Aaah, I totally felt it…

…thought Deedee as she looked up at the moon. She knew something was up: it was a full moon. It turns out this is the closest full moon to the earth that we’ve had since 1993. No wonder it’s looking so cosmically glamorous!

The Road Runner drove Deedee into the old city of Byblos (Jbeil) late that afternoon as the sun was preparing itself for a magnificent departure. This old city is so enchanting and the architecture is better preserved than in other nearby villages. After a little snooping around she felt hungry and so headed to é Cafe for a bite. Luckily it was empty and too early for dinner time, so she grabbed a small quaint table inside and ordered her meal. Straight to the point: Filet Mignon, medium rare akeed, comes with Rocca salad and potatoes, complimented by a bottle of Epicure 2005 (a red bordeaux from Enoteca - see previous blog entry for description), and topped with a special touch of good service to go with that meal. Turns out the staff is actually trained! When Deedee asked,  she found out it was her friend A who was behind it all… not surprised, since she was one of the initial creators of this place.

Deedee enjoys the choices on their menu, but she doesn’t understand why they give you two menus to choose from? Personally, I wouldn’t go for the Italian… menu, that is. There’s another é Cafe in Sursock, Ashrafieh, but this one has a different kind of charm.

Psst, don’t flatter yourself… it’s purely business. For reservations: 09-542224.

Ma bsaddi’ shoo wal’ané…

…bi Byblos (yaani, Jbeil). That whole yard area in the old souk has transformed into a lively outdoors restaurant and bar ‘quartier’ – a bit too many people for Deedee, but I’m sure others would enjoy the atmosphere.

A couple of weeks ago I had dinner with M & G at é Café in the Eddé Yard, and went again last Saturday with R. I gotta say the food in this place is quite impressive. A couple of my long gone friends started that café about 8 years ago when the souk in Byblos was a quaint and quiet area.

We started with a bottle of Chateau Saint Thomas 2005 (from Clos St. Thomas), pepper and dark berry nose, tannic with a smooth coffee and black/redberry palate, this Cab/syrah/merlot threesome is full bodied and dry so you want to drink water (preferrably sparkling) with it – one of Deedee’s preferred Lebo wines – not necessarily this vintage, but in general their Chateau is a winner. I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking any of Clos St. Thomas’ other wines, though.

For dinner, R and I shared the Salade de Melon au Jambon de Parme – large ‘new-moon’ melon slices with the parma ham wrapped around middle. Next we shared the Salade de Magret de Canard Fumé - a mixed green salad with smoked duck slices and chunks of fresh strawberry in a tangy balsamic reduction dressing… delicious!

I had the Entrecôte (medium rare, akeed), even though I was dying for the Côte de Boeuf but its for two and despite my big appetite for meat, I’d've preferred that much meat raw and in human form! It came with baked potato chunks and mushroom sauce… drop the sauce and ask for mustard - much better with the meat. Last time, I had the Filet (medium rare) which was very tender and just melted in my mouth… shoo taybé! 

R had the Char Grilled Sea Bass which came with finely chopped grilled veggies. I could tell she loved it cuz there was no meat left on that fish!

On the way out, we saw a deer on a spit at another restaurant! Deedee loves venison and can’t wait to go back and try that place.

For reservations at é Café: 09-542224 or 03-163316