Drum Roll, Please, For Cup & Roll's New Breakfast Bites

June 28, 2016

I can’t believe exactly a year and half have passed since I first sat down with Wassim Haddad. For those who don’t know, Haddad is one of the young visionaries behind overnight success story Cup & Roll. Together with partner Khajag Apelian, the dynamic duo brought to light the culinary passion of Apelian’s mother Salpi through a signature homemade dough recipe. That recipe is the core of Cup & Roll, which proposes delicious savory and sweet bites in the shapes of the namesake vessels.

The new breakfast menu at Cup & Roll

At the time, I had asked Haddad about the enterprise’s outlook. Cup & Roll had recently undergone a rebranding exercise and shifted the operation from exclusively in-home to a central kitchen in Zalka. The one-year vision was to see a couple of physical outlets around Beirut. That crystallized months later with the opening of the first eatery in Hamra, located almost smack dab between LAU and AUB campuses.

The second shop debuted three months ago at Le Mall Dbayeh, and its spot is prominent as you step off the escalator onto the 2^nd floor. Spacious, inviting, and with a modern industrial feel, this mall outlet has become the second home of Salpi, who can be seen pouring love into her creations from behind the counter.

Chef Salpi Apelian delicately piles on ingredients in the breakfast cups

Last weekend we arrived mid-morning to sample Cup & Roll’s latest delicacies, the breakfast selection, served daily until noon (2,250 LL per piece, or 25,500 LL per dozen). There are five different varieties that pay homage to both Lebanese and continental breakfasts, and they are absolutely delightful.

Clockwise from top left: Hash Brown & Eggs, Bulgarian Cheese Mix,
Zaatar Mix, and Halloumi Pesto

The Halloumi Pesto evokes a wafting Italian pizza, complete with the fondant white cheese swimming in a pool of homemade pesto and layered with sweet beefy tomatoes.

The Zaatar Mix features dried zaatar blended with sliced black olives and diced tomatoes, finished with olive oil. A dollop of labneh with lemon zest tempers the acidity from the thyme. It’s a rich tribute to manakish and probably packs the same quantity of zaatar you’d find on a flatbread counterpart.

The Zaatar Mix breakfast cup

For a creamy and smooth number, the Bulgarian Cheese Mix hits home, mashing the brined feta-like cheese with wild zaatar, parsley, red onion, ground red pepper, yogurt and eggs. A solitary cherry tomato is the proverbial cherry on top!

If you’re into an American breakfast, look no further than the Hash Brown & Eggs or the Bacon & Eggs. I opted for the former, a fluffy, dense concoction fusing potato, eggs, shredded cheddar and beef hot dog coins all in one.

Your ideal bet is to nab a combo of four breakfast cups and a bottle of fresh chilled juice—orange, carrot, lemonade or mint lemonade—all for an attractive 10,500 LL.

Best part? You’ll be eating gourmet with a pinch of wholesome and a dab of nutritious. And for the uber health-conscious, you can opt for whole-grain dough at no extra cost!

The breakfast combo

Recalling Haddad’s three-year vision for Cup & Roll, he had foreseen a franchise expansion into the region with the help of foreign partners.

Frankly, that batch is already baking in the oven to a golden crisp, and the timer's set to beep any second now!