Frida: A Lasting Gem In Calm Achrafieh

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 years ago and are impressively intact.

 Equally impressive is the fact that the menu items remain wholly unchanged since the restaurant's inception. Readers can empathize with the distress a guest feels when she discovers her favorite dishes have been binned. Not here, not at Frida, where history and tradition go beyond the floors and walls, penetrating to the kitchen.

You’ll be greeted with markouk bread served in a straw basket, and insist on it being warm and supple. I particularly adore the one with black and white sesame, as well as another with aniseed and sultanas. A small bowl of grated cheddar and spicy green olives is also offered, and though a unique touch, shredded cheese proves a bit onerous gathered up in markouk (cubes would be preferred!).



A welcoming basket of markouk bread
Grated cheddar and spicy green olives



Order the Frida Guacamole, which animates the typical avocado mash with pomegranate seeds. In fact, anything Frida dishes up decked with the ruby seed is scrumptious, including a fresh purslane salad with avocado, cucumber, and pine nuts.

Purslane salad with avocado, cucumber, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds



Kebbet karaz are little cups fashioned from meat and burghul. They come brimming with either an Armenian sour cherry mix fishna or the infamous Aleppan dip muhammara. Admittedly not very Mexican, they are nonetheless delicious.



Open cups of kibbeh filled with sour cherry coulis and mouhammara with walnuts
Take a detour back to the markouk with the special Lebanese-style quesadillas, featuring a medley of cheddar, jalapeno, bell peppers and mushrooms inside soft round flatbread.

Quesadillas in markouk bread
The halloumi basking in a warm tomato salsa is exceptionally flavorful, as is the shrimp-chorizo stew, which gets a kick from lemon zest, parsley, and garlic. 

Grilled halloumi in a warm tomato salsa
Shrimp and chorizo with garlic, parsley, and lemon
Unfortunately there was no room for dessert on this occasion, but if memory serves me correct, the lazy cake topped with rose petal ice cream is heavenly. There’s a slew of other sweet somethings I’m tempted to go back for, including the Fokharyé Chocolat (a ramekin of melted chocolate) and cheesecake topped with rose jam.

On the whole, service at Frida is faultless, thanks to the devoted wait staff and the congenial managing partner Sabine, who can be seen circulating throughout the restaurant and surveying customers for their satisfaction.

Frida is your destination for a heart-warming rustic dinner in a homey setting. Put it on your restaurant radar.

Furn el Hayek - Achrafieh
01-333 226

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

Where Does Lebanon Go From Here?

Image
For more than a decade, I wrote zealously and defiantly about the beauty of Lebanon. In fact, the primary objective behind my blog Beirutista.co, launched in 2012, was to paint a picture of truth about what life is like in this tiny Mediterranean bastion. I had recently relocated to Beirut, Lebanon, and found myself composing long letters to friends overseas who knew nothing but the biased image of Lebanon that the media rehashes time and again. Questions like “You have trees there?” and “Do people get around on camels?” pained me not only for their reductive and uninformed nature, but for how poorly this country has been portrayed throughout the years. Lebanon has been around for thousands of years. In fact, the word “Lebanon” is mentioned over 70 times in the Bible and is thought to derive from the Phoenician root lbn meaning “white,” in reference to Lebanon’s snow-capped peaks. This country seemingly has it all, bordered on the west by the moderate Mediterranean Sea, and replete wit
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