My adventures in Lebanon continued with an epic Armenian food tour of the Little Armenia neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. Join me as I explore this unique area of the city!
Little Armenia is home to Beirut’s sizeable Armenian community. My friend and guide Armando is half-Armenian and half-Brazilian, so he was the perfect person to show me around!
Lebanon was a French colony until 1945, so a lot of the people speak French. We started off with some Lebanese coffee for less than $1 USD before stopping by a kebab shop. The guy inside was making a salad, and they had some spices there as well.
We also passed lots of jewelry shops on our way to get some sujuk shawarma. They sold gold necklaces, bracelets, rings, and more.
At Basterma Bedo, we saw the cooks slicing chicken and lamb shawarma off the giant stacked meat. But we were headed to Basterma Mano, a more famous shop!
It’s said that they have the best shawarma in the city. They have beef, chicken, and lamb shawarma, and they only cost $2.50 USD each!
First, they add pickle and tomato, and then they add the sujuk shawarma and add either garlic sauce or mayo before toasting it in the panini press. The guy even cut some meat off for me. It was really juicy but only mid-level spicy!
The sandwich was crispy with a nice burst of juiciness from the tomatoes. I loved the spicy beef sausage. It was so filling and tasty and took me straight back to my time in Armenia! It was even better when the cook came and added a creamy garlic sauce called tarator!
Then, we saw them make some roast beef sandwiches with lettuce, pickle, tomatoes, and more. I got to see them smoking the sujuk and basturma. If you love Armenian food, come here when in Beirut, Lebanon!
From there, we headed through the main square in the area, where we found an open-air cafe where they offer shisha and juices. Having shisha is a traditional recreational activity throughout the Middle East. We also got some freshly pressed carrot juice. Both cost us less than $6 USD.
Then, at Basterma Bedo, we watched them make basturma sandwiches out of the beef and vegetables on a baguette. The beef was really peppery!
The dried, aged, peppery beef was unbelievable. I loved the toasted baguette, pickle, and tomato as well. It was really nice and full of flavor! The Armenian food in Beirut, Lebanon should not be missed!
Counter
101 Countries • 1432 Cities
