Beirut, Toledo, Ohio

No trip to Toledo is complete without dining at the Beirut. With a camera in hand, I've tried to document the Lebanese food there that I really like.

First, there's the atmosphere


Dinner for nine on Friday included:

Fattoush - cucumber, tomato, onion, green pepper, scallion, toasted pita, parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, zatar, sumac, salt. Incredible salad, unfortunately it only lasts about 15 minutes 'till the pita gets too soggy.


Ara-yes - kibbe (ground lamb and beef with spices) baked inside pita. Crunchy, juicy and tasty appetizers. I've tried to make these at home, but could not replicate the flavor or the texture of the thin, even layer of meat.
Grilled Lamb Chops
Grape Leaves stuffed with rice and ground lamb - I prefer this version to the vegetarian ones. A little lamb goes a long way in the flavor.

Fried Kibbe Aras - kibbe and pine nuts inside a shell of bulgar wheat, and fried


Shish Kabob, Shish Kafta, Shish Tawook (marinated chicken), and Rice Pilaf
All great stuff, nicely grilled. Served with a substantial, fresh and flavorful rice.

Not pictured but ordered:
Sauteed Mushrooms - amazing flavor, with garlic. I guess they must do these relatively quickly in a very hot pan to impart such flavor while not making them too soft or greasy.
Hummus
Fresh Pita baked on site
Fries

Off the menu, but it might appear in the future:

Ataiyef: sweet cream inside a pancake, dipped in crushed pistachio nuts, with a candied rose petal served with clear rose water syrup.

Beirut
4082 Monroe St
Toledo, OH 43606
419-473-0885

I-am-not-a-shill disclosure: I know the owners, but have no financial interest in their business whatsoever

Re Toledo and Beyond

Now you tell me. I just took a family trip that had Toledo as a first stop (halfway to P'Burgh, our first real destination). I finally tried Tony Packo's of MASH, Roadfood, Holly Eats, etc. fame. Pretty disappointing. Ironic how bland and Americanized Hungarian food can become. My boring hot dog/Hunky sausage (like a bland Polish) shook my faith in Holly Moore, who gave the place a perfect grese spot score -- more than the best Chicago dog spots, which is objectively incorrect, and the same as truly great places like Tony Luke's in Philly. The Detroit/Toledo/P'Burgh/Coney Island (shall we just say Greek-American instead?) style chili was pretty good, the hot pickles great (though you can buy these at Paulina Market). The sides, dumplings with goopy insipid gravy and the worst German potato salad ever, were horrendously bad. Very touristy little spot, but in the original building, kind of like Uno here. But I digress, and I owe the people that helped me plan the trip a full report on the wonders of Western PA, Toronto, and points beyond.

The Lebanese place looks great. A place where I spent some time, New Castle PA, home of the Warner Bros. first nickelodeon before going to Hollywood, has a sizeable Orthodox Christian Syrian-Lebanese population. The grilled lamb (and pork!) is everywhere and good. And damn that kibbe, just like your photo. Where in Chicago can I get kibbe like that, fried or raw? Seems so easy in places with old, established Levantine populations like Toledo or Detroit, but not here.

I need to get some photos developed (practically a Luddite, I have a soft spot for the old Leica), and I'll share my graphic impressions of the Packo dog, the Primanti Bros. sandwich, "lamb-on-the-rod" with hot peppers and melted cheese on puffy Syrian bread (a New Castle specialty), classic Western PA frozen custard, Toronto peameal bacon sandwiches, a pretty good corned beef, Lake Huron perch and fries at a CA border town, and some Toronto spots hailed as the "best" Portuguese and the "best" dim sum in this hemisphere (not so sure).

Oh, and contrary to what I've read on other boards, Tim Horton's coffee and donuts are terrible, just my opinion. Also, consistent with what I've read, St. Lawrence Market is tremendous.

It's bizarre sometimes how one's multiple Internet lives intersect. For instance, JeffB's use of the term "hunky" reminds me that I posted something about that very word on, of all places, a silent movie newsgroup-- yesterday.

While my political readings have, by coincidence, acquainted me intimately with a knowledge of why Tim Horton's donuts now suck, thanks to a Canadian commentator named Colby Cosh. However, I couldn't find the piece on his site, so this site will suffice to explain it all.

By the way, great photos Rich, glad to see the habit spreading!

JeffB wrote:Where in Chicago can I get kibbe like that, fried or raw? Seems so easy in places with old, established Levantine populations like Toledo or Detroit, but not here.

I also had this picture that I decided not to post, but now you've egged me on:

Someone at the next table ordered raw kibbe. With my camera in hand and the thrill of capturing food memories in renewable digital storage, I discretely asked to take of picture of the kibbe whenever they're done. I'm kinda surprised two of them ate this much (the portions here are huge). Something primal about scooping up raw meat with pita bread, and downing it with a strong cab.

Thanks for the recommendation in Toledo. I have been there several times without finding any place worth taking the time to stop in.

Get on Tony Packo's mailing list and you never get off. The place is complete hype. The only place that is worse is that sausage palce Joni Moroni's that is located in the Travel Plaza near Toledo on the Ohio Turnpike.

On that website regarding Tim Horton's - only 199 calories for a Krispy Kreme. Maybe my feeble memory is failing me but the last time that I checked, it was closer to 300-320 Kcal per KK glazed donut.

200 calories according to the Krispy Kreme website, though it's amazing how many layers they make you get through to get the info, which is then in an acrobat file you have to enlarge to read. http://www.krispykreme.com/glazed.html

Speaking of Toledo, the family of a friend I work with has a Mexican restaurant in Toledo that he talks up quite a bit called Mi Hacienda. This isn't a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, as far as I can tell, a little bit more of the cantina/hacienda concept, tile from Mexico, etc. Don't know anything about the food, other than that my coworker likes it, and we talk about Mexican food a lot, and he knows his stuff and likes to cook.

This is not so much an endorsement as a request for info for anyone who might be looking for a stop in Toledo. I'd like to know a little more about it. I'm not sure how convenient it is to those driving through Toledo.

Cheers,

Aaron

Stopped at The Beirut a couple of weeks ago and had a great meal. Not sure if I posted on it, but since I cannot find any such post, let me add this here:

Special braised lamb shank was great, as were the various appetizers and salads I had. Excellent meal, and well worth a detour. The above posts pretty much cover the items I sampled.

Had a pretty good lunch at a La Shish north of Detroit the next day. Pretty good, but not up to the quality of The Beirut. It is a good idea to have a 13-store Middle Eastern restaurant chain, though.