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Roba: Blue Fig is, I believe, Amman’s signature outery. Recommended and adored by almost 80% of a certain class of the Ammanite population, Blue Fig has managed to garner a cult-following since it first strutted its minimalistic architecture and artistic restauranting in 1998. It is loved and adored by quite a diverse group of people, including coffee-drinkers, romantic daters, bar-hoppers, breakfasters, clubbers, and evening tea-timers. Blue Fig, which can either be experienced with its indoor, dark, pub-like, loud-music atmosphere or with its outdoor garden setting, surely manages to satisfy a darn whole lot of tastes.

That being said, I have a love-hate relationship with Blue Fig. I feel like its crowd is always there to see and be seen. Their menu is very diverse and you always have a lot of choices, even if you don’t feel like having anything. The minimalism was slightly over done, making the place borderline depressing.Their food is rather brilliantly fantastic or horribly disgusting.  It is unique, with its own spirit and soul, and I really cherish that. The staff is very rude, for the most part. The chairs are my least favorite things about any outery in town, cramping my back within seconds of being seated. It is amazingly cultured, which is wonderful. The music is way too loud.

Moose: As a college student, going to Blue Fig simply meant getting a cup of coffee from the green coffee cart parked right outside – probably one of the first street-side coffee carts. Since then I have been there a total of one time. It looks like a nice place with unique design and all, but I am not really a big fan of the whole wood-metal-glass architecture thingie, especially when it is coupled with the superficial Ammanite crowd. A perfect place for a laid back mid-summer coffee on the balcony around sunset time, if you can manage to find a place among the obnoxious college kids.

Final verdict: Overrated as an outery, but has certainly managed to become a landmark, and that gives it an extra point.

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Location: Abdoun
Reservations: Yes
Phone: 592-8800
Recommended Item: New Orleans Burger, Taj Mahal Pasta
Average Price: 4.5-6 JD

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Moose: Long gone are the days when Jollibee was our ultimate treat as highschool kids. I remember in 1995 when Qays and I had its coupons, and we stuffed our faces with two family meals- each – followed by a one-on-one full-court basketball game. Of course, the result was a tremendous amount of puke in the school’s sink.

That’s exactly the feeling I got when we walked into Jollybee 12 years later.

Roba: It was 10:30 PM on a weekday. We got a great idea. Let’s go to Jollibee. Jollibee? I haven’t been to Jollibee in over 13 years, and I felt a dose of nostalgia that rendered the idea fantastic. The boys all agreed to tag along, as they were hungry (like usual).
When we walked in, the whole place reeked like old engine oil, and everything from the staircase to the floors was coated with a layer of grease. Surprisingly, the place was crowded for 11:00 PM on a weekday, and it had a lot more families and single guys than the Burger King across the street. Even more surprisingly, Jollibee is more expensive than Burger King, with the average meal costing around 5 JDs.
The interior of the place was crazy. Nothing has changed since I was last there- the same yellow and purple seating, the same wall murals, the same arcades. Yeah, everything was beat and greasy, but not a thing was moved out of place, not even the Arby’s tables and the Wendy’s posters with a cut-out Jollibee logo glued on in place of that of Wendy’s.
Although I’m usually gutsy with food, I decided to skip it and just rely on the boys’ tastebuds, and I was very thankful that I did when I saw the boys’ meals. The boys though claim the food wasn’t bad at all, but I’m not sure if we can rely on their them… they are teenage boys afterall.

Location: Shmesani, across from the police hut at the end of Thaqafeh Street.
Reservations: no
Phone: 568-8006
Recommended Item: Not the fries.

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Roba: Galler is a Belgian chocolate “boutique”, with a freakishly elaborate menu of cocoa-related items, ranging from a history lesson with cocoa inspired from different centuries, to chocolate seaweed and cocoa soup. This diversity is very fascinating, especially as I love trying out eccentric things and different tastes.
Yet, their chocolate aside, Galler got such high ratings from us not for their gourmet chocolate and creative diversity, but for the little cafe upstairs, which is as endearing as it gets. I definitely think that it is the most comfortable place in Amman to have a good cup of coffee and enjoy a good book. It’s happy orange couches, cozy parquet floors and relaxing music make it wonderfully suitable for little dates and perfect for a spot to read. Add to that, they have an incredibly fast and free internet connection, which makes it even the more appealing for a geek such as myself.
The chocolate itself is excellent for those who appreciate the taste, texture, and aroma of real chocolate, but it is rather expensive. The cafe itself, on the other hand, costs pretty much the same as similar cafes like Mirabelle and Chez Hilda.
I would recommend you try the cocoa soup, just because of the surprise factor. I personally loved it, although I can see why some wouldn’t.

Moose: One of the most annoying trends associated with the cancerous spread of modern-day consumerism is overpriced “stuff”. Maybe someone who is into hip fashion and luxurious comfort would invest in a $300 pair of loafers, but no sane human being should consider buying any kind of footwear which cost more than a small car no matter how many ostriches were sacrificed to make it. No two bites of food should cost 7 JDs, even if it contained tiny bits of mercury-laden sea
creatures and no “substance” should cost $35 per pound unless it had potent mind-altering capabilities.
As for Galler, I have to admit that when it comes to kids’ junk food I am more of a potato-chips kind of person  than a chocolate or candy person, but I heard from chocolate connoisseurs around the globe that it is pretty good.
As for the café upstairs it is a perfect spot for a first date that would display your awareness of Amman’s latest trendy spots, your sophisticated appreciation of classical music and laid back atmosphere and your  admiration of fine chocolate – which also happens to be an aphrodisiacs.

Location: Abdoun, across from where the old Fuddruckers used to be, in a 90 degree angle to the A
merican embassy.
Reservations: no
Phone: 592-8522 (thanks Kinzi!)
Recommended Item: Cocoa soup.

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Moose: It is amazing how screwed up the taste buds of Amman’s high-society are. It seems the more you are willing to pay, the more you are willing to compromise for below-average food. The excellent atmosphere, the friendly staff, the perfect date setting and the live-music could probably make up for the fact that the 2-minute fettuccini we cooked the other day with canned mushrooms tasted seven times better than the one we got at this overrated joint. Take your date for a round a drinks there and then convince her that it would be much more romantic and more hip to walk down the street to al-Kalha or, if you are willing to go all out, Burger King.

Roba: In a business that is undergoing constant change, La Maison Verte has survived over the decades, unlike the other restaurants that started out around its time such as New York, New York, Alfredo, and La Terrace, which have all turned to C-Class nightclubs. 

So naturally, over the years, I have heard a lot about La Maison Verte; I have heard that the food is finger-licking delicious, that the place is gorgeous, that it is the most expensive restaurant in Amman, and that there is a dress code, among many other things. The dress code and the alleged priciness though have never made it appealing enough to try, until last night that is, when I found that we were both already dressed up as we had a rather formal event at 7:00 and that we actually had reservations at La Maison Verte as a surprise from Moose.

As we walked in, the outdoors part of the restaurant looked nice, and I couldn’t help but think of how much I dislike winter. Inside, we were greeted by a butler and a view of their main sitting area, which looks like your average fancy-shmancy restaurant. The butler asked us if we want to be seated in the main restaurant or in the lounge, called Le Bar. Looking around, we chose the lounge, which has small couches, dim lighting, and a life-size Santa sitting on a bar stool.

Understand, the lounge is gorgeous. Perhaps because I was expecting an overdone fancy-shmancy style, I was pleasantly surprised by how brilliantly cozy it is. The red moquette, the dark brown wood interior, the warmth, the dim lights and the live singer with her deep voice and jazz-like tunes all add up to give you one heck of an atmosphere. I completely lost track of time and place, and just happily chit-chatted for a couple of hours about the most random things.

But the atmosphere is really the only positive La Maison Verte seems to have. We take a seat in the corner of the lounge and the rather lost waiter gets us the most horribly designed menus I have seen in ages. There are a hundred million pages of drinks, and only a few of food- the choices we are presented with are for the most part, steak and pasta. I wasn’t in the mood for neither steak nor pasta.

We ended up ordering fried calamari, fettuccine with mushroom, and sliced steak fondue, and discovered that the problem with the food at this Grumpy Gourmet award-winning eatery is not only the lack of options, but also the way below-average taste of food. The calamari was horrible, both too oily and too spicey. The fettucinni pasta was way too thick and the sauce was way too thin and flavorless. The steak fondue tasted better than the appetizers but consisted of literally 5 tiny strips of beef with a very tiny serving of sauce that burnt off as soon as they put it on the fondue. The fries that came with the fondue were also exceptionally oily, and the French bread that was served was dry and flavorless. It beats me how one of the restaurants with the best reputation in Amman can have such horrible food, especially when the average appetizer costs around 9 JDs and when the average entree costs around 17 JDs.

For half the price, you can have a much better food experience at Milano, and for a little less, you can have the most excellent food experience in town at Bistro One (I can’t believe we still didn’t review that one!)

Would I recommend this place? Well, if you want to take someone special for drinks and dessert perhaps (we didn’t try their dessert), then I would, because the ambiance is brilliant for a date. In fact, I think it is the most date-perfect place in town. But if you’re looking to satisfy your culinary senses, I would say, forget it. Tche Tche makes better pasta.

Moose: مش الحق عليكي، الحق علي باخدك على هيك أماكن! As I said, La Maison Verte would be a great idea if you want to spend half a month’s salary and then listen to her complain all the way back home.

Location: Shmesani, across from C-Town, back entrance
Reservations: yes
Phone: (06) 568-5746

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Location: Abdoun, across from Vy Gymn
Reservations: yes
Phone: 078-888-8288
We would recommend the kabab dish, it’s very different from Arabic Kabab.

Last weekend, after getting bored of waiting for an hour for our sushi at Noodasia, we decided to walk out and go try Fairouzi Persian restaurant down the street. We walked in at around 2:30, and perhaps because it was lunch time on a Saturday, the restaurant was very empty- we were the only people there.

The decor is nice, it has a lot of Islamic art touches that were haphazard and discontinuous of any particular tradition but still quite cool. We were surprised to see that the menu had more Lebanese dishes than Persian ones, and had to put extra effort in looking for the Persian ones to order. In the end, we shared some sort of Persian soup, Persian appetizer, Beryani rice, and a Kabab dish. The service was superfast, and the food was above average. We were both amused at how distinct the flavoring of the food is, making it very different from anything we’ve ever had- Arabic or otherwise. The bread that came with the food is also unbelievably good, unarguably my favorite part of the meal.

Otherwise, I am not sure we will go again. The prices are fair, but they’re the same you’d pay at an excellent Lebanese  restaurant like Fakherildeen.

Have you tried this place? What do you think?

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Location: Mekkah Mall, soon to open in Abdoun mall
Reservations: no
Phone: (06) 583 3098
We would recommend the kabab dish, the seeneyeh kafta, and the “Beteinjan Rehaneh” aubergines dish.

Roba: Located in the 3rd floor of the Mecca Mall extension, this stand-alone Lebanese restaurant might as well be the best Lebanese food place in town, minus the fact that they don’t serve kubbeh nayeh (darn).
Their food though is quite delicious, very flavorful and always cooked to yuminess. We usually order their Kabab and kafta dishes, although we have tried their arayes and most of their cold mezzas, which are similarly pretty delicious. Yet yumminess aside, my favorite part about Rehaneh is that they always go the extra mile so that their food is made to not only please your taste buds, but to also please your eyes.

Add to that, Al-Rehaneh is the only suggestion that might make the mall-despising Moose agree to go to the mall.
Definitely recommended, if not for the delicious food and great prices, then for the friendly staff.

Moose: Other than the fact that it is in the mall, and malls are just plain evil, this is one of the best dinning options in Amman. The food is excellent – a family member who was visiting from overseas  rated their food much higher than  Tannureen (a fancy-shmancy Lebanese restaurant), and the menu offers some options that are hard to find at other places; the “Sinyyett Koftah” dish that is as close to home cooking as possible. The complementary stuff – a plate of boiled almonds, a collection of fresh vegetables, and a dessert plate – add value to the already cheap prices and gives a feeling of being an appreciated guest. The atmosphere is not bad at all, and if you ignore the little kids jumping on the trampoline right outside, it is very similar to any fancy restaurant.
Finally, the fact that they don’t even have the 10% service charge added to the bill (I always wondered if this addition even makes it to the pockets of the waiters), paired with the excellent service, has you feeling pretty happy about giving a generous tip.

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Argeeleh 

Roba: After a dry Ramadan, spent mostly at home and at Books@Cafe, the urban reviews are back up and running. Since Salute was our 4th to last outing, we decided we’ll review it quickly.

In the Salute building there’s something for everyone; head to Grappa on the first floor for an oldish crowd, Salute on the second floor for a youngish, loud crowd, and the Beer Garden right at the bottom (our favorite) for a mid-twenties to mid-thirties crowd. They all share the same menu save for Grappa, and their food and drinks aren’t all that bad, especially the pizza and the arageel. My favorite part about Salute though and what keeps me going is the ambiance- the view is fantastic and the crowd is always surprisingly diverse.

What we dislike about them though is the staff, who are very unfriendly, rude, and extremely slow. We’ve had several bad experiences with them and that makes us avoid it as much as possible.

Moose: Salute will always have a special place in my heart since it brings back the memories of Netherlands beating Yugoslavia in the second round of the 1998 world cup.

Every time I walk down the stairs I can see Predrag Mijatovic’s penalty kick shaking the whole goal as it bounced of the cross bar, while Mhammad and I jumped and hollered with other Dutch fans. (We later found out that they were not real fans, they were just hoping to win a scotch bottle in a raffle based on randomly picking the Dutch to win) . That was a great Dutch team and their coach at the time is proving that he is easily the best coach in the world who can single handedly change the fortunes of any team (just look at Russia these days).

Ah yeah, Salute… an excellent place, the downstairs garden is one of the coolest places in town. But if I were them, I will take my chances with the occasional bar brawl over having a fat idiot “greeting” the people at the door, giving them the impression that they are walking into one of the offices at the eighth circle (formerly al-Abdali), not to a really nice and laid-back hang out spot.

Location: Jabal Amman
Reservations: Yes
Phone: (06) 465 1458

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Moose: If you are hampered by the “coubles only” rule of Amman’s fancy cafes, and if you prefer not to spend the weekly income of a Jordanian middle-class family on an Argeeleh and a drink, the Ziqaq has been catering to your needs since 1996. The ultimate guy hangout spot offers a good Argeeleh (especially the souss (licorice) flavor), a wide array of live football (randing from the English premiership, to the Spanish La Liga, to the Egyptian Ahli), a reliable wireless internet connection.  and the luxury of ordering food from the next door Chili Ways (delivered right to your seat – just ask for the Chili menu). The coffee shop also has a chess and backgammon “scene” and the waiters will be more than happy to challenge you to a game.

On the other hand though, the staff and the service are below average. Sometimes you have to yell, dance and do a backflip just to divert the attention of one of the workers from the constantly running TVs, and don’t be surprised if you receive the “what-the-hell-do-you-want-can‘t-you-tell-im-watching-tv” face.

Upstairs is the “3a2ilatt/ families/ coubles” section, which is not the best recommended place for first dates, unless you are a little strapped for cash, then you can convince her that this is “a cultural experience”, and hope for the improbable
best.

Roba: I do not think that I like Ziqaq much. The chairs are extremely uncomfortable, the waiters are rather rude, and the argeeleh is sort of dry. It’s very low prices though make it perfect for “in between tal3at” and broke days.The fact that they have the Chili Ways menu is a huge plus, I mean,
it’s not often that you can eat a mouthwatering burger and satisfy your
argeeleh urges at the same time. We also enjoy playing chess every now
and then.

We mostly sit upstairs, which surprisingly has a very diverse array of customers ranging from old women to co-ed groups of friends. How recommended is this place? Well, it beats Cupid Cafe.

Location: Rabieh Circle, a little down the street from the Adidas shop intersection.
Phone: (06) 532-564 (which I know is missing a number, but that’s what their business cards say! If it makes it any better, their fax number is 566-9105).

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