Al Balad Casual Lebanese Dining

The act and experience of dinning is as much about the quality and taste of food as about the display and the ability to provide new and interesting varieties of ingredients while staying loyal to the quality, taste, and identity of the place by which the food is served. Al Balad, a Lebanese franchise, launched its first branch in Egypt, signifying itself as a pioneer in Lebanese Casual Dinning.

A simple yet relaxing to the eye spacious place on Maadi’s popular Road 9, it caters to all ages with its reasonable prices and laid back ambiance. Al Balad’s main appeal is in their ability to create Lebanese authentic dishes with innovative creations and twists. Each sampler tray presented during its opening was food art and was finished with impeccable consistency and displayed in imported (from Lebanon) serving pieces.  It was quite refreshing to see such a professional party in a casual dining place.

Samplers worth trying:
From a wide assortment of samplers on the opening night, I chose to describe a few that I found worth experiencing.

Hummus: In most places a Hummus dip (mashed chick peas blended with tahini, olive oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice) is usually served with just olive oil or with an addition of meat. While you can surely order the classic dip, it’s almost impossible to resist Al Balad’s own exclusive creation of Hummus with chopped herbs. The dish still offers you the comforting taste of the classic chickpeas but with an astounding zesty freshness from the unexpected herbs. This one is a must try! For diners with a palate for spicy items, the Hummus Har (Hummus with hot spices and sauce) is tasty with just the right amount of burn to help cool you down on a hot evening.

Beetroot Orange Salad:  Placed in a miniature cocktail glass, this simple salad looked like the perfect combination of texture, taste, and color.

Swimming atop the Goat Labneh (Goat cheese) was a freshly cut velvety cube of beetroot skewered on a thin green toothpick. The smoothness of the goat cheese, with its slightly savory taste, acts as a perfect buffer between the citrusy sweet orange and the cold tangy beetroot.

This dish is alive with freshness, light and very appetizing.

Aubergine Al Raheb:  Arched out of a small glass container is a piece of eggplant sitting on a cushion of garlicky yogurt and topped with small bits of konafa strings; again another perfect blend of different flavors and consistencies.

The eggplant is subtly marinated but the yogurt explodes with a lemony garlicky kick. Both are soft but you get the crunchiness from the added konafa strings.

Ouzi: This dish is not for everyone, but for curious food lovers, it’s a must try.

The Ouzi is a mixture of rice and lamb stuffed and baked in pita bread and served with yogurt. These round balls of carbs and protein is garnished with shaved almonds making it look like a little finger food treat. It’s an interesting classic served and done in a fun encouraging way.  If you’re ordering lots of mezzes I suggest you add this to the mix.

Spiced Fish Tehini: One always fears an under cooked or bland piece of fish. Al Balad, prepares its fish in cuts of equal thickness.

This method allows the chef to cook it to perfection so that it stands without falling apart. This piece of white fish is drenched in hot-spiced herbs and is balanced off with a lemony tahini sauce. It reminds me of how I wish I could prepare my own fish at home but with a twist.

Shrimp in Hot Sauce: With a hot sauce base, uniformly cubed chopped tomatoes, and a sharp coriander kick, these shrimps stand elegantly in a sampler glass. This dish’s hero ingredient is the coriander and the way it blends perfectly with the tomato based hot sauce.

Even though the tomatoes and coriander have an exquisite memorable after taste, they don’t overwhelm the shrimp. Everything about this dish is invigorating and light.

Chicken Shawerma: This chicken dish is certainly not the Shawerma classic but holds elements of the same special flavors.

The platter consists of herbed chicken with none of the typical complementing vegetables or ingredients around it but with all of their flavors. The chicken carries all those tasty supplementary elements that make it a shawerma dish, but instead of having those ingredients, the chicken is presented with Al Balad’s special sauce and a light garnish of dill.

Barameeli Cheese with Pastrami: Of the most interesting and daring dishes is the Barameeli cheese (Savory cheese fermented in special tin cans) and pastrami.

Served stylishly on a small spoon, the Barameeli cheese is evenly mixed with dill and topped with a couple of thin slices of pastrami. Both main ingredients, the cheese and the pastrami, are piquant, yet the dill acts like a smoothing cushion between these two intense profound and piercing main ingredients.

Overall, Al Balad stays true to the idea of blending the “classic” with the “new.” If you are looking for innovative creations of the Lebanese dishes you love, this is the place to go.