Crave

Restaurants in Lebanon are notoriously short on creativity. Wherever you go, you run into places featuring "international cuisine" (what exactly does that mean?!) serving everything from pizzas, burgers, fajitas, pasta, steaks, and Arabic mezze, to the classic chocolate fondant. I can't tell you how many restaurants fit exactly that profile, and how nervous I get about the operation behind those kitchen doors. The poor chef!

Crave (right off of Monot), while boasting a lengthy menu, has something unique and unifying that other restaurants simply fail to capture--balance. A master in fusion food, Crave serves up food that portrays the perfect harmony between savory and slightly sweet, freshness and quality, presentation and appeal. The first time we tried Crave, we sampled their elegant dessert selection: fruit-filled crepes smothered in Grand Marnier creme anglaise, and a Asmalieh creme brulee, a tantalizing combination of a traditional Arabic pastry with a classic French treat. The marriage was pure bliss, crunchy meets creamy, and it was elevated to heavenly by caramelized bananas and coconut-infused creme. Evoking that harmony were Yin and Yang shaped salt-and-pepper shakers--no detail has been overlooked!

This time, we opted for their salads, and once again, we were knocked off our feet. The bresaola halloumi salad was a light affair of organic greens with orange wedges tucked into them, sinking beneath grilled slices of halloumi cheese and thinly-shaved bresaola. Olive oil was delicately drizzled on top. The exotic shrimps salad is what really did us in, though, with a lively medley of real pineapple and mango chunks, a generous heaping of chilled baby shrimp, arugula, cooked grains of wheat, all tossed lightly in a lime sauce. A phyllo pastry basket, similar to a vol-au-vent, was added as a crispy and golden contrast to the colorful, soothing mess that was the salad.



















Most impressive were the large portion sizes of these salads--they were proper meals in their own right, and very fairly priced (at about 20,000LL each). Their presentation was lively; the ingredients, flavorful; and the freshness, unparalleled.

Next time, we'll be tackling Crave's pizza!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Types of Patrons You’ll Encounter at a Coffee Shop in Lebanon

Image
You haven’t really adult-ed if you haven’t flocked to a coffee shop at least once in the past week, am I right? Admittedly, I was a little late to the game. I started sipping on caffeinated brew when my eldest was born, about six years ago. I’d place him in his stroller and lap around the mall for an hour or two, and when he drifted off to sleep, I’d slide into an armchair at Dunkin’ and order a donut, croissant-wich and coffee combo (yep, that was the ultimate trifecta.).  Fresh-brewed dark roast coffee, served piping hot with the steam blanketing my visage to deliver facial-like effects. Those few moments of uninterrupted peace formed my golden hour. I’d sit back, sip on my cup of joe, and quietly take in the scenes surrounding me. To this day, I love hanging out aimlessly at a coffee shop, merely to study the behavior of other patrons and try to deduce their craft. Here are the most common profiles I’ve encountered. My favorite indulgence at a coffee shop: donut and a cup of brew
Read more

A Crowning Iftar Experience at the Crowne Plaza Beirut

Image
It had been decidedly too long since my first visit to the Crowne Plaza Beirut, tucked in the heart of Hamra along the main drag. Standing tall – a formidable 21 floors to be exact – with sweeping panoramic views of the Lebanese capital city, the Crowne Plaza, an IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) property, has so much going for it. To begin, the underground self-parking facility cannot be overlooked, as parking is typically nightmare-inducing elsewhere in Beirut. At just 200,000 LBP (USD 2.20) for up to four hours, this is a bargain. Alight the elevator at the ground floor, where a few steps westward will land you at the threshold of the Crowne Plaza. The hotel boasts 190 rooms, and I’m told that you can nab a room with complimentary breakfast buffet including VAT for about $100. You really can’t beat that in or outside of the city! Last Friday, we forayed into Hamra with the aim of trying the Iftar, a traditional Ramadan feast enjoyed at sunset, at Crowne Plaza’s Vivaldi restaurant
Read more

7 Types of Lebanese Parents You’ll Encounter at School Pickup

Image
For the past three years, I’ve been shuttling my kids to and from school. It’s always a treat to greet them as their scholastic day draws to a close and they melt into your arms, eager to head home.  Right up there after that gratifying reunion is the entertainment value you derive from your encounters with other parents milling around the school building threshold in the minutes leading up to end of day. So amusing is the range of characters you’ll meet – whether they be grandparents filling in for parents tied up at work, or parents able to carve out time to pluck up their offspring – that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about it. Here they are in no specific order. Can you relate?   1. The Haughty Mama : her favorite hand accessory is her smartphone, which she’s either holding to her lips transmitting nonstop nonsense voice notes, or scrolling furiously through her Instagram feed. Her hair is perfectly coiffed, with the essential extensions. She’s got those long fal
Read more