When you stride along the Bee in her shoes, you have to expect a lot of things… Today for instance we found ourselves in the midst of the Boulevard Beirut event, new menu launching and opening anniversary…
It wasn’t really about the food, it was about the people, the message was loud and clear, the food was only there to bind all the event component, like a delicious glue specially cooked with love for that very specific evening… and what an evening it was…
Despite very strong winds outside the place was packed… Although, you feel immediately comfortable because of the atmosphere… the music… the people… the smiles… the welcoming…
You feel a wave of nostalgia and a thrill when you see a traditionally dressed lady busy on her Saj preparing mini man2oucheh zaatar, cheese, kechek etc… the aroma floating in the air is dizzying…
The Bee and Sergio had the best spot in the restaurant reserved for us…
Food started pouring on our table just as Kate & Leopold arrived, I love that couple, they are always all smiles and that just is amazing… But enough of them or anybody else for that matter… its food time and the salads are here:
The Berghoul Salad, a first for me honestly, but deliciously refreshing especially with the feta cheese, the crunchiness of the berghoul adds consistency and credibility to the dish
The Falafel Salad, now that was great, how come I never encountered that yet in Beirut? It’s too bad the falafel were a bit mushy, not fresh out of the fryer… it might as well be the proximity of the humidity rich ingredient surrounding it… very possible
The Halloumi Salad despite being very tasty, wasn’t very appealing to the eyes, it was poorly presented and the green salad looked quite withered… a shame really during such an occasion…
The Hakawati made his way to our table and started a long… funny… and yeah entertaining story, nice touch to revive the old Beirut Hakawati habits… it added to the charm of Boulevard…
It goes without saying that mini mana2ish were absolutely amazing… I wanted to go grab some more… when I noticed that the lady who was baking them, was changing… hmmm… well… décor… she was now installing what looked like an old Jorn Kebbeh… the spices and the ingredient around her didn’t leave room for wondering… she was gonna do kebbeh nayyeh the traditional Lebanese way… Joie !
While she was preparing herself, I tried a bit of the Mfassakh Batenjen, another traditional dish that is basically fried eggplants marinated in yoghurt… very nice…
BOOM… wait… what? BOOM…! Again? I turned quickly to the Right and boooom! The traditionally dressed lady was hammering down raw meat and mixing it with spices and burghol in the joron… BOOM! preparing the kebbeh… I have never seen that before… BOOM! I was too young when people still used that device, all I recall was my grandmother and later my mother using an electrical meat grounder mixer… BOOM! I was hypnotized by the heavy yet precise movements of her hands… until Coach Chicho snapped me out of it… I had to taste what was still coming on the table… focus… ok… here we go…
Kaak with Feta cheese and zaatar was served, as well as mini kafta 3arayis served with fresh yoghurt… absolutely delicious, although, it’s the chicken in mini pita bread with garlic sauce that was the real winner… It did transcend the flavors to a new level for the evening…
The fried cheese sambousa were good, lovely touch having zaatar w zeit on top of them… The Garlic Labneh was a delight, perfect mix of flavors, very well balanced…
The BOOM stopped… finally, it all had to come back to the kebbeh nayyey, it was served in the shape of a roll in mar2ou2 bread. It didn’t look like anything really, not even appetizing for the innocent eye who never saw it before… only moi… I knew… it’s like an old wooden treasure chest drowned for years that you open slowly for the first time only to discover a jewel of a meet, velvety, flavorful… an absolute dream that made me richer for the night with this new experience… too bad it didn’t last long… I will come back for it… I surely will…
A lot of desserts were served, all looking great, but I was sincerely full and couldn’t have any extra bite… not if I wanted that night to end well… But looking on the face of the ladies around me, I can safely and fairly say the sweets were good, no mistake about that.
A perfect place to have a relaxing time and a good traditional meal…
Gaston El Beyrouteh
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