Beirutista

Admit it. We all feel like diving into a buffet from time to time. You know, careening through the kitchen stations and stands, admiring the cheese displays, salivating over the hot mains, or stealing glances at the chef whipping up a pasta sauce from scratch. There’s something ineffably exciting about filling up your own plate with whatever tempts the eye and going back for seconds, thirds, fourths even without attracting neither frown nor judgment. Buffets are the hallmark of hotels, but in Beirut you rarely see them outside the breakfast scene. There’s one exception, and it’s Mosaic, located on the first floor of Phoenicia Intercontinental in Ain Mreisseh. How often do you spot a Paris-Brest in Beirut? Well, it's at Mosaic. Mosaic is exactly what its name implies, an artistic array of beautiful food arranged in neat, patterned, immaculate styles. Seven days a week, the spacious restaurant, perching on the corner of the five-star property and overlooking the S...

In recent weeks, I’ve been feeling a surge of oppression in matters big and small, and I’m starting to think it comes with the package of living in Lebanon. My Lebanese readers can probably relate when I say there’s never a dull moment in this frenzied country. Consider my smartphone, hardly six months old, which I acquired on my last visit to the US back in September. Two weeks ago, the fingerprint-sensitive home button stopped responding, and naturally, I consulted my brothers, self-avowed tech geeks, on the matter. My OnePlus 2 smartphone (photo credit: www.androidauthority.com) One option was to return the phone to the manufacturer, as the warranty is valid for one year from purchase. Now normally, the manufacturer settles all shipping costs under warranty, but Lebanon isn’t on the list of countries freely dealt with, and I would have to settle the shipping and customs fees, to and from their service center in China. Um, no. We quickly scrapped that option a...

I honestly had no idea Frida survived the inclement F&B scene in Lebanon, what with restaurants opening and shuttering almost weekly in the capital. I remember first discovering it in 2011, when Frida was all the rage for its delicious Lebanese cuisine with spicy Southwestern influences. That summer we went at least half a dozen times. But evolving routines and dining-out habits soon found us removed from the quartier where Frida perches. Imagine my delight when I learned it's still thriving. A foodie meetup allowed me to rekindle my fondness for the home-turned-eatery nestled in Furn el Hayek, Achrafieh. Ascend a dozen steps to alight at the terrace, ideal for summer nights and shisha gatherings. Walk past the threshold and behold a long spacious foyer terminating in a bar. There are several dining rooms branching out from the vestibule, and décor is kitschy, with scarlet lampshades dangling from the ceiling. The tiles date back to the house’s construction probably 100 ...

One of the things I love most about BRGR.CO is how dynamic the menu is. Every time you visit their outlets in either Beirut Souks or ABC Achrafieh, you’re bound to find a special showcasing the flavors of the season. I’d had my eye on the Santana Chicken Burger ever since I caught glimpse of it on Instagram in March. A thick breaded chicken breast breaded and battered to a crisp is flanked with avocado mash, diced tomatoes and corn. Chipotle dressing gushes at the sides. BRGR.CO’s iconic bun, free of seeds and fuss, battles to contain all that action, easily overshadowed by the heft of the poulet patty. Southwest Chicken Burger A few weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to sink my canines into that bunned beauty, and it was glorious. You know that taste of summer, distinctively warm and comforting with a burst of juicy freshness? That’s the Santana burger (19,000 LL), and thanks to popular demand, it’s being engraved in stone to the yearlong menu. BRGR.CO ma...

I tend to avoid food delivery orders. I figure as long as God graces me with the ability to walk and the burning desire to behold my meal being made, why not exploit it? However, I do understand that sometimes, getting away from the office can prove challenging, and the ease with which you can deliver veritably anything in Lebanon is so darn tempting!  The other night, I caved and called up Mini Guette . Their chia bread had caught my eye while exploring the Instagram discovery feed, and I knew I had to confirm the goodness for myself. The order was placed at 6 pm for delivery to downtown Beirut. Precisely as estimated by the telephone operator Kareem, the goods were delivered 35 minutes later. First, a word about the jazzy packaging, which has nifty boxes for the paper-jacketed sandwiches and burgers, as well as plastic bowls for the salads. Also of note, the chia menu was newly engineered by dietitian Mirna Sammour and contains nutrition facts like calories and gra...

Mohamad Abbas is not a man you should take lightly. Soft-spoken and modest he may be, with eyes gleaming and cheeks ruddy as he gushes about pastry making. But the executive pastry chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut has the power to render you speechless with his butter-kissed croissants and sugar-glazed cinnamon rolls. Sugar-glazed cinnamon rolls and butter-kissed croissants If you’re dining in the Grill & Lounge on the 2 nd floor, you’ll probably retract your hefty order after you try the filling bread loaf that lands on your table. That’s Abbas’ doing, baked in-house using imported French flour and homemade yeast. Nothing but a smear of Échiré beurre demi-sel and coarse sea salt could make it any more delicious. Abbas has been the resident sweets-smith since the hotel opened in 2010, working alongside illustrious pastry chef Charles Azar. In 2013, after Azar’s departure from the Four Seasons, Abbas assumed the reins, hand-selecting his team of eight a...

I was recently featured on the front page of online journal MediaSource , as part of its Blog Spotlight series on prominent bloggers across the MENA region. The interview is reproduced below. I'd love to know what you think!  Blog Spotlight: Beirutista Beirut-based food and lifestyle blogger Danielle Issa spoke with MediaSource about the origins of her Beirutista blog, for which she writes, and the impact of blogs on Lebanon's dining scene. What inspired you to start your blog ? I’d recently settled in Lebanon, having been born and raised in the US and knowing Lebanon strictly in the capacity of a summer destination. I sought a channel where I could document my trials and observations in my new home, a sort of virtual diary to preserve memories and analyses through the written word. I also wanted to provide a window through which friends abroad could peer in and see how starkly different my life had become.  Beirutista  was a tabula rasa , an empty slate ...