Deliveries – Around Lebanon

Sometimes you feel like ordering in instead of going out, that’s when you know it is time to pick up the phone and dial the number that will feed your hunger. After a few times of doing that, I decided to put the “dialees” in a post clustered together. They are still food, you know. Where there is food, there is Salted Caramel.

 

 

Chopsticks: From this Chinese restaurant, we ordered the fried shrimps and fish, egg fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, beef with green pepper, and chicken with bamboo shoots. The order arrived in paper bags; the food was packed neatly, and kept warm. The food is as good as it is at the restaurant; satisfactory, but not over the top. However, I would order from Chopsticks again.

 

Crepaway: Let me just say it, Crepaway’s ordering and delivery process is worth commending. They are always professional on the phone, and in their delivery service. They do not ask for directions to your home over and over again, the food arrives on time and is kept at a good temperature. I also have to add that they have only made one mistake with my food order, and this is over many years of ordering from their restaurant, being a picky eater, and them being human! Seriously, when we want a swift delivery, this is our go-to restaurant. Of course, one shouldn’t forget to mention that within its dining category, Crepaway has really good food. The chicken sandwiches we ordered were great, and their crepes are tasty. This time, I ordered a salty crepe, but I have to mention that their chocolate crepes are delicious.

 

Deek Duke: YUM!! Ok, if you want a chicken sandwich that is really amazing, you should try the Beiruti sandwich at Deek Duke. It is the right amount of chicken and the right amount of garlic, and tastes the right amount of home-made. The chicken is moist and tender in all of their chicken sandwiches. The other sandwich that I like is the barbecue one, the sauce is really flavorsome. If you are craving “chicken goodness”, this is it. Although, I would just like to add that they should expand their delivery coverage to share their food with more areas in Lebanon.

 

Roadster Diner: The revamped Roadster Diner delivery packaging is neater than before, yet it makes me question their identity coherence. Anyway, I still appreciate getting good food presented well. Based on my experience, the dining-in journey with Roadster has been a bumpy one. I have received sandwiches with incorrect ingredients, and burgers with unpleasant chunks in the meat patty. Although, mistakes were dealt with, it made me pause on ordering from their diner for a while. After some time, I have decided to try it again, and this time the order went smoothly, and my food was good. One of my favorite sandwiches at Roadster Diner is the cheese steak sandwich, but I like to place the constituents inside a soft bun instead of the baguette. So, after the success of this delivery order, they have partly redeemed themselves in my eyes. Yet, I will give them more chances to achieve a full recovery.

 

Zaatar W Zeit: The barbecue steak sandwich at Zaatar W Zeit is the reason I order from their restaurant. Seriously, after trying many items on the menu, for me Zaatar W Zeit and barbecue steak sandwich are one and the same. The only other thing to add here is the delivery is unsatisfactory. The driver never makes it to our building without calling us for directions, even though we have ordered from them repeatedly. To be honest, this is a factor we consider when choosing which restaurant we want to order food from.

 

Lord of the Wings: I do not know why we ordered from Lord of the Wings that night, but I was pleasantly surprised. The last time I ordered boneless chicken wings from there seems like a decade ago because I felt that the quality was slowly deteriorating. When we ordered them this time, the chicken reminded me of when I first tried them at Lord of the Wings, which is a good thing. I might just order from there again, I’m still thinking about it.

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Bits and Pieces – Lebanon

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Chili’s – Achrafieh: I would go to this place just to have this amazing chocolate dessert. When you cut the cake, delicious chocolate oozes out, and combine that with the taste of the ice cream and caramel; you get something close to perfection. Granted it is not French pastry, but if you take it for what it is (an American restaurant chain dessert), it surely stands out.

 

Oliver’s Kitchen & Coffee Shop – Gemmayze: I actually enjoyed my time at this eatery, despite some flaws with the food. We first ordered a mini beef burger, 8″ pizza, and Oliver’s famous fish and chips. The beef patty in the mini beef burger was ridiculously small, and the whole burger was mediocre. The fish and chips platter was acceptable, but it did not live up to its fame. As for the pizza, I actually liked the crust and if I ever go again, I would just order that for my meal. Coming to the dessert, I ordered the milk chocolate crepe. The menu states that it is Premium Belgian chocolate awaiting inside the dough; honestly they made me doubt that claim. I do not know if it is the preparation method or the chocolate itself, but the chocolate spread was grainy instead of being smooth and creamy (like it should be). On the plus side, the service was great, and the atmosphere was relaxing. I also liked the section they have that sells books in the shop; you feel as if your level of intellect has increased just by being there.

 

Meat the Fish – Jal el Dib: We went to Meat the Fish located in the Aishti Mall; the mall actually looks really nice on the inside. As for Meat the Fish, the platters were good, but honestly I do not see what the hype is about. The taste of the meat, the fish, and the lobster were nothing unique to this restaurant; you can get it elsewhere. An interesting thing, on the other hand, was the Japanese beer seen in the picture above. However, my taste buds were more than satisfied with the sweet pudding I had as dessert; apparently it is made by Rouba Khalil.

 

Thea – Jal el Dib: Back when there was no fuss about tea and its varieties in Lebanon, there was Thea. As a person that prefers tea to coffee, I loved spending afternoons at this tearoom, and being introduced to different blends of tea. Also, drinking the tea in lovely teaware makes it all the more appealing.

 

Crepico – Zalka: Now, this is fine Belgian chocolate. Callebaut. The chocolate is incredible. Needless to say, this is what decorates their crepes and waffles. The salty and sweet crepes are fine, but their sweet waffles are the reason one has to go to Crepico.

 

Des Choux et Des Idees – Achrafieh: Do you like French patisserie to be subtle, light, and delicate? Well, this is the opposite. The individual pieces look really dainty and pretty, but where there is fruit, the flavor is overwhelming to the degree of tasting like perfume. In addition, the creme patissiere is so heavy that it makes you forget you are eating French pastry. It was a one time visit, and that is all it is going to be.

 

Popcorn – Grand Cinemas ABC Dbayeh vs. VOX City Centre Beirut: I did not want to include non-eatery posts, and especially ones with comparisons; but I could not help it. Food is food. These two photos are begging me to be in a battle together, so I will concede. VOX wins hands down, for both the popcorn crunch and flavor, as well as the slush taste and consistency. The slushy in ABC seemed to only have sugar as an ingredient, while the one in VOX was truly refreshing with every sip.

 

Sursock Museum Resto – Achrafieh: Sursock Museum should be visited; it makes Lebanese proud to have a museum space that is of international standards. As for the restaurant, it is what you expect a restaurant at a museum to be like; with a creative menu and placemat. The homemade potato chips provided as a side in our dishes were really good, actually they were much better than the beef in the sandwich. Let’s just say that I am more a fan of the museum itself than its resto.

 

La Table du Gand Chalet – Zaarour: We spent a night at a hotel called Le Gand Chalet at the Zaarour Club, and we had dinner at the restaurant located there. The decor was minimalist, which I liked. Also, the service was really good. However, the food needs to be majorly improved, in my opinion. The spices in my pasta dish seemed to be more of oriental than Italian based, which was really off-putting. I would expect more from a “luxury boutique hotel”.

 

Vanilla Bean – Beirut: To end this Bits and Pieces blog post on a sweet note, I can choose nothing better than the talented Vanilla Bean. The custom-made cakes turn out to be exactly how you envisioned them in your head, and even better. The pastel colors, the attention to detail, and the perfect finishing is attributed to the craftsmanship of Ms. Layla Jamal. I would just like to add that the cakes do not just look like pretty works of art on the outside; they taste just as good as they look.