Roadster Diner’s new menu!

Roadster Diner never ceases to surprise: it has recently launched its new menu! It’s also always heartwarming to meet fellow bloggers and test new things.

So what has changed exactly, you might ask?

New Items:

Curly fries: Twisted french fries.
Texas Steak: French bread, marinated with beef filet slices, sautéed onions, lettuce and Philly Steak sauce with melted Cheddar cheese.
Ambassador Steak (Click here for my review)
Rd Cheese-At-Heart: Rd special patty stuffed with Swiss and Cheddar cheese, lettuce, crispy chips sprinkles with our Classic sauce.
Rd Double Diner: Double patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sautéed onions, Cheddar cheese and Cocktail sauce in a two layered bun.
Rd Double-Steak: Grilled beef filet slices, sautéed mushrooms and onions, Swiss and Cheddar cheese, with mayonnaise and Philly Steak sauce in a two layered bun.
Rd Texas Chicken: Grilled chicken, Cheddar cheese, grilled oinons, lettuce, pickles and our special sauce.
De-”Light”-Ful Brownie: Low calorie chocolate brownie topped with light cream cheese.

New Recipes:

Frankfurter
Philly Steak
Crispy Club
Swiss Mushroom
Low-Cal Tuna

The changes are quite substantial. The menu has also been reorganized to include a Specialty Burger Platters and big juicy images that show exactly what to expect when you order.

From the new items, here my top 3 personal favorites:

Rd Cheese-At-Heart: You can’t go wrong wrong with this one. A Specialty burger that will leave you speechless. It will make you close your eyes and go Mmmmmm!!! There is nothing like it! THERE GOES MY HEART!
Rd Double-Steak: Juicy, yummy, orgasmic. This Specialty burger is enjoyable to the very last bite.
The Ambassador Steak: A colorful eye-candy! This one is for the BIG hungers.

Roadster Diner just raised the bar even higher. It’s going to take a marathon to be able to compete with the quality and the taste.

With this, Roadster Diner wins a place on the “ritakml likes” list!

On that note, happy drooling and sahtein!

For more about Roadster Diner:

Tuer le père by Amélie Nothomb

This book review was posted on The Cube.

Tuer le père

When I first read the title, I immediately thought of Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus complex and wondered how the father will get killed.

Nothomb, who lived 3 years in the USA and still visits it, placed the story in the Nevada desert. She used the aspects that touched her the most about the area such as Burning Man (A week-long annual event dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. Participants leave one week later, having left no trace whatsoever.) and Las Vegas.

Joe Whip, a 14 year-old boy interested in magic gets kicked out of the house by his mother and her boyfriend.

His life changes when a couple; magician Norman Terrence and his girlfriend Christina take him in to live with them. Weird dynamics develop between the members of this newly founded family: The adoptive parents will experience what it is like to have a teenager at home and somewhere along the way, the story takes what will be a “sick” turn for some and an excepted one for others when Joe falls in love with Christina…

The author is exploring the subject of paternity. Although I felt like I read a summary of some bigger story and expected more from the writer, this short novel is entertaining and a quick light read.

The book is also available in English.

A visit to Outpost Grill, ABC Ashrafieh

A new casual diner opened in ABC Ashrafieh, L3: Outpost Grill. It is described as a “modern steakhouse built around a huge rotisserie, boasting mouthwatering portions of prime cuts of beef, spare ribs, chicken and pork.”

The place started out with a clear division between a smoking section outdoors and a non smoking section indoors… which is good! The indoor space is quite interesting: A much appreciated open kitchen where you can watch your food being made.

The menu goes wild with meat of course, but can also find salads, sandwiches and burgers.

2012 01 16 10.18.16 A visit to Outpost Grill, ABC Ashrafieh

1st of the Menu - Photo taken with a phone camera

Some say it is pricey. Well, meat is pricey as well but this diner, in his category is not overpriced.

2012 01 16 10.18.41 A visit to Outpost Grill, ABC Ashrafieh

Cheese Waffle - Photo taken with a mobile phone

That appetizer looks like your regular nachos and cheese but it tastes totally different. The cheese waffle comes with a BBQ sauce that tastes new as well. I enjoyed it very much.

2012 01 16 10.19.53 A visit to Outpost Grill, ABC Ashrafieh

Chicken wings - Photo taken with a mobile phone

It’s no secret that I have a love affair with chicken wings. I must taste whenever they are available wherever I go. These were honey delicious wings.

Outpost Grill is good with meat and they know how to cook it.

20120114 153425 A visit to Outpost Grill, ABC Ashrafieh

1/2 Rib - Photo taken with a mobile phone

The servings are generous but the service however needs fine tuning. I can describe my first visit the Outpost Grill as very good. I am looking forward to trying more items on the menu. It was about time to try something new!

Have you tried it yet?

More about Outpost Grill:

Ambassador Steak at Roadster Diner

A couple of days ago, I went for a walk in CityMall. I hadn’t eaten all day and found myself hungry; so I headed to the Roadster Diner.

As I sat on the table, I started staring at this:

After order my usual bottle of water, carrots & Chex Mex, I called back the waiter. I pointed to the photo and said “I want this please, well done with fries.”

10 minutes later, I got the below:

An exact same replica of the photo! (As opposed to restaurants who use a too-goo-to-be-true photo on the menu)

The meat was tender and the sauce pretty rich with flavors. It was yummy and I loved it! One hell of a platter for carnivorous people with one hell of a hunger!

PS: There was absolutely no room for dessert afterwards. You have been warned!

The kitchen is this way

A few days ago, my phone rang. I answered with an “Allo?” like I usually do but at the other end of the line some guy screamed: “Pick the food up off the floor! Pick the food up off the floor! Since when do we put the food on the floor?”

My heart raced as I repeated: “Allo?”
“Ms. Rita Kamel?”
“Yes? Who is this?”
“This is the delivery service of the Casper & Gambini restaurant. Could you give more details to the delivery boy about the home address?”

They had a document for me. I found myself really nervous when the phone call ended. This was not exactly what I expected to hear from a delivery service. For the longest 5 minutes I could remember, my mind went through all sorts of possible scenarios and questions: Was the food REALLY on the floor? Maybe it was packed and the pack was on the floor. If this happened, who knows what else is going on back there?

For a minute there, I was talking to myself. I grabbed the phone and called restaurant’s HQ and asked to speak with the Quality Control department. I know a surprised person when I hear one. The person who took my call got confused but went by the book. “I’m really sorry. You are right, this is a mistake. I need to investigate before I can get back to you.”

As a customer, I am scared. “Pick the food up off the floor!” is not what I want to hear from the delivery service of an important restaurant and it will never be.

Very angry, I shared the incident with my mom who never really fancied eating in restaurants and doesn’t have a high opinion about take-aways nor food deliveries. She smiled and lifted her arm gracefully and pointed to the door: “The kitchen is this way…”

I am still waiting for that phone call that is supposed to clarify what happened but they never called back.

Food on the floor The kitchen is this way