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:

NB: The Outpost Grill closed in ABC Ashrafieh!

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

Source:
- Image

Bettelstudent & Wiebel’s Wirsthaus, Vienna, Austria

The Bettelstudent is a very cosy nice place. They serve a variety of Austrian dishes and beer. I loved the wood decor and the ambiance. Food was good too!

Spareribs

The only thing to note is that what is considered spicy and what is not is extremely relative. Be aware of that if you have sensitive taste buds!

The Weibel’s Wirsthaus however was a different experience. It’s probably the place where I tasted the best potato salad and meat. The restaurant is divided into indoors and outdoors and the staff was very helpful. It deserved a second visit!

DSC 2277 198x300 Bettelstudent & Wiebels Wirsthaus, Vienna, Austria

Backhuhn

Figlmüller, Vienna, Austria

The first time I went to the Figlmüller, it looked like this:

Hmm, people were WAITING to get in? REALLY? That day, I was too hungry and impatient, so I had to go elsewhere. On the next day, I decided to give the place another try. It looked like this:

People waiting! That’s when I got curious… so… I waited 45 minutes minutes to get in. What’s so special here? A dish that made the headlines in all major newspapers, the Schnitzel! It has the particularity to be really oversized in this restaurant.

For a while now, it considers itself to be the house of the Schnitzel. They have very limited choice on the menu (I tried the below, but it was not very interesting) and people mainly go there for the Schnitzel. If you don’t mind the wait… you can give it a try!