Beirutista

I don't usually take my chances with dessert. If you know me, you know I have a predilection for sweet over salty. And I lived in the capital of fine treats – does Paris really need an introduction? So I'm decidedly discerning when it comes to gastronomy. But I had a good feeling about Caramello. The newly launched home business is the brainchild of a homemaker and self-taught pastry aficionado with 30 years of experience under her belt. For decades she dreamt of sharing her dainty delights with the world, and that dream has finally been realized with the help of her supportive family. On offer? Her specialties are distinctly les macarons , fresh fruit tarts and cheesecakes. Among Caramello's specialties are les macarons For my son Alexander's third birthday, we homed in on a Biscoff Lotus cheesecake, fresh strawberry tartlets, and a selection of macarons. I didn't have much customer feedback or testimonials to fall back on, since the operation is new. But the ...

Updated: March 26, 2023 For the Lebanese, remittances have always been a hard fact of life. With a vast diaspora often quoted to be upward of five times the population inside Lebanon, it is not uncommon for Lebanese expats to send money to family members living in the motherland. But now more than ever, that fact has become a deepening necessity. As the country battles a multi-faceted crisis promising no clear resolution, the Lebanese find themselves struggling to make ends meet, and their reliance on remittances from abroad grows unabashedly. The real question, however, is how to channel funds safely, cost-effectively and directly into the intended recipient’s hands. I finally found a surefire answer, and I could not recommend it more heartily. Now more than ever, the Lebanese are relying on cash remittances from abroad to survive ( Getty images ). What is Sendwave? Sendwave is an app born in 2014 out of a desire to slash the high fees and minimize the inconvenience of sending...

It’s no secret: prices across Lebanon for the vast majority of goods and services have witnessed an unprecedented spike as the lira continues to plunge against the dollar. Though the official rate is around LBP 1,500 for USD 1, the lira is trading on the black market for LBP 16,000 (current as of June 24, 2021), which translates to a whopping 967% surge in the exchange rate. Over the past four months alone, I’ve seen prices of local goods double. For example, Master Kettle Chips (144g) were selling for LBP 8,000 in February , whereas now a bag goes for LBP 15,000. Candia Lait 1-L TetraPak of milk are priced at 15,500 LBP, nearly double the LBP 8,000 tag they fetched at the start of the year. The other day I tweeted that “walking into a grocery store in Lebanon is like getting back a graded exam. Your heart stops as you scan the numbers on the price labels. It’s a harrowing experience.” But even more harrowing is the huge spread in prices you’ll occasionally witness across retaile...

I had the great pleasure and honor of interacting with Lebanese-British music artist Maya Marie, who recently launched her debut album Antelias in an ode to war-fraught Lebanon. Maya was born and raised in Beirut during the height of the Civil War, and she and her family straddled living between Cyprus and Lebanon before seeking asylum in the UK in 1989. However, the memories and scars of war are indelible, and she invokes them masterfully in Antelias and single “Shelter.” Read on for my exchange with the decorated musical talent, whose work via band New Pharaohs can be accessed freely on Spotify . Maya Marie of the band New Pharaohs (1) You mentioned being half-Lebanese, and that your father continues to reside in Antelias. With what other ethnic background do you identify? What year did you leave Lebanon? Where do you presently live?  My mother is Irish-British, and she came to Lebanon when she was 21 to study Arabic and nursing. She met my father on the ...

At first glance, one might consider the Lebanese national drink to be “arak,” that white, murky, anise-derived spirit related to France’s pastis and Italy’s sambuca. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’d immediately reconsider: Lebanon boasts upward of 70 wineries spanning the Bekaa, Batroun, Bhamdoun and Byblos regions. In my book, we’re unequivocally a wine-producing nation. Les Vignes du Marje is one of Lebanon's newest wineries, and its home is Marjeyoun in the south Surprised? According to Farrah Berrou, founder of B for Bacchus which host workshops and tastings surrounding Lebanese wine, the number of vineyards registered in 1990 was a measly seven. Fast forward to the millennium, and the tally reached 17. In 2010, it surged to 41, and by 2017, we hit 49. That means in the past two years alone, the rate of induction of new wineries has grown by a factor of seven! In the past two years, Lebanon has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the number of winer...

Let’s be honest here: it’s hard to get excited about two slices of toasted square bread, notwithstanding what goes between them. Am I right? Hardly my idea of a riveting culinary affair, especially when I’ve been making the trite peanut butter and jelly variety since elementary school. Leave it to the epicurean genius of Jad el Hage to set me straight and send the ball hurling out of left field. Managing partner and executive chef at his company Foodlab, Jad is the face behind the concepts of l’Humeur du Chef (Mar Mikhael), La Cabane du Chef (Zaarour), and La Paillotte du Chef (summer popup in Halat). Rewind the chronology, and you’d find him helping to launch Tawlet alongside critically acclaimed food activist Kamal Mouzawak; manning the kitchens at the now-shuttered Talleyrand, once a bastion of enviable haut gastronomy; and flexing his muscles at the Byblos beach resort EddeSands. Jad is a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, where he ear...