortunately wasn’t. One hour and 45 minutes, each time it took the food to come to our table…

The place’s little details:

A brasserie facing the Trinity church roundabout located on the corner of the street
Two entrances, one on each side
Fabrics lights pending from the red ceiling
Stone walls add the needed warmth
Musical background relaxes you to continue a boosted afternoon at work
Red tables covered with papers protection
Wood chairs
Green sofas follow the walls
An old French brasserie style
Black broads here and there display the menus and specials of the day
A cup, napkin, fork and knife deposited on every table
Copper casseroles decorate the walls corners

First day menu suggestions:

Tartare De Haddock Aux Courgettes
Chaud Froid De Poulet, Panna Cotta De Legumes
Coupe De Fraises Au Cassis Et Son Sorbet
Salade Au Melon Marine Au Pesto Et Jambon De Parme

Second Day Menu Suggestions:

Verrine De Melon Et Mascarpone, Fleur De Pavot
Brochette D’agneau Grille Aux Herbes, Légumes D’ete
Tarte Aux Pommes Acidulée Et Son Sorbet
Salade Au Jambon Blanc Aux Herbes Et Roquefort

The menu:

Assiette D’antipasti
Saumon Marine Aux Herbes Fraiches
Assortiment De Charcuterie d’Italie
Filet D’harenz Saur
Piece Du Bouchet
Andouillette
Joue De Cochon Au Cidre
Tartare De Boeuf
Retour De Peche
Gourmandises Et Son Cafe
Tarte Aux Fruits Du Jour
Opera Maison, Crème Pistache
Baba Au Rhum

Lunch started with homemade chips, thin, transparent and crunchy. They are perfectly done, not oily and seasoned with herbs. We all loved them so much that we congratulated the owner.

The food is good for a quick business lunch:

Cold hot Chicken: Vegetables, slightly juicy, a hot cooked tomato
Salmon is a nice sophisticated tasty plate: Soaked in a sauce of lemon herbs and olive oil, the portion is generous and tasty. I liked the two slices of lemon and orange served on the side
Filet de Hareng: Sweet, nice but lacks some lemon
Salade Italianne: Buffala, ham, eggplant, capsicum, zucchini. Generous and tasty
Joue de Cochon: Too sweet, gratin dauphinois and sauce. One of three pieces was too dry and the other soft and tender. Served with a cooked tomato on the side. Not one of my favorite plates to say the least
Ham Plate from Italy: Rich with four kinds. Peppery and thick cuts
The desserts are tasty

The pluses:

The food is tasty
Plates are generous
Prices are reasonable

The minuses:

Very slow service
Lights were not lit up completely. Is it to economize on money?

My colleagues and I enjoyed this place, some of us actually came back daily. For a quick stop or a lunch break, Le Brigadier is a good choice while passing by the area.

For half a century Abou Jihad still stands strong in Jaledib. Just saying half a century alone makes you realize how authentically professional Abou Jihad is…otherwise it would have collapsed decades ago… Since 1962, Nabil Abou Jaoude, aka Abou Jihad started as a Kabab specialist and grew to become a popular place for many.

On Mar Takla street in Jal el Dib, this 200sqm eatery with 45 seats has been serving guests the best of oriental dishes all made from premium ingredients – traditional recipes that have been impressing customers for three generations. Through the open kitchen, guests can see their orders being prepared freshly on the spot – famous grills are prepared as early as 11am for lunch, serving all kinds of barbecue dishes and sandwiches. That’s not all… A wide array of breakfast is available including mousabbaha, foul, hummus, balila and much more… cold appetisers, hot appetisers. You can dine in or order to takeaway, call for a delivery and they even offer catering services.

Abou Jihad is well know for its first quality raw meat. Their raw ‘baladi’ lamb cuts will make any meat lover rejoice with pleasure given to their taste buds.

My friends and I decided to have lunch on a saturday after the recommendation of my father in law: “You have to try Abou Jihad and Abou Joseph in Jal el Dib, those are authentic restaurants that remind me of my childhood and still serving the exact same quality.”

We arrived to an individual house built on Jal El Dib internal road just next to where Les Jardins de Chine restaurant was located. A Lebanese construction, the Beiteddine palace style known for its arcades with white and yellow stone lines. Just open the door to be mesmerised by pleasant food aromas dissipating from the open kitchen in front of you. To the left the dining area followed by another one with curtain glass where smoking is allowed.

The place described:

The restaurant is constituted of three distinctive rooms
The grill behind the fridge face the entrance
The non smoking dining area, nested at the end where a premium arguile can be enjoyed
A restaurant looking authentic but built in 2011 following the Beiteddine style of yellow and white stone walls
White marble tiles inside and a dark concrete floor outside
A bar, in the middle room prepares the drinks
Inside are nice pie chairs and outside another simple design used in almost all villages of Lebanon
Beige square wood tables
The main architectural piece is the long grey stone wall facing the curtain glass that shows the stret ahead

Looking at the menu, you’ll understand that Abou Jihad is not like any other Lebanese restaurant where hummos and grilled meat is offered. Here, you can indulge in almost each and every piece of the “sheep”. Each organ is treated and seasoned differently and served grilled or raw. Lunch started with Termos and pumpkin seeds while the order is prepared.

The Menu:

Cold Appetisers:

Hommos 6,000L.L
Moutabbal batinjan 6,000L.L
Labneh 6,000L.L
Stuffed Grape Leaves 8,000L.L
Season Salad 5,000L.L
Fattouche 5,500L.L
Tabbouleh 5,500L.L
Seasoned Potatoes 5,500L.L

Hot Appetisers:

Hommos, Meat & Pine Nuts 9,000L.L
Foul 6,000L.L
Balila 6,000L.L
Mousabbaha 6,000L.L
French Fries 5,500L.L
Cheese Rolls (6pcs) 8,000L.L
Kebbe (6pcs) 8,000L.L
Samboussik (6pcs) 8,000L.L
Makanek (12pcs) 9,000L.L
Chicken liver 9,000L.L
Lamb liver 12,000L.L
Daran 8,000L.L
Kalawi 8,000L.L
Amourette d’agneau 8,000L.L
Nkhaa 6,500L.L
Chicken wings 11,000L.L
Thal 8,000L.L

Raw Meats:

Kafta 11,000L.L
Lebanese Kebbeh 10,000L.L
Kebbé Orfalieh 11,000L.L
Raw Lamb Liver 12,000L.L
Habra 10,000L.L
Lamb Fillet 14,000L.L

Charcoal Grill:

Grilled skewers 11,000L.L
Chich Taouk 9,000L.L
Cotelettes 12,000L.L
Poussin grille 20,000L.L
Arayess 9,000L.L

Kabab:

Kabab halabi 10,000L.L
Khachkhach 11,000L.L
Kabab eggplant 11,000L.L
Kabab Ourfali 11,000L.L

We ordered:

Stuffed vine leaves: Thick and generous. Juicy with a strong lemon flavor and a premium filling. Very yummy

Hummus: A beautiful texture, generous plate and covered with olive oil. A soft lemony after taste is so pleasant. I enjoyed it and didn’t feel the tiny little bit of garlic inside. Today I discovered one of my favourite hummus in town.

Teble: That’s raw meat without borghol. A nice hard meat with a beautiful colour and consistency. I really enjoyed it even though I am not a raw meat fan.

Hummus with meat: very rich and super generous. I loved it even thought the meat is a bit chewy. It is fresh meat: understandable. Each and every bite is filled with rich flavours. Meat, oil, pine nuts, fat and hummus. A must try

Sambousik, Kebbe, Chese rolls: Those are my least favourite. Sambousik is too crunchy and oily, kebbe is richly filled but can be much better and the cheese rolls proportionality between cheese and puff pastry is inadequate. It contains way too much oily cheese. This plate didn’t impress me much

Labneh: Deceiving! It is good but not great. In an authentic Lebanese restaurant, I would have expected to eat something “Baladi” with a harder consistency and less lemon aftertaste.

Kabab Halabi: All the kebab plates are unique. Really out of this world. Delicious, soft and tender, feeling light and perfectly seasoned. The kabab halabi is served in a plate containing 5 skewers, covered with a toasted bread and a grilled tomato on the side. Delicious!

Kabab khechkhach: Like the others, 200g are distributed into five skewers are served lying onto a tomato sauce. Cut a piece, dip it in the tomato and enjoy. Waw! That’s good…

Kabab Orfali: The presentation in here differs. Two skewers with five cubes of kabab each separated by pieces of tomato. Every bite containing a kabab and a tomato is a piece of heaven. Soft, juicy and tender, I enjoyed it without bread to feel each and every ingredient

Eggplant Kabab: Kabab cubes charcoal grilled with eggplant. A complete mix of tenderness melt like butter under your teeth

Arak abou jihad: Thats a very good one. A must try. After three glasses, the rest of the day and the next morning were very positive.

Mouhalabiah… a speciality: My favourite dessert which my wife’s aunt does perfectly is something I look to at home or at Fouad Hrajel specially after Al Halabi stopped producing it. Abou Jihad’s is good but would be great if less sugar is used. The quantity of rose water is perfect and the consistency as well. That’s a good mouhallabiyah discovered close to home

Meghle: A very good taste, consistency and equilibrium of ingredients. A tasty dessert it is

Daran: Halaywet: My latest awesome discovery!

My Latest Discovery: Daran or Hlaywet is a part of the oesophagus covering the (Me3la2). Looking like a cluster of grapes. Balls of fat embracing a white tender meat. Just imagine! (excuse the amateur description but this is what I could gather of the owner).

Simply Waw. Forget about your medical problems, erase the possibility of cholesterol and plunge into this unique piece of Heaven. I grabbed one, put in my mouth to feel the hot juicy piece of meat. A slight pleasant crunch of fat covering a white meat. The fat burns on the sides creating charcoal crunchy corners full of oil and juicy fat. Mmmmm… Simply awesome. Fat, crunchy, toasted, burned, soft, tender, juicy… many consistencies and flavours at once. Nothing, nothing compares to that. You have to close your eyes and go taste it. Simply awesome. The experience continues when you lick your lips afterwards and feel the salty fat around.

The things I liked:

The plates are beautifully decorated, generous and appetising
Portions richer and bigger than other Lebanese restaurants (6 pieces of sambousik when others serve 4 in a more expensive plate)
The prices are up to 30% cheaper than Halabi and Mhanna
A food quality that equals the high end Lebanese restaurants around

I would improve minor things:

Lebanese bread only is not enough. I would have expected some Markouk bread or freshly made dough. Kaak is a possibility as well.
I think offering hard goat labneh is better than the one proposed

Sometimes, you go searching for good places to eat far away from home when next door nests a unique restaurant that serves unique preparations. Abou Jihad, located in the heart of the Metn area is a place where you can have a superb Lebanese bite at an affordable price all in a simple non sophisticated setup. I won’t wait for long, I am going back next week.

La surconsommation désigne un niveau de consommation situé au-dessus de celui des besoins normaux ou d’une consommation moyenne. Image provenant du film Samsara : Samsara est un mot tibétain qui signifie la roue de la vie, un concept à la fois intime et vaste, qui définit l’âme de chacun.

Overconsumption is a situation where resource use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem. A prolonged pattern of overconsumption leads to inevitable environmental degradation and the eventual loss of resource bases. Generally the discussion of overconsumption parallels that of overpopulation; that is the more people, the more consumption of raw materials to sustain their lives. Currently, the inhabitants of the developed nations of the world consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, who make up the majority of the human population (5.5 billion people).

I truly hope I will be able to describe my experience at the one and only Fouad. Giving justice to a place and finding the right words to describe is hard, especially when the overall experience is truly amazing. But I will try… At Fouad the experience is unique on many levels: An extraordinary welcoming, superb food, awesome choices along with well trained staff who will absolutely make you leave in total awe. Everyone I know who has visited Fouad plan on coming back again and again…

Fouad is a restaurant in Nabe3 el Mghara, Hrajel situated in a location far from tourists’ vibes. In here, they know nothing about marketing or the use of social media for advertising. But that’s just it! The best authentic Lebanese restaurant that serves food the way our ancestors used to prepare them, they don’t need advertising – they are always fully booked.

Opened since 2003, Fouad welcomes you in Hrajel from June 15 until October 15, he then takes two months break and opens again in Ain El Rihani (Aintoura) from December until June.

Fouad, enters the kitchen at 7pm every night to prepare with his own hands all orders. At Fouad’s, every dish has a story and every recipe exudes an immense passion.

Fouad himself, welcomes you to his house’s balcony hosting up to 180 chairs and decorated with old Lebanese farmers harvesting items. The minute you pass the doorstep, he welcomes you with a proverb depending on his mood and the season’s popular songs and always with a smile.

You automatically feel relaxed and know that the journey of enjoyment has already started.

Peaceful and down to earth:

A generosity, close to none
Huge portions at reasonable prices
Arak is served for everyone
Credit cards are not accepted
The bill is written by hand, the old fashioned way
Smiling and having fun are a must

The place is simple and soothing:

A large place, distributed on two levels
Concrete floor
Bamboo shoots cover the ceiling
A couple of light spots illuminate all the corners and walls
Bamboo baskets, pending from the ceiling are turned into lights
New metallic chairs covered with relaxing cushions surround the long rectangular tables
Old garden tools decorate all the walls
Two-level space, able to host up to 180 chairs

Fouad himself takes the order of every table… On the menu, the way Fouad describes them, with a melodious and singing accent:

Tabboule am fattouch?
Hommos! Ma3 kabis wou ba2douniss wou basal akhdar m2atta3 wou makhlout ma3o
…A7san wou a7san…
Hommos ma3 lahme
Mtabbal batenjen ma3 debes remmen wou basal bi nosso, atyab may koun seda
…Men tebe3…
Bemye bil zeit, msa23at batenjen, hendbe?
Batata mad2ou2a da2!
Batata ma3 el kezbra, mouka3abet
…Memtez…
Arnabit toum kezebra basal akhdar tarator janba
Basterma bidouuun shamannn! Basterma bala el ghilef el mouz3ej
Tajen ma3 el jawz woul lawz
Rocca, batrakh
Ba2le batenjen ma3 debs el remmen wou basal akhdar
Fishe bi t7ine, 3al 3edet el 2adime
Borghol 3a banadoura
Balila, mtarbakha etterbokh
labnet me3ze mka3zale ma3 el jawz
Makanek ma3 el batata. Atyab makanek bel joumhourieh kella
Gebne baladiye, moubastar: Meghle wou salekh 3al boukhar
…wade3 el nayy, salim 2aw ghayr salim…
Soujouk ma3 che2af el 7amod wou el banadoura el 7arra chway
Sawda djej ma3 debs el remmen
Sawda ghanam me2liye bel 7amod metfiye
Omelette bel jebneh, me2liyye ma3 2awarma laban 7adda
Bayd 3youn me2le 3al khebez festo2 rachet mele7 wou semsom
Shmamit mghatsa bellaban
La7me ras asfour file ma3 debs el remmen
Ferkha 7arra
Batenjene bel foron jebneh 3ala wejja
Sader m7alwan
Haniba3el (La7met el ketef bi wara2 el ghar)
Kebbe ma3 laban
Halloum bel halioun el barre
Atyab la7me mechwiyye 3a kell el 2arade el lebneniyeh. Tene wa7ad bya3mol la7me mechwe byotla3 warana ra2em 3echrine…

Men machiyon wara b3don… Weelcom! Weelcom!

Next time you visit, open this list and follow him word by word… He won’t forget a comma.

This place is truly your home away from home; Fouad Khalil’s heaven makes your smile come out naturally. Helped by a staff that believes in their patron visions, making them act, smile and welcome you the same way. No school and no training needed, they are more professional than most pretentious waiters in Beirut.

“Mech ghalat abadan” is what made Fouad famous.

We enjoyed tasting tonight:

Fattouch: A huge plate filled to top and filled with small pieces of purslane, tomato, radish, lettuce, parsley, bell pepper, green onions and toasted bread adding to that a tiny bit of garlic, pomegranate molasses and lemon

Tabbouleh: A rich and generous plate with more tomatoes than parsley and borghol. Super delicious and adequately seasoned. Lemon has a strong interesting aftertaste

Mtabbal: Very nice

Hummus Special with pickles, parsley and bell pepper. That’s awesome

Mashed potatoes with tomato sauce in the middle. Superb!

Labneh prepared in small balls and mixed with nuts. Simply breathtaking!

Halloumi bel halioun: Soft and tender, juicy and seasoned with oregano. With mini wild asparagus. A great idea indeed

Eggs with peanuts: Toasted bread with sumac, nuts and eggs

Haniba3el with potato wou wara2 el ghar. The softest meat ever imaginable. You can’t help closing your eyes after every bite

Kebbe and laban: Nothing close to any kebbe or laban you eat in town. Kebbe without minced meat floating on a special laban mix

Makanek with pomegranate molasses on the side

Hommos with soft tender meat with grilled cut almonds and pine nuts. Crunchy soft and tenderness blended together. Yum!!!!

Borghol and tomatoes: Soft, tender and served hot with a strong spicy aftertaste. One of the best I’ve ever tasted

Balila

Raw meat with pine nuts and garlic slices

Raw Kebbe

Meat and taouk: fresh, soft, juicy and tender. Really great. The meat is unique and one of the best as Fouad describes it. Goats, called “3weiss” are the local speciality of Hrajel’s mountains. Only 15 shepherds still have this unique breed and Fouad serves it to his clientele. A meat soft and tender like nothing you tasted before

Desserts are mouthwatering:

Dessert at Fouad is something else. Every time I try it I am amazed at how good they are. Every bite is like a perfume in the mouth.

Nammoura and Mabroum bel loz

Fouad_Restaurant_Hrajel095

Helween bel joz

Homemade Apple jam

Mouhallabiya bakhara with meske from greece. Yes, the world’s best Mouhallabiya with no close competition.

What can I say that has not been said before? You are welcomed by Fouad, the order is taken by Fouad and you eat the food prepared by Fouad himself… All I know is that if you enjoy Lebanese food and crave for that genuine Lebanese hospitality and generosity Fouad is the place to go… I don’t think that any other restaurant in Lebanon can offer you this experience.

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat47

I’ve been wanting to try the official airline of Bahrain for some time now and here I am on one during a flight to Oman via Manama. The first impression is great. A hostess welcomes you on board while two others make sure welcome drinks are served to everyone. The business cabin, where six seats are availabe per row, make the business space wider than that on AirFrance. Between your seat and the one in front, there’s more than 80 long centimeters. But along the four trips I have experienced, I can say that the only thing you can be sure of is that space between chairs – otherwise, I am not sure you will be getting the same experience on every flight.

Gulf Airline’s plane look old, or is it the beige color used? The TVs are small and the overall feel of the cabin is clear that the plane is not one of the newest… I put my headphones on, awaiting departures. There was a kitchen chef walking around the cabin: This intrigued me. I was just dreaming about what was going to happen. I dreamed of the food and started imagining the nice experience that will follow.

Even before takeoff, we were offered a refreshing towel, choosing between a cold or hot one. That was a premiere for me. Arabic coffee followed, then local dates presented in a basket. All of that and we were still on ground! It seems like a unique experience! Other than that, and since the plane is old, the business class receives a touch tablet to enjoy individually movies, games, TV shows and music. Unfortunately the choice is old and the music is only about CDs. No radio or latest hits are proposed.

Nice WCs: One of the biggest I’ve seen on a plate are enough to fit three persons at once. Wide and relaxed, there is a distance of a meter between the toilet and the sink. Napkins, moisturizing cream and cups are on display inside.

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat40

As soon as we took off, the staff dressed up in white from head to tough looking like real chefs. An apron covered their pants while they started preparing. The chef toured around to take the orders. Two choices of main plates and two choices of entrees only… Sorry, no more pasta for today, the choice has been discontinued. No menus were distributed and no drinks: It was clear that the smile on my face was disappearing slowly.

Food was served first with no drinks and no aperitifs. Bizarre no? I finished the starters, waited for the main plate without drinking anything with it. A mistake like this one makes you forget about all the positives of the experience if there are any. Asking the stewart, he answers me with a smile that I have to ask for anything I like and it will be delivered.

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat65

Starters:

Tabbouleh: A tasty unsophisticated salad I enjoyed
Hummus: Exactly like the one in almost all Lebanese restaurants
Labneh balls: Covered with seasoning, those labneh balls are indeed good
Lettuce
Bread and butter

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat12

Main plate:

Meat: Over cooked and chewy. Didn’t like it even though its quality is good
Potatoes: Boiled and fried potatoes that melt like butter. Those were nice
Carrots and Broccoli steam cooked and covered with dried thyme leaves

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat11

Why did we have a chef onboard? Nothing was outstanding!

Food was average and the portions were stingy. No cheese and other side dishes were offered. One starter, one main dish and one single choice of dessert. As a business traveler I would have expected to be pampered but unfortunately I was not. I surely have loved to see the dessert trolly or the choice of ice cream as well as a side plate of salmon and cheese: None of these. Alcohol beverages were not proposed and I didn’t see any choice of wines, that is if they have any.

The food:

The meat was dry and over cooked,
The mezze platter was good enough
The bread was warm and fresh
The meat pepper sauce was delicious

After finishing lunch, and before even removing the dirty plates, dessert was served, even though it had no place to be placed. An experience, where a lot of fine tuning can make a difference.

Gulf_Air__Business_Class_Beirut_Muscat71

The pluses:

A large WC
Impeccable welcoming
The idea of wearing white overalls is interesting

The minuses:

The seats are old and uncomfortable. I ended up with a back pain
My friend’s seat didn’t even work
Having to handle this heavy tablet is not the best of things. You cannot eat and watch a movie at the same time
The entertainment system is outdated
Food is average and the meat overcooked and chewy
Desserts were distributed with no forks
Many of the seats are broken and need fixing. Some money has to be spent to upgrade these planes

That was a long courier flight from Beirut to Manama that took 3hours and thirty minutes. Continuing on a shorter flight of 1hour and thirty minutes to Muscat, the plane was newer but the lack of finesse issue continued. I loved the coffee offered to start, orange juice and dates but when the hostess passed to take the order, without a menu distributed, she gave us a choice of fish or chicken then said: “Oh, sorry, we only have two portions of fish and nothing else.”

No pasta on the way from Beirut, no Fish on the way to Oman… Is that acceptable in business class?

Gulf Air is good and can become great with small adjustments. An airline with lots of potential but a lack of proper organization has some major improvements on the checklist.

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I’ve already been to BlackRock twice and have not stopped talking about its premium meat since. What used to be a pub on the lower level and a restaurant on the upper one, is now more of a grill villa. Two floors welcome you for lunch and dinner serving one of Lebanon’s most tender meat. Served on a hot lava rock, a large selection of meat, fish and duck are proposed to be grilled on the spot with two side orders and a sauce. As usual, I like visiting places I have already been to – just to check on the improvements.

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All the little details of architecture:

Black interior, hence the name
Blue, light blue, burgundy and red table cloths that unfortunately look cheap
Metallic chair covers – I don’t see how they all blend!
Reflective black ceramic flooring, reflective black plexiglass on the ceiling and more reflections on the walls – too much happening
Black vinyl, perforated into small dots, makes you imagine mini led lights lit from every corner and side
6 LCD screens expressing action and colors
Green glass covering the walls makes you imagine a garden behind. An interesting detail…
In the middle of the space, an elevator, with a rectangular part of the ceiling lit in white over it

The menu sections:

Soups, starters, salads, rocks, side dishes, sauces, desserts, coffee, water, sodas & juices, beer, wine by the glass, white wines, rose wines, red wines, champagne, vodka, whiskey, bourbon, tequila, gin, rum, spirits, brandy & cognac.

We enjoyed our dinner:

Duck selection (Foie gras, smoked duck magret, quince jelly and figs bread)

This is a plate I enjoy even more one time after the other. Richly filled sweet figs bread accompanying a generous piece of foie gras and four magret duck slices. This is a yummy plate

Tricolore Cake (Cooked eggplants, halloumi, sundried tomatoes and pesto sauce)

In the middle of a square plate is a round cylinder, standing straight in pride. A dozen slices of cooked eggplant, filled with halloumi cheese and covered with a basil leave and sundried tomato. Seasoned with balsamic vinegar, this starter is good to try. I would recommend it to be shared since its size and filling are more of a complete meal.

Apple Blue Cheese salad (endives, green apples and iceberg topped with blue cheese and walnuts with blue cheese dressing)

A beautiful presentation, rich filings, a perfect combination of ingredients and tasty sauce. That’s a very good salad.

Rock: Australian Black Angus Tenderloin: Four persons on the table ordered the Australian meat and fell in love with it. Looking at all of their faces while eating, they were humming like love birds

Rock: Argentinian Black Angus tenderloin: As good as the Australian one

Rock: Duck Aiguillettes: Simply wow! That was my personal order that I enjoyed a lot. Five slices of duck which I enjoyed so much that I couldn’t but give everyone a bite to taste. This fine dining treat only needs a few seconds to cook. I recommend you try them the next time you visit.

Rock: Fish Papillote: A yummy and nice smelling dish served on lemon slices

Pain Perdu: Still as good as I left it the last time. Chunks of bread cooked in a square bowl and covered with caramel sauce. Adequately cooked and soaked with milk and sugar, the mix is enjoyable and tasty. Every person at the table can pick a piece without having to touch another. It’s a perfect plate to share.

Details I like:

Ashtrays without a cigarette support
The choice between local and European water: Sohat and Aqua Panna
Four pieces of warm crunchy bread presented in a stainless tray with pesto cream Boursin dip to start dinner
The cranberry sauce is awesome and a must try
Mastiha and Limoncino drinks were offered after dinner
The waiters are professional and discreet

Even more details have improved:

Tablecloth napkins have been added to the tables
The space is better lit which soothes the site of the overall blackness

The things I still don’t like:

The smell
The tables: Square and having four legs! why? Wouldn’t one be enough? Your feet don’t stop banging into them all the time
The thick and heavy wine glasses
The puree needs more flavoring and more character

As mentioned before I can’t but express my dissatisfaction about the place’s decoration. It might be a personal opinion, which you can ignore. I don’t know who the architect is but I’m sure that he’s not much of a restaurant expert. I didn’t want to bring this subject up again, but sweating all night while sitting on nylon synthetic chairs is not acceptable. I accept the different colors that don’t match together, the table cloth that looks cheap, the over use of black and the scathing smell that haunts you until the next morning…and I accept feeling like I am in a nightclub, inside a claustrophobic space… But sweating and sticking to the chairs is not fun at all. The chair: a tight sofa, formed like a box with 90 degrees angles, covered in warm black fabrics and “decorated” with grey synthetic nylon that sticks to women wearing skirts and blocks the circulation of air around men’s pants. Please do something about it!

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Next time you visit BlackRock… My recommendations:

Expect to smell of grilled meat, fish and duck. Don’t plan a party afterwards
I would choose to sit on the upper floor, it soothes me better
The meat is great but also consider the duck and fish, they are as succulent
Cranberry sauce is my recommendation
Don’t leave without tasting their Pain Perdu
The average check with wine is 65$/person which is reasonable

I enjoyed the food but not the place. In few weeks time, BlackRock is opening a new branch in Dbayeh’s Blueberry square. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy the same food BlackRock offers in a bigger and better looking place, without the smell of grilled meat.

1st visit: BlackRock: A New Concept that Needs Fine Tuning

2nd visit: Visiting BlackRock Restaurant and Lounge Again: Improvement and Professionalism Respected

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Last week when the whole country seemed to be on hold due to the situation, all malls were empty, streets were deserted and the whole circulation was on slow motion- all thanks to Layla Abdel Latif who scared us all with her readings…

Some of us won’t take no for an answer and knowing that we may be taking a huge risk, my sister, mom and I headed down to Le Mall Dbayeh – some shopping and good food was just the thing we needed to sooth our worry souls ‘as they say’.

Of course the mall was empty but we stayed and shopped and now it was time to eat. We followed the chicken feet prints that were printed near the escalators from one floor to another until we reached Deek Duke. I liked the idea a lot and thought it was a cute way to grab your attention and unconsciously lead you to their newly opened premises.

To our happy surprise, it was like a whole different world in there. The place was packed with families, friends, business meetings all happening in this uniquely beautiful interior which the new Deek Duke boasts. It’s as if this restaurant is not a part of the mall on that day. Whoever was at the mall was at Deek Duke.

I truly felt like I was in a different country. I loved the interior, the design details, the busy and smiling faces of the staff that were happy to serve.

I loved this place:

Everything is personalized with Deek Duke’s logo and graffiti style messages
Their menu is fresh, big, colorful and makes your drool with hunger
The moving hen on the wall that looks like a huge clock ticking
Books and shelves all around
White and black ceiling
Red and white modern wall details
Pending yellow industrial style lights
The overall dimmed feeling at the place

Menu Sections: Starters, Wings, Pasta, Salads and Soups, Sandwiches, Burgers, Platters, Deserts, Hot Beverages

We ordered:

Breaded Halloumi: Large breaded halloumi slices, served with thousand island dip
Herb Potatoes: Potato cubes with garlic and coriander
Steaky: Prime grilled beef filet slices with sauteed onions and mushrooms, lettuce, mayo and DD steak sauce topped with melted cheddar cheese
Chicken Caesar: Romane lettuce, Parmesan, black olives, croutons served with char-grilled chicken breast, served with Ceasar dressing
Chick n’Co: Half broasted chicken with your choice of baked potato, french fries or mashed potatoes, with house salad and hummus.

One thing I would advise them is that they use a little less oil in their preparations as well as make sure that the plates served are clean from the oil residues on the sides…

We enjoyed the food, their generosity of portions served and the staff were truly over attentive. I hope they stay this way, especially, like you mentioned Anthony in your last article, waiters have become a true nuisance in our hospitality sector. I hope the management of Deek Duke will read this and make sure that they stay like they started…

Good luck guys, your new place is attractive and different… Good Luck.

Up on the hill of Naas, facing Fadel Restaurant is Tallet Nasr. We decided to give it a try. Tallet Nasr is a typical Lebanese restaurant located in the Bikfaya Naas region surrounded by pine trees and the best panoramic view of the region. Adding to that is a simple concept, generously delicious food and soothing sounds of mother nature hissing in the background. A perfect Sunday remedy.

“Le Valet” parking company obliges you to use their services by blocking all the parking spots on the street. A hostess then welcomes you, and here the head waiter approached us for the order.

Angry and in an extremely bad mood, he started taking the order. To continue and have a decent lunch I stopped him and said: “You are in a bad mood on this beautiful Sunday but we have nothing to do with it: Smile or send someone else.” His mood changed instantly and things were as they are supposed to be.

The ambiance, to start with, is beautiful. A relaxed feel of a Lebanese restaurant with concrete flooring, wooden chairs, white table clothes, trees and a beautiful view. No music is needed as nature takes care of this point. A large terrace, an upper balcony and an inside seating area can host hundreds of guests. Next to the entrance, a garden which is also a playground for kids can be used for private functions.

I loved the simplicity this restaurant has without any pretension or boosted claustrophobic decoration.

The food was good and tasty:

Hommos is very tasty, fresh, consistent and decorated with premium olive oil. They don’t use garlic in it

The stuffed vine leaves are acceptable, the tabbouleh a bit lemony but good and the fries are exquisite. Home made, thick and crunchy

Labneh is homemade like all the other food items served

Rkakat jebneh, grilled and generously filled are delicious

The makanek are soft and tender like nowhere else.

The birds are crunchy and tasty

The Talet Nasr Ras Asfour is awesome: Small pieces of meat mixed with dried tomatoes and well cooked onions. A plate that deserves an applause

The Kebbeh is exquisite, big and generous with peanuts stuffing that makes these balls outstanding

I honestly don’t understand how people still go eat at the neighbour’s.

I liked:

The small ice cubes are perfect for the small arak cups
The presentation of the makanek and the hot plates in copper casseroles
The branded individual bread bags. Small and big sizes
The availability of Markouk bread produced live to consume
The reasonable prices are one of the main things that will make you come back

I didn’t like:

The fattouch is too sour. I couldn’t eat more than a bite
The staff needs to be more welcoming and should learn to smile more

A quick comparison:

We paid $30/person – we ate until we were all satisfied. We paid $60 nextdoor and left hungry
The menu is wide, diverse and covers all the Lebanese mezze. A minimal choice is imposed on the other side
All the prices are 50% cheaper than the neighbour
The portions are bigger and more generous

Lunch ended with Halawet el Jeben and Ashta with honey. Both good with a mouthwatering presentation.

Allow me to compare for your own benefit: If I want to have lunch in a crowded place in Naas, I will definitely choose Tallet Nasr. You eat ten times more, enjoy a wider and more generous choice, and appreciate perfect and delicious quality at cheaper price than on the other side of the road. Tallet Nasr is a Lebanese restaurant close to home and I will be visiting it again with the family soon. If you are searching for a smaller place with a homemade cuisine and a welcoming owner, Chebli is then the place.

If you have tried to stuff burgers before you’ll know how hard it is to grill a perfect gourmet burger without chunks of meat falling off and the stuffing leaking on to the grill and making a big mess. With Stuff-A-Burger Press you can easily stuff your burger with an infinite variety of flavor combinations.

Try it with garted cheese, grilled onions or mushrooms.

The press allows you to make two stuffed-burger sizes, a mammoth 3/4 pounder or a 1/2 pounder burger.

Opened since 2003, Fouad welcomes you in Hrajel from June 15 until October 15, he then takes two months break and opens again in Ain El Rihani (Aintoura) from December until June.

Fouad, enters the kitchen at 7pm every night to prepare with his own hands all orders. At Fouad’s, every dish has a story and every recipe exudes an immense passion.

You automatically feel relaxed and know that the journey of enjoyment has already started.

Peaceful and down to earth:

A generosity, close to none
Huge portions at reasonable prices
Arak is served for everyone
Credit cards are not accepted
The bill is written by hand, the old fashioned way
Smiling and having fun are a must

The place is simple and soothing:

A large place, distributed on two levels
Concrete floor
Bamboo shoots cover the ceiling
A couple of light spots illuminate all the corners and walls
Bamboo baskets, pending from the ceiling are turned into lights
New metallic chairs covered with relaxing cushions surround the long rectangular tables
Old garden tools decorate all the walls
Two-level space, able to host up to 180 chairs

Fouad himself takes the order of every table… On the menu, the way Fouad describes them, with a melodious and singing accent:

Tabboule am fattouch?
Hommos! Ma3 kabis wou ba2douniss wou basal akhdar m2atta3 wou makhlout ma3o
…A7san wou a7san…
Hommos ma3 lahme
Mtabbal batenjen ma3 debes remmen wou basal bi nosso, atyab may koun seda
…Men tebe3…
Bemye bil zeit, msa23at batenjen, hendbe?
Batata mad2ou2a da2!
Batata ma3 el kezbra, mouka3abet
…Memtez…
Arnabit toum kezebra basal akhdar tarator janba
Basterma bidouuun shamannn! Basterma bala el ghilef el mouz3ej
Tajen ma3 el jawz woul lawz
Rocca, batrakh
Ba2le batenjen ma3 debs el remmen wou basal akhdar
Fishe bi t7ine, 3al 3edet el 2adime
Borghol 3a banadoura
Balila, mtarbakha etterbokh
labnet me3ze mka3zale ma3 el jawz
Makanek ma3 el batata. Atyab makanek bel joumhourieh kella
Gebne baladiye, moubastar: Meghle wou salekh 3al boukhar
…wade3 el nayy, salim 2aw ghayr salim…
Soujouk ma3 che2af el 7amod wou el banadoura el 7arra chway
Sawda djej ma3 debs el remmen
Sawda ghanam me2liye bel 7amod metfiye
Omelette bel jebneh, me2liyye ma3 2awarma laban 7adda
Bayd 3youn me2le 3al khebez festo2 rachet mele7 wou semsom
Shmamit mghatsa bellaban
La7me ras asfour file ma3 debs el remmen
Ferkha 7arra
Batenjene bel foron jebneh 3ala wejja
Sader m7alwan
Haniba3el (La7met el ketef bi wara2 el ghar)
Kebbe ma3 laban
Halloum bel halioun el barre
Atyab la7me mechwiyye 3a kell el 2arade el lebneniyeh. Tene wa7ad bya3mol la7me mechwe byotla3 warana ra2em 3echrine…

Men machiyon wara b3don… Weelcom! Weelcom!

Next time you visit, open this list and follow him word by word… He won’t forget a comma.

“Mech ghalat abadan” is what made Fouad famous.

We enjoyed tasting tonight:

Fattouch: A huge plate filled to top and filled with small pieces of purslane, tomato, radish, lettuce, parsley, bell pepper, green onions and toasted bread adding to that a tiny bit of garlic, pomegranate molasses and lemon

Tabbouleh: A rich and generous plate with more tomatoes than parsley and borghol. Super delicious and adequately seasoned. Lemon has a strong interesting aftertaste

Mtabbal: Very nice

Hummus Special with pickles, parsley and bell pepper. That’s awesome

Mashed potatoes with tomato sauce in the middle. Superb!

Labneh prepared in small balls and mixed with nuts. Simply breathtaking!

Halloumi bel halioun: Soft and tender, juicy and seasoned with oregano. With mini wild asparagus. A great idea indeed

Eggs with peanuts: Toasted bread with sumac, nuts and eggs

Haniba3el with potato wou wara2 el ghar. The softest meat ever imaginable. You can’t help closing your eyes after every bite

Kebbe and laban: Nothing close to any kebbe or laban you eat in town. Kebbe without minced meat floating on a special laban mix

Makanek with pomegranate molasses on the side

Hommos with soft tender meat with grilled cut almonds and pine nuts. Crunchy soft and tenderness blended together. Yum!!!!

Borghol and tomatoes: Soft, tender and served hot with a strong spicy aftertaste. One of the best I’ve ever tasted

Balila

Raw meat with pine nuts and garlic slices

Raw Kebbe

Meat and taouk: fresh, soft, juicy and tender. Really great. The meat is unique and one of the best as Fouad describes it. Goats, called “3weiss” are the local speciality of Hrajel’s mountains. Only 15 shepherds still have this unique breed and Fouad serves it to his clientele. A meat soft and tender like nothing you tasted before

Desserts are mouthwatering:

Dessert at Fouad is something else. Every time I try it I am amazed at how good they are. Every bite is like a perfume in the mouth.

Nammoura and Mabroum bel loz

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Helween bel joz

Homemade Apple jam

Mouhallabiya bakhara with meske from greece. Yes, the world’s best Mouhallabiya with no close competition.

After the huge success of Blackrock Steak lounge in Mar Mikhael, this new and original concept serving quality meat, on what is known as the Lava Rock is opening in Dbayeh’s Blueberry square in less than a week time. The new Blackrock Steak House with its interesting design is not something to miss.

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If you’re wondering what it is, a Lava Rock, when heated stays sizzling hot for more than half an hour, allowing you to cook your meat the way you like it…

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Check out the first and exclusive pictures of what would Blackrock look like.

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A nice place with many details to look at:

The red chairs facing the bar add the needed colorful touch to the place
An interesting logo is installed on the long mirror behind the bar
Grey, black and white, three colors previously used in the Mar Mikhael branch
Expect a smoking area on the back terrace
An interesting view on Le Mall and the busy Dbayeh street awaits

Third Visit: Back to BlackRock… Where the Meat Speaks for Itself

Second Visit: Visiting BlackRock Restaurant and Lounge Again: Improvement and Professionalism Respected

First Visit: BlackRock: A New Concept that Needs Fine Tuning

It has been a year already since my last visit to Le Petit Gris. One of the first restaurants to start the French Bistros trend in Lebanon, Le Petit Gris welcomes guests into a casual fifty square meters place with only 45 chairs. Located in a very quiet neighborhood far away from the dancing tunes of the upper part of Gemmayze Street, this place is truly an authentic French bistro that serves delicious food ‘a la Francaise’ without any pretension.

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I have enjoyed Le Petit Gris so much every time that going again recently was exciting. Thankfully the experience was not any less perfect. Located along the tiny street of the Sacre-Coeur School, this bistro boasts a simple architectural set up that is somehow beautifully complex.

A metallic and grey ambiance remind you of the name
The flooring is covered with old original Lebanese tiles from the “Ahwet Ezez”
The walls are hand painted and covered with wine bottles on both sides
A nicely designed grey bar
Black wooden chairs fill in the space surrounding light wooden tables
Logos of famous French wines are printed in the middle of the tables
Facing the entrance, a blackboard displays the day’s specials

Was it named after the color or after the snail, which is their specialty? (Le petit-gris est un des noms européens de l’escargot Helix asperse. Helix aspersa, known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail, a pulmonategastropod that is one of the best-known of all terrestrial mollusks.)

Maybe both…

The menu is very simple divided into six different sections:

Entrees
Meat
Specialties
Fish
Soups
Gourmandises
“Planche de suggestions” that changes on a weekly basis

The experience started with fresh light-green and crunchy cucumbers seasoned with lemon juice and salt. These are not any cucumbers but real organic ones that look and taste differently. A good first impression that will prepare you for good things to come.

Dinner was served:

Cheeseburger LPG (Oignons caramelizes, bacon grille, roquette, salad verte, frites maison)

Served in a brioche bun, The 180g meat sits perfectly around the added ingredients. Sponginess, juiciness and crunchiness of the bun by Paul Bakery hosts a thick and adequately cooked, non-red meat with an ultimate juiciness inside. After feeling the crunchiness of the bacon slices a sweet aftertaste of the caramelized onions is all what you need to make this plate a gourmet one. The fries cut in small little pieces are great, served with lollo rosso lettuce.

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Tartare de Boeuf (coupe minute, salad verte, frites maison)

Even though I’m not a big fan of beef tartare, this one is really good served with green lettuce salad and French fries. The freshness of the ingredients is clear.

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Soupe Carotte Coco (veloute de carottes, lait de coco, coriandre fraiche)

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this one. A clear light orange color where a mix of flavors and aromas are richly combined to create a soup you definitely have to try: Coconut milk, coriander and carrots. It looks and feels like pumpkin soup but is really delicious especially with the peppery after taste you feel after every sip. This soup is served with three buttered crunchy bread sticks. Winter is here, don’t miss it.

Crabe frais facon waldorf (Crabe frais, julienne de celery rave, pomme Granny Smith, avocat, vinaigrette mayo moutarde)

Imagine the softness of fresh crab and their lemon dressing coupled with the crunchiness and sweetness of green apples, all salted and covered with olive oil. That’s really yum! A mature soft avocado on the side adds the needed finesse. This is a plate I loved.

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Oeuf Cocotte Falcon Mamie Manette (oeuf bio, creme de champignons au mascarpone, ciboulette, huile de noisette)

An organic egg poached inside a mix of different mushrooms with mascarpone and hazelnut oil, all blended. You have the egg flavor with a warm mushroom taste. The mascarpone cheese doesn’t appear but adds some consistency, and the egg yolk at the end makes you want to lick your lips. Dig in to the very bottom for the cooked eggs, which gets marinated on its way up. Amazing taste.

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Coquilles St Jacques

Mini scallops prepared with style and simplicity. Coriander, chives and lemon juice. Decorated with a basil leaf on top, this plate is to die for. Soft and tender the scallops melt under your teeth like butter. Wow! What a fine premium taste!

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Raw fish: Carpaccio de Dorade

The raw fish you see below was caught just a few hours earlier and brought to the kitchen. When seeing a black nylon bag climb up the stairs, I couldn’t but follow it for some pictures. Freshly prepared in minutes, we enjoyed one of the finest sea bream ever, simply seasoned with dill, pepper and salt

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Loup de mer: In the same bag was a sea perch that was prepared differently with shallots, dill, lemon zest, green onions, chives and coriander. An indescribable mouthwatering feeling! I wish you all can taste those special preparations depending on availability

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Today’s dinner was special as it was coupled with different wines. Each plate had a matching choice:

Henri Boillot, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut, Cremant de Bourgogne
Bourgogne, Appelation Bourgogne Controlee, Bourgogne, Christian Faurois 2008
Chassagne-Montrachet, Henri Boillot, 2007
Lacoste Borie, Pauillac, 2009

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Dinner wouldn’t be complete without some fine desserts:

Mille Feuille: A unique piece of Mille Feuille with its rich puff pastry, filled with pastry cream and thin slices of mango. Mouthwatering and extravagantly tasty.

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Pomme Caramelisee: A round apple cooked in butter and sugar in the oven then burnt like creme brûlée and served with a vanilla ice cream ball on top. The impressive thing is that the apple is cleaned from its seeds. Sweet and slightly crunchy, I enjoyed the sugar and cinnamon flavors…

Psychologically you won’t feel guilty, you’ll actually feel good knowing that you’re eating a fruit.

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Wine matched with the dessert: Ice-wine, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Canada, Vidal 2008

The major items are organic since they use Biomass organic products: The Company sells, under the Biomass brand name, a variety of organic products ranging from Fruits & Vegetables, Herbs, Eggs, Bread, Dairy Products and Processed Goods.

As for the service, their waiters try the very best to impress. Everything is done gently and calmly with the supervision of one of the owners always there to make sure perfection is reached.

More was yet to come. A revisited “Coupe colonel”. What is normally a sorbet scoop in a vodka bath has been revisited the Lebanese style using Afandello and grapefruit sorbet.

After experience such a unique dinner, how can Le Petit Gris not be my favorite?

Let me know if you feel the same.