On the road leading from Hasroun to Bcharre a small town called Bazoun hosts a local restaurant where we stopped by after visiting Bekaa Kafra. Al Nawrage offers local cuisine from the village, homemade specialties like Kebbe, Kawarma and starters.
Georges Faddoul welcomed us into his home where we sat by the stove. Potatoes were grilling while food started landing on the table. Georges insisted we taste everything, a handful of specialties of which the Kafta in bread and the Kebbe balls with fat are well known in the North.
The menu:
- Mezza
- Grilled charcoal fire
- Starters
- Salads
- Fried food
- Drinks
Fresh almonds, a bottle of water, carrots and pumpkin seeds, plates and here you are, ready for a local experience.
The place is not fancy, but a local vision of a restaurant, like an "ahwet el ezez" concept. A high ceiling, walls painted in white, white tables and white plastic chairs with two lounges at the end of the restaurant. Pictures from around the caza decorate the walls.
The first look is mouthwatering:
- Green olive salad: A first for me, a colorful pickle plate, cut in slices and looking like a salad, Labneh in balls, chanklish, a mountain of tabbouleh, grilled potatoes cut in quarters, local olive oil hardened by the cold... The food looks special.
- Taste wise, this place is a recommendation. I loved the simplicity of authentic Lebanese food. Grilled potatoes tender like butter, rich and condensed labneh, hummos with meat and pine nuts with a clear flavor of chickpeas, makanek softer than my pillow and the grilled liver with pomegranate molasses are not to be missed.
- More food was yet to come. Kafta arayess, that grilled Lebanese bread, filled with Kafta mixed with pomegranate molasses. It was pure orgasmic enjoyment. After that, eggs with Kawarma. I've had it in almost all the villages of Lebanon, but this one is indeed unique. Moist eggs, melting Kawarma, and lots of passion in a clay pot.
Let me rewind. The place is not fancy, so don't judge it before eating, the food is indeed exquisite. We were eating since morning, discovering the villages of Diman, Bekaa Kafra and Hasroun, but I couldn't stop eating from all the plates. Georges was here, walking around, making sure we're enjoying our meal.
Put Al Nawrage on your to do list this summer.
