Break and throw at Tarek Booze

Peanut-thon night at Tarek Booze

You could say it’s always a “special night,” when Twitter friends get together. But it was just so when we met at Tarek Booze in Gemmayzeh, Beirut, a fortnight ago.

 

Abir Ghattas and Liliane Assaf – known as abzzyy and funkyozzi on Twitter -- organized the evening to welcome Paola Salwan Daher to Lebanon and announce “something” special! 

Tarek Booze, on Rue Pasteur in Gemmayzeh, parallel to Rue Gouraud, was a great discovery and one of those places you can only find in Lebanon. It starts with the place-name coming about from a play on words. When you describe someone in Arabic as “tareq booze,” it means the person is showing a sulky pout.

Break and throw...

... peanut shells on the floor

I don’t know whether the place is a pub, a café or a restaurant! Whatever… Tarek Booze is ingenious through its simplicity.

You can easily miss it on the ground floor of an old building at the end of Rue Pasteur. Walking into Tarek Booze is like going into a bunker or tunnel. Some paint has been slapped on, but not too much and it feels like a hideout.

Thursday nights are designated kasser ou kib – Arabic for break and throw – cacahuètes that is.

Bachar behind the bar

The bar lines the right-hand side and is known for its cocktails and affordable menu of sandwiches and salads. You can also have tea, coffee and shots of course, all served by Abir’s brother, Bachar.

Apart from peanut-thon nights on Thursdays, Tarek Booze partner and manager Sylvain Nassar said they host Zuwwedet Aline, a vegetarian night with a theme on the first Monday of each month. Aline Khokaz Ian cooks the healthy dinner on the premises for all to enjoy.

Other themes include quiz nights and acoustic live music and tarab. Michele Keserwany performs at Tarek Booze as do The Incompetents.

Paola and Joseph Daher

We were celebrating many things on the night, apart from just getting together. For one, we were welcoming Paola and her husband Joseph to Lebanon from Switzerland. The couple write the very popular Café Thawra blog that covers political, economic and social subjects in both English and French. They try to give the West a better understanding of the Middle East, to fight misconceptions and promote understanding and tolerance.

Paola recently published her first novel, “Café Noir, Café Blanc,” and writes a second blog, Myrrh and Mint – all of which are must-reads.

Paola and Maria Nachawi

The surprises didn’t stop at the Dahers. Maria Nachawi, a former Dubai resident who now lives in Paris, was in Beirut on holiday, so she dropped by to meet everyone in person. Maria is a jewelry designer who studied clinical psychology. She worked for Scintilla Monaco as a designer until 2010. Now a freelancer in art and jewelry design, Maria has been documenting her days in France with a photo each day on her blog Maria Studio. She paints too, and won the 2007 De Beers Award for the best Rayana design at the first diamond jewelry competition.

Abir Ghattas and Octavia Nasr

Octavia Nasr, who was on a brief visit to Beirut and Dubai from Atlanta, joined us as we all got into the mood and walked backwards and forwards over the peanut shells. Octavia needs no introduction I am sure. She founded and is now heading Bridges Media Consulting to bring voice to a vast “middle perspective” she believes “lacks a voice.” Through training and consulting, Octavia “assists media organizations and individuals shrink gaps that exist in conflict to create productive and successful communication.”

Jennifer celebrates

We were also cheering Jennifer Haddad’s departure from a job she hated and starting with a new company. But not before she and Liliane embarked on a holiday to Italy and Spain. This we feted with a Smurfs cake, from Gustav of course!

What else? Oh, yes… Abir announced that in November she and Liliane will be exhibiting their photography on the walls of Tarek Booze. What better place to do that?

The poets: Pascal Assaf and Mohammad Badr

What a great evening in the company of such good friends. You too can join us at Tarek Booze in these pictures.

Related post:

Gemmayzeh by day ends at Couqley – October 2, 2011

The Angry Monkey is flying high

A night out at The Angry Monkey

It is difficult to refuse an invitation by my friend Mohammad Hijazi (@mhijazi). So I set off to the latest nightspot in Beirut’s Gemmayzeh for the opening night of The Angry Monkey last Wednesday (August 31).

It’s always exciting to head to Gemmayzeh, the district nestled between Downtown Beirut and Ashrafieh and renowned for its bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants. The last time I headed there was for a salsa night last November. 

Gemmayzeh’s main street, Rue Gouraud, has the highest concentration of night venues lining the narrow alleyways, to the dismay of residents who often complain about the noise of both revelers and cars that pack the streets every night. Makdessi Street, parallel to Hamra Street in West Beirut, is catching up and striving to rival Gemmayzeh.

It's at the entrance to The Alleyway in Gemmayzeh

The Angry Monkey is towards the end of Rue Gouraud and part of The Alleyway, an arcade grouping several food, drink and shopping outlets. 

My friend Maggie drove me there. On the way, we were worrying about handing over the car for valet parking, which has a sullied reputation in Beirut. But finding a parking spot at 10 p.m. in Gemmayzeh is almost impossible.

The place was packed to the brim

The place was already packed to the brim when we arrived, as were most of the pubs and restaurants we passed by while driving down the street.

Our host, Hijazi, had a table at the back, next to the entrance. We had a good view of the stage where Lebanese rock band JLP was already performing to great cheers from the crowd.

Mohammad, Joseph, Sara and Michel

Patrick, Sara and Roy

A jovial group joined Maggie, Hijazi and me. And, once more, it was good to meet virtual Twitter friends. With Sara Bitar, Joseph Maalouf, Michel Richa, Patrick Abdel Sater and Roy Jibrin, we were guests of Ziad Kamel, who is The Angry Monkey owner and The Alleyway CEO.

Lori, Gino, Ziad and Hijazi

Accompanied by Lori Kharpoutlian, the king of Beirut nightlife and club reviews Gino Raidy joined us in next to no time. With Gino there, I won’t even try to review The Angry Monkey!

Sara and Michel show off the Beef Short Ribs

What I can say though is that we got a royal treatment. Everyone else probably felt the same. With such a big crowd on opening night, orders were arriving in the blink of an eye. Amiable staff kept clearing empty bottles and glasses and replacing ashtrays in a flash. The food we tried -- Monkey Burgers, Stacked Shrimp and Beef Short Ribs --  was excellent. Ziad did not stop welcoming and mingling with revelers that night, most of whom – I am certain – will become The Angry Monkey’s habitués.

Lebanese rock band JLP performing at The Angry Monkey

JLP, the five-member acoustic band performing live on the night, play the best in rock, pop, alternative and oldies among others. They got the cheery crowd going early on and it was not long before we were all swinging to our favorite tunes and calling out requests.

The rock band consists of Boudy Boustany (vocals), Ramzi Ramman (guitar and vocals), Ghassan Bouz (percussion), Ziad Ramman (percussion), and Joe Mokbel (bass). They are regulars around Beirut and you can also catch them at Railway 1891 (pub/resto), Dany's, Boston Hamra Bar & Grill.

Maggie and Hijazi

We sang with them, swayed and clapped. It was difficult to speak much, but we had some excellent strawberry Margaritas and then someone had the bright idea of ordering shots, blackjack shots! Need I say more…?

Although I missed recording the shots, you can join us at The Angry Monkey in photos. An enchanting evening that will indeed be encored.

Related post: Salsa in Beirut, 11 November 2010