Beach Food

I had an amazing meal at the Back Eddy in Westport, MA a few weeks back. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Providence area this summer, or any other outside eating season.

Though I didn't sample the seafood myself, my sources tell me it was excellent (scallops at left; ceviche, not pictured, also got high marks.) The veggie plate was hands-down the best I've ever had at a seafood restaurant, which don't usually take such good care of us vegetarians. They use all local produce and have a great wine list, plus a deck so you can sit outside by the water.

The restaurant's about a half hour away, just next to Horseneck Beach. It's not quite Lebanon or Syria, but perhaps a bit more accessible for some readers. :)

http://www.thebackeddy.com/

Fete de Poulet

My last meal in Damascus: farrouj from somewhere in the old city, olives, hummus, khubz. Perfect!

Political Economy of Carbonated Beverages

So Syria is the first country I've been to that is still running or perhaps just emerging from a program of import substitution industrialization. This means basically that nearly everything is produced domestically by Syrian companies. You can definitely find Pepsi, but quite common are these home grown favorites: Ugarit Cola and Cheer Up!

Beit Jabri

Lots of traditional courtyard houses in the old city in Damascus are being converted into swanky restaurants. I had this meal with Jared and Matt at Beit Jabri. Again from the top left:

Hummus
Fattoush
Stewed Eggplant
Kebab
Muhamra

Party Food

We picked up some disappointing watermelons on our way back from Baalbek to Beirut. Here I am eating a piece with a slice of salty fresh lebanese cheese. Yum!

Savage Cuisine

A bunch of us went out to dinner at this South African-owned yet Luso-themed grill place. Dan got this frightening kebab. Not pictured: super spicy corn-on-the-cob appetizer.

Best Falafel in Lebanon

This place in Saida (Abu Rahman?) is George and Jared's favorite. I have to concur. So fresh, so crispy, so satisfying. It's right on the water across from the Crusader fort.

The Evergreen

Lebanese bar food rocks too! Basically every place serves carrot sticks or cucumbers in salty lemon juice and really good nuts. Looks like this night there was cauliflower with some sauce. All goes great with a cold Almaza. Thanks, Amigo!

Unbeatable Cuisine

Lebanese food rocks! This was lunch at Le Chef in Gemmayze starting at top left:

Fried Cauliflower in Tahini Sauce
Radishes
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Olives
Orange Juice
Stuffed Eggplants
Hummus
Mint
Sauteed Greens

Salvation

After flying for about 24 hours (Cincinnati-Newark-Amsterdam-Paris-Istanbul), Yagmur picked me up from Ataturk International Airport and brought me to a super pleasant place nearby where we dined outside on these meze. After an Efes and a turkish coffee, I was ready to continue on to Beirut. Not pictured: cig kofte: croquettes made of spicy raw beef and bulghur wheat.

Cincinnati Creations

Made these about a month ago:

Dolma - turned out sort of bland.

Roasted veggies for an orzo salad that was also sort of bland.

Rebecca Novack's buttermilk lemon curd cake, which was ridiculously good. The lemon curd didn't dissolve completely in the batter hence the yellow blotches