Yay to Restaurants in Malls

I’ve been reading review after review of Bar Tartine, and every time I’ve had the same thought: This is such a nice place, too bad I’ll never get to try it. But with the news today that Bar Tartine has opened in ABC Ashrafieh, there’s now hope at last, because my dirty secret is that when I eat out in Lebanon, I only eat in malls.

Actually, I’m surprised people still eat out in non-mall restaurants. With the worsening traffic, the thuggish valet parking people and the requirement to reserve in advance (and the lack of other nearby options if you somehow decided to walk in to a full restaurant), I tip my hat at all the restaurants that are still making a living outside of malls.

I am aware of the charms of the independent, street corner eateries. I really am. I’m not oblivious to the hidden charms of places like Couqley, and I surely appreciate the bohemian ambiance of Younes Café in Hamra. But I’m a practical man, and most importantly, a practical man with a family. I want to enjoy the food with my wife while my kids are in the in-house daycare. I want to be able to shop afterwards without having to worry about traffic or about the evil valet mafia.

I don’t want to make big statements here about how the success of the mall represents the failure of the Lebanese state and institutions. This is not some big pronouncement about whether malls in Lebanon are good or evil, and this is surely not about capitalism, privatisation or libertarianism. This is simply a public admission that I’m no longer cool, and that no, I never tried that charming place by the street corner. Maybe I’ll chew over that a bit more while I’m having a sandwich in Bar Tartine in ABC