World Kitchen goes to Beirut – Street Food
Slipping between freshly cleaned bedsheets, the smell of just-baked bread, warm underwear on a winter’s day, bubblewrap.
It’s the simple things in life that really make me smile and my love of food is no exception. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for over-complicated, pretentious molecular gastronomy (snail porridge anyone ?) but frankly it usually involves someone else’s expense account.
The best dishes I have ever eaten owe their taste less to complexity than to the perfect marriage of the most simple ingredients. Beans on toast, jelly with ice cream, bread & butter and of course mango with sticky rice. Dishes which are so simple that we are almost afraid to admit how much we like them for fear of being classed as unsophisticated. In essence they are life’s guilty pleasures.
It is with this in mind that I turn to the final installment of World Kitchen in Beirut as I decided to explore the realm of ‘post-club munchies’. We started our evening in a great little eatery in Gemmayze called Le Chef (presumably named after it’s rather eccentric chef) before going in search of the fabled Beirut nightlife. Having arrived before the rooftop clubs opened for the summer we’d heard the Black Eyed Peas’ DJ was playing at Whisky Mist, though possibly more exciting was that the club handed out snacks called manakish at closing time (see video for details!).
And then to perhaps the culinary climax of my trip as we exited the club to explore the very home of the dishes I mercilessly devour after a night out in London. Every country has it’s own answer to an evening’s excesses however I find it difficult to believe anything could match the restorative power of chicken, fries, garlic sauce and chilies wrapped in warm, fresh pita. Satisfied that for once in my life I could justify a post-club shawarma not merely on the basis of total intoxication but in the name of food journalism I ate two to be sure.
And where, you ask, did I pick up this little morsel of heaven ? Well that’s were the controversy begins. As FHM in it’s yearly poll of the World’s Most Beautiful Women always chooses a highly controversial number 1 to get people talking, so did I choose a restaurant that is bound to divide opinion. Wherever the debate may take us though, the quasi-erogenous gastronomic euphoria I experienced that night far outweighed the offerings of London’s Edgware Road. Like I say, it’s the simple things…
Dinner with Drake goes to Beirut – Modern Lebanese Cuisine
Trends always seem to follow a similar life cycle. Borne out of innovation they take hold with the early adopters and enjoy a brief moment in the sun before the mass market gets hold of them and they inexorably lose their appeal. What’s he going on about this time you’re thinking to yourself ? Fusion Food.
The phrase used to have a real buzz back in the 90′s with the likes of Asia de Cuba blurring national boundaries to expand our culinary horizons but pretty soon the hoi poloi got in on the act. Chinese restaurants wanting to keep their current clientèle but also cash in on the popularity of Thai food suddenly became ‘Pan-Asian’ whilst the local tandoori started to put the likes of spaghetti with curry sauce on the menu. Mcdonalds even has a McAloo Tiki (TM).
It was with this slight prejudice in mind that I was at first skeptical about the idea of Lebanese fusion food. Having indulged myself on the classics for a couple of days I was fairly convinced that Beirut had a solid formula not to be tampered with – and then I went to Eau de Vie. Sitting atop the Phoenicia Hotel, Eau de Vie is presided over by internationally acclaimed Head Chef Rabih Fouany who has been combining local ingredients with European influences to produce unique results. Foods like Kishik and Frikeh would normally be the staples of a Lebanese village diet so their inclusion in the likes of risotto and velouté was a real eye-opener. For those who thought Lebanese food was all about the 3am post-club shawarma it’s time to experience the Nouvelle Vague…
From the city my next stop was to investigate a quiet oenological revolution in the Bekaa Valley. To the uninitiated it may come as a surprise to know that Lebanon is producing some seriously respectable wines so in the name of thorough research I set up a tasting. The vineyards themselves are a venerable 150 years old but the wine making tradition of Lebanon goes back as much as 5000 years. I spent an afternoon at Chateau Ksara with Rania Chammas whose knowledge was as profound as her generous hospitality. Needless to say my sore head the next day bore testament to this and I would recommend you spend an afternoon there.
Next time on World Kitchen I’ll be checking out a side of Lebanese food which holds a particularly fond place in our hearts…the post party munchies !
Dinner with Drake: Beirut, Part I
It’s always slightly disconcerting when you get off a plane and find airport security waiting and asking your name. I was briefly concerned that my first trip to Beirut was going to be spent in a jail cell, but I soon realised that my hotel had arranged for a personal escort to arrivals. Wondering which Hollywood celebrity I’d been mistaken for, I decided to enjoy the moment as the immigration queue parted like the Red Sea and an incredible trip began …
To the uninitiated (or those initiated by CNN), you’d be forgiven for thinking that Beirut was a rather troubled city, though anyone who reads the likes of Tatler and GQ know it as an emerging force in the world of all things epicurean. Inspired by a love for Lebanese food, I decided a four-day trip was in order, a gustatory reconnaissance mission with its beginning in traditional cuisine.
For authentic insight into a country’s cuisine, a great place to start is the local farmer’s market. In Beirut, Souk el Tayeb doesn’t disappoint. I was fortunate enough to meet the organiser of the market, Kamal Mouzawak, and quickly realised that this market goes way beyond a simple amalgam of local produce. For Kamal, the market is practically a socio-political statement that people from myriad backgrounds—religious, political, and idealistic—can be united through a common love of all things edible. Each week all sorts of lively characters travel from the four small corners of Lebanon to sell their wares, and the sense of community was almost tangible. But let’s talk food.
Lebanon has been a cultural melting pot for a long time, owing in no small part to occupation by the Ottoman Turks and later the French. Enlisting the help of Chef Malek from the prestigious Phoenicia Hotel (it’s amazing the doors ASW can open), my Lebanese food vocabulary grew quickly as we ploughed our way through the incredible mezze in the market. Battata Harra, Fatayer, Saj … you name it I ate it. When the time came to cook lunch, I wasn’t sure I could take much more (but, of course, I did).
The thing I love about Lebanese people is the matter-of-fact way they describe their cuisine as the best in the Middle East, like a fact not up for discussion. Chef Malek is more accustomed to catering to the hundreds of guests from various backgrounds that walk through the doors of his restaurant, Mosaic, but he took time out to show me some of the basics.
This week we’ll cover a couple of simple, familiar dishes that you might not know how to create yourself: Kibbeh and Fattoush. In my next installment of World Kitchen, we’ll check out one of Beirut’s top chefs and take an entirely modern look at local cusine. Yalla!
Zombies, Pastries and The Modern Pantry…
I’ve always been a fan of post-apocalyptic horror. Scenes of cities we usually associate with frenetic movement somehow totally deserted save for the occasional zombie / reanimated dinosaur. This Sunday was much like one of those days as we awoke to beautiful sunshine and an east London seemingly devoid of all people. Working under the assumption that it was the Bank Holiday that had cleared out the city rather than a flesh eating virus we headed to The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell to check out their brunch…
I’m always told not to judge a book by its cover but where The Modern Pantry is concerned such superficiality could only inspire confidence. It looks stunning. A long, rustic wooden table with a stack of fresh pastries welcomed us and it wasn’t long before a flat white accompanied by a pain au raisin were delivered to placate me until the main event. Now let’s just pause a moment and talk pastry. For me it has to have a microlayer of crispiness on the outside with an almost dough like elasticity in the middle. I’d normally opt for my pain to be au chocolat but they’d already been spirited away – the custardy folds of the raisin variety didn’t disappoint though. Coffee was pretty good too and it always makes me smile to see the baristas fussing over their equipment like enthusiastic mechanics tinkering with a vintage E-Type. Given the choice I would double the cup size for extra pastry dunkability but I’m a bit of a pig like that…
Ms S. took a liking to the Passion Fruit, Orange, Banana, Yoghurt & Honey Smoothie. It could have been blended with ice for a more refreshing kick but it was still a good prelude to the next course.
Act II came in the form of Danish Beer & Cassava Waffles with Bacon and Maple Syrup. If ever a waffle looked like a saturated washing-up sponge then this was the one, but trust me a washing-up sponge never tasted so good. Topped with curls of deliciously caramelized bacon reminiscent of maple coloured wood shavings the combination of flavours and textures was a perfect Canadian symphony.
Ms S. opted for the poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. A tasty example of all its constituent parts but the dish did have me questioning once again the merits of the grilled tomato. Correct me if I am wrong but is this not the most pointless addition to any breakfast ? Cooked until the centre is reduced to a flavourless moosh whilst the skin is left just tough enough to feel like you are chewing on a prophylactic, I’m skipping this one until Heston gets his hands on it.
The conclusion ? The Modern Pantry is a definite must on the London brunch trail and with a quirky menu including the likes of Blueberry & Manouri Pancakes and Poached Eggs with Yuzu Hollandaise I see an imminent return trip. With a pitcher of Restorative Bloody Mary headlining the menu it seems as though zombies are welcome too.
