Beirutista

Last week I attended a fabulous brunch at Le Gray’s Qasti restaurant to honor 30 years of Hospitality Services’ Horeca. If you’re any degree of foodie , the annual event to look forward to in Beirut is Horeca. Formed from the words Ho tels, Re staurants, and Ca fés, this exhibition is the largest in the Levant for the food service and hospitality industry, attracting hundreds of exhibitors, trade visitors, internationally renowned chefs and food experts. The sumptuous brunch at Le Gray was hosted by Joumana Dammous-Salamé, managing director of Hospitality Services , and her experienced team. A more convivial setting could not have been pinned down, and how fortuitous that winter took a one-day leave to afford us a beautiful, 25-degree day replete with sunshine. We sat outside on the terrace of Qasti, tucked away from the din of the busy street lining Martyr’s Square.  Le Gray Hotel takes its throne in the heart of the historic downtown district. After the August 4, 2020, Beirut ...

When I launched my blog Beirutista some 14 years ago, in the summer of 2012, I wasn’t exactly certain what the focal point would be. Sure, most of my articles featured candid and thorough reviews of eateries and holes-in-the-wall I’d discovered on my prowls through my new surroundings (I'd settled in Lebanon just the year before). I loved dishing out spotlights of lesser-known food spots or profiles of up-and-coming chefs. I could wax poetic about a cocktail prepared with finesse, or a pizza pie descended from the heavens. And while my taste buds were enjoying a culinary adventure of their own, I was also interested in the artist crafting his or her art. I’m a storyteller. I’ve always been a storyteller, even when I was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree in undergrad and grad school. I doubled down on honors humanities and social sciences to temper my technical studies and add a layer of communicative skills to what I do. You’re only as relatable as your words, written or ora...

Last week we enjoyed a mesmerizing meal at Al Beiruti in downtown Beirut. The attention to detail is enchanting, from the custom black shaffé coffee cup to the elaborate lighting fixtures juxtaposed by the vintage straw and wooden chairs evoking Lebanese heritage. Here's the interior Always make it a point to visit the restroom at a restaurant! Speaks volumes about how the kitchen might look and the restaurant's priority to hygiene. End your meal with traditional Lebanese coffee The cuisine is classically Lebanese with a few modern twists evidenced in the Al Beiruti specialties. Take for example the Aubergine, a delicately peeled roasted eggplant lying on a bed of labneh blended with tahini. Or the Shawarma which may have found inspiration in Armenian manti owing to a presence of zesty tomato sauce, cool laban yogurt, and pita squares to soak up all the goodness.  The quintessential labneh, zaatar and olives trifecta This is quite a unique take on shawarma! But don't overlo...

I bear good news. The hospitality industry in Lebanon is still alive and well. Very well, in fact, namely at Beirut's premier five-star property Kempinski Summerland Hotel & Resort . Boasting its own private beach and marina on the Mediterranean, the estate is a little piece of paradise promising seclusion, seduction, and absolute sumptuousness. It definitely delivers on those promises, as our visit last week to its cozy Mediterranean eatery Rojo attested. Rojo restaurant at the Kempinski Beirut ( photo source: online gallery ) It was a tempestuous Friday evening and the winds were howling, but we were nestled safely inside at a table for two, eager to embrace the night’s “Wine and Dine by the Sea with Latourba” menu proposition. I knew very little about Latourba , a private Lebanese vineyard located in the West Bekaa in a town called Saghbine. Assuming that we were in for a typical wine and dinner pairing, I was pleasantly surprised to find the owners and founders – Christi...

Lebanon has arguably never seen worse days than those we’re weathering now. Constant electricity outages; a seemingly unresolvable fuel shortage translating to long lines at the pump; rampant hyperinflation; poverty engulfing three-quarters of the population; rising unemployment; the depletion of medicine; oversaturated hospitals and healthcare facilities…all impetuses propelling the mass exodus of emigrants who will go literally anywhere to escape the trials and tribulations of home. Where were we just two years ago, and where are we now? Ever see those memes split into two columns, juxtaposing “How it started” and “How it’s going”? Yeah, well, in Lebanon’s case, it just isn’t going. End of story. No doubt many of us find ourselves reflecting on the not-so-distant past, nostalgic for the golden age we didn’t even know we were reveling in until the rug was violently pulled out from under our feet. Here's what I've been missing most. 1. Who remembers when Anthony Salamé an...

Perhaps now more than ever, the notion of a staycation has become relevant and essential. With Lebanon mired in deep economic and financial strife, exacerbated only by the real threat of the coronavirus pandemic plaguing the world, travel and tourism must be completely reimagined. Since my move to Lebanon in 2011, I spent every single summer within its borders. Sure, our perch on the Mediterranean is a stone’s throw from Cyprus and no more than four hours by plane to the European mainland. But who in their right mind would ditch the abundant sunshine, soothing blue sea, majestic mountains, and beautifully balanced cuisine that Lebanon boasts? I certainly never felt that inclination. But it’s not quite a vacation unless you leave your house to seek shelter elsewhere and transform scenery. And that’s what we would do on occasion, checking in to hotels big and small, in the capital or far from it, by the sea or tucked away in the mountains. Each lodging with its own charm, charac...