Trendy avocado bars appear to be popping up around the world — and the concepts are Instagram gold!
The bars feature an all-avocado menu with avocado toasts, salads, bowls and beverages, among others.
L’AVO has not yet announced an opening date. (Instagram/L’AVO)
L’AVO founders said the concept started as an idea between two childhood friends.
“L’AVO gives you all the avocado satisfactions you seek by offering everything ranging from toasts and salad bowls, to smoothies and desserts,” an Instagram post said. “Something to satisfy all your taste buds whether it’s the sweet or sour ones.”
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A Lebanese café will be one of 15 new food and beverage concepts at the North Terminal at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, officials announced.
Anita’s Kitchen, a popular Lebanese restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, is expected to open its airport concession by the spring of 2019.
In a news release, the Wayne County Airport Authority Board announced it awarded 10-year contracts to four concessionaires — one of which will operate the Lebanese café.
According to its website, Anita’s Kitchen serves a smorgasbord of hot and cold mezza, salads and signature pita sandwiches such as shawarma, kafta and kabobs.
Anita’s Kitchen is located in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, Michigan. (Facebook/Anita’s Kitchen)
“The concessionaires were selected after a rigorous evaluation process,” said Chad Newton, interim CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority. “We’re confident they will deliver a world-class dining experience for our customers.”
Other food options in the North Terminal are expected to include Air Margaritaville, Brioche Dorée, Cantoro Italian Market Trattoria, among others. Many of the concepts are based in Detroit.
The airport said multiple other concessions will be included in the project. (Photos provided/Detroit Metropolitan Airport)
“Most of the North Terminal’s passengers are local residents or visitors to our area; they’re not connecting in Detroit to fly to other cities,” said Greg Hatcher, concessions director for the Airport Authority. “When they’re in our terminal, we believe passengers will enjoy seeing local brands they love and those that pique their interest.”
The Detroit Metropolitan Airport welcomed nearly 35 million passengers in 2017 with services from 14 scheduled passenger airlines and 1,100 flights per day, according to a news release.
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In a review of a new Lebanese bakery in London, Guardian writer Tim Jonze praised the manoushe breakfast item and called it, “the Lebanese breakfast pizza that stole my heart.”
Jonze got to try za’atar, lahmeh bi ajin (beef and lamb), and a unique manoushe that was topped with eggs.
He said they were all tasty, but the cheese manoushe stole his heart!
Jonze said the tasteful dish feels like eating pizza for breakfast. The owners described manoushe as “Perfect at 4 a.m. when the post-party hunger cravings kick in.”
The zataar and cheese manousheh is a staple of Lebanese breakfast. (File photo)
Manoushe is a Levatine-based breakfast meal that has been around for a thousand years. Fortune Magazine reported that Lebanese street food like manoushe is now gaining traction in the U.S.
Most menu items at The Lebanese Bakery are only around $7. The bakery is also offering delivery options in the greater London area.
Read more about the Guardian’s review of the new Lebanese bakery, here.
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A Lebanese-owned restaurant made the list of the “18 Best New Restaurants in America” recently released by foodie site Eater.com.
The restaurant Maydan is a Middle Eastern-style establishment located in the Washington, DC area.
It is owned by Lebanese-American Rose Previte, whose mother has roots in Detroit, Michigan. She works alongside co-executive chefs Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan.
Eater called on readers to “Zoom in on dishes that particularly reflect Previte’s Lebanese heritage, including spreads like muhammara.” The restaurant offers “a warm greeting at the room-length bar,” Eater added.
Smoked Lamb Shoulder is one of the most popular items on the menu (Eater.com)
In their original review of the restaurant, Eater said Maydan, “proudly and distinctly showcase the traditions of individual North African and Middle Eastern countries.”
The self-described Middle Eastern and North African restaurant serves food that “tells the story of our own travels, from Tangier to Tehran and Batumi to Beirut,” according to their website.
Maydan is located at 1346 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009. For more information, visit their website at this link.
A pizza shop in a suburb of Los Angeles is known for literally marrying the Lebanese and Latino cultures, and creating unique pizza dishes influenced by both cultures.
Lebanese owner Ali Chahine and his Hispanic wife Brenda Torres are the masterminds behind Big Al’s Pizzeria in Maywood, California.
The couple told KABC-TV the restaurant combines the best of both cultures, and draws foodies from Los Angeles and Orange counties.
“My parents are Lebanese and I met my wife about 17 years ago and I learned how to speak Spanish to get along,” Chahine told the ABC station.
WATCH: KABC-TV showcases a ‘fusion of Lebanese-Mexican cultures’
The restaurant is best known for their famous Lebanese Garlic Chicken Pizza, which features garlic pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, tomatoes, turnips, pickles, parsley and buttermilk ranch.
A pizza shop in California is known for its Lebanese garlic chicken pizza. (Facebook/Big Al’s Pizzeria)
Chahine said the pizzeria was recognized in Yelp’s Top 100 places to eat in the U.S. in 2015 and 2018.
“We got a lot of Latinos and Central Americans here in Maywood,” Chahine said. “Then Bell’s right next door and we got a lot of Muslim community, cause we cater the Halal meat to everyone.”
Big Al’s Pizzeria is located at 6044 Atlantic Boulevard in Maywood, California. For more information, click here.
One of Natalie Portman’s favorite vegan restaurants in New York City is a Lebanese restaurant called ilili.
In an interview with Timeout.com, Portman was promoting her upcoming documentary “Eating Animals” when asked about her favorite vegan eateries in New York.
Portman, who holds dual Israeli and American citizenship, said “Ilili is a great Lebanese restaurant that I love.”
Ilili, which means “tell me” in Arabic, is located in New York’s Flatiron district and serves “creative Lebanese sharing plates, entrees & cocktails served up in a trendy, modern space.”
Ilili is located on 5th Avenue in New York City. (Facebook/ilili Restaurant)
Some iconic Lebanese vegan dishes that are featured in the restaurant include variations of falafel, mujadara, foul and hummus.
Rolled ice cream fillings include red velvet cupcakes, Oreo cheesecake, coffee and various fruit flavors.
(Instagram/Frooza Booza)
The rolled ice cream trend is already gaining popularity around the world, but ‘Frooza Booza’ put the dessert on the map in Lebanon!
It is also one of the first rolled ice cream shops in the Middle East, INSIDER reports.
The shop is run by Elias Saade and his fiancee Lea Abi Ramia, who opened the location about two years ago. They also sell ice cream sandwiches, macaron sandwiches and ice cream with Bailey’s liqueur.
Check out the video by INSIDER here:
Rabih KComments Off on WATCH: ‘Frooza Booza’ turns any dessert into rolled ice cream 2720
Kids can be extremely picky eaters, especially when it comes to trying unfamiliar dishes from other parts of the world.
That’s why it’s no surprise there were mixed reactions when a group of kids tried Lebanese food for the first time!
WATCH: Kids try Lebanese food for the first time!
The YouTube channel HiHo Kids sat down with five American kids to taste-test an array of Lebanese dishes, including a zaatar manoushe, shish tawouk, a smorgasbord of mezze and halawet el jibn for dessert.
Their reactions were priceless!
The kids were first given a zaatar manouche to munch on.
“It’s the same size of my face,” said one girl.
Everyone loves chicken!
No surprise — the kids liked the shish tawouk the most.
“No really, it’s good, it’s good,” said one kid. “It’s not bad.”
Next came the mezze.
“Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” the first kid exclaimed.
The mezze platter featured hummus, cheese, olives, grape leaves and kafta.
The olive seeds may have come as a surprise to some kids.
Halawet el jibn can make anyone smile.
But not these kids! Only one kid liked this dessert.
“I didn’t like it at first, but now I like it,” he said.
The HiHo Kids YouTube channel taste-test foods from all over the country, including Jamaica, Korea, Australia and Greece, among others.
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Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was a culinary rebel — a storytelling pioneer who managed to capture the beautiful relationship between food and everyday people.
Bourdain took risks, and connected to people of all kinds. He fell in love with Beirut, and was not afraid to visit again — despite experiencing the worst of Lebanon’s 2006 war.
The visionary chef was found dead in a hotel room Friday while visiting France. He was working on an episode for his award-winning CNN series, “Parts Unknown.”
Bourdain was 61, and he took his own life.
In 2006, Bourdain and his crew were caught in the crossfire of the 2006 Lebanon war. The crew was planning to shoot an episode of his “No Reservations” show when the war broke out.
They had to leave Lebanon, but it didn’t stop them from coming back.
Anthony Bourdain and his crew shooting an episode in Beirut. (CNN)
“From the first day that I ever arrived in Beirut, it smelled like a place I was going to love,” Bourdain said. “(The war) didn’t change my opinion about the place. If anything, it hardened it.”
In 2015, Bourdain and his crew re-visited Beirut to document the city’s culinary culture and resilience.
His episodes always told stories beyond just food.
Bourdain was best at documenting the human condition, and he posed thoughtful questions that made him more of a journalist at times, than a celebrity chef.
Anthony Bourdain said he “fell in love with Beirut.” (CNN)
“He was embraced by the Lebanese and they embraced him back, and that was something that really got to him at that time,” said Ramsay Short, who appeared in three of his Beirut shows.
In fact, Bourdain loved Beirut so much, he once considered naming his daughter after the city, CNN wrote.
“It’s something of a miracle that (Beirut) works,” Bourdain said in his 2015 episode. “Sunni, Shii’te, Christians can all live in one city and through some kind of tacit understanding maintain what is one of the most liberal environments in that part of the world.”
WATCH: When visiting Beirut, Anthony Bourdain asks himself: “Am I wrong to love this place?”
He fell in love with Beirut, and his viewers fell in love with him.
Rest in Peace, Anthony Bourdain.
If you or someone you love might be at risk of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.
