Vegan MoFo, Day 18 - Restaurant Review: Beirut
For the past few days, I've been hanging out with a friend from out of town, and on Friday night we picked up a mutual friend and hit up a local Lebanese restaurant: Beirut on River St. in Troy. My mom had previously been there with some friends from her Bible study and the place came highly recommended.
I had already seen the menu online, but took the time to peruse it again. There are several very tasty-looking vegetarian options, though both of my friends and I decided that the falafel dinner sounded the best. We each ordered one, but first we had to try the garlic fries.
These were talked up to me the most out of everything my mom and her friends tried. I asked to make sure there wasn't anything non-vegan hiding in the garlic paste, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could, in fact, eat it without a problem. The verdict? Completely awesome. The paste was pretty much straight-up garlic, sprinkled with a bit of mint, and the fries were fresh and warm. We ate these while waiting for our falafel dinners.
The falafel came served on a bed of greens with tomatoes, tahini sauce, and some amazing turnip pickles. There was an option of either baba ghannouj or hummus as a side. Since I haven't had hummus in ages, I opted for that. We were also offered a basket of very tasty pita bread!
We weren't disappointed. The food was warm, fresh, and delicious. Despite being fried, neither the falafel nor the garlic fries were heavy or greasy. The staff was friendly and attentive, and the service was exceptional. We enjoyed chatting with them while enjoying our food.
It was a great night. All three of us had a good time, and agreed that we would definitely go back. It's nice to be able to say that I've found another restaurant where I can go without worrying about what I'm going to order, and where I can have a good time with veg and non-veg friends alike. If you're in the Troy, NY area, check out Beirut!
I had already seen the menu online, but took the time to peruse it again. There are several very tasty-looking vegetarian options, though both of my friends and I decided that the falafel dinner sounded the best. We each ordered one, but first we had to try the garlic fries.
These were talked up to me the most out of everything my mom and her friends tried. I asked to make sure there wasn't anything non-vegan hiding in the garlic paste, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could, in fact, eat it without a problem. The verdict? Completely awesome. The paste was pretty much straight-up garlic, sprinkled with a bit of mint, and the fries were fresh and warm. We ate these while waiting for our falafel dinners.
The falafel came served on a bed of greens with tomatoes, tahini sauce, and some amazing turnip pickles. There was an option of either baba ghannouj or hummus as a side. Since I haven't had hummus in ages, I opted for that. We were also offered a basket of very tasty pita bread!
We weren't disappointed. The food was warm, fresh, and delicious. Despite being fried, neither the falafel nor the garlic fries were heavy or greasy. The staff was friendly and attentive, and the service was exceptional. We enjoyed chatting with them while enjoying our food.
It was a great night. All three of us had a good time, and agreed that we would definitely go back. It's nice to be able to say that I've found another restaurant where I can go without worrying about what I'm going to order, and where I can have a good time with veg and non-veg friends alike. If you're in the Troy, NY area, check out Beirut!