A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the $19 “mixed grill” at the hulking new Lebanese Taverna in Bethesda, lamenting the fact that I’d seen more meat on a sand dollar than on this kabob platter. Well, my snippy remarks prompted this kind response from someone named Grace Shea:

My name is Grace Abi-Najm Shea and I am one of the owners of Lebanese Taverna. Just wanted to thank you for your witty review. After reading it, I was prompted to check the portion size at our Bethesda restaurant. What I found was that our Bethesda location was not serving our standard 12oz portion for the mixed grill. Your observations were correct. If it were not for your comments, we might not have caught this. On another note, Bethesda is a beautiful location and is meant to be a sit-down full service restaurant. For someone “Young & Hungry”, you are right our cafes may be a better fit.

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention, please let me know if there is anything else we can do.

Sincerely,
Grace

I called Lebanese Tavern to confirm that Grace Shea did indeed leave this comment on the blog.

Read More “Lebanese Taverna: Bethesda Mixed Grill Needs to Bulk Up” »

Here are the top 10 items this week on the Young & Hungry blog, as decided by you, the loyal readers.

1. More on Gillian Clark’s New Restaurant Ventures

2. Ray’s the Steaks Set to Move Soon…Or Not

3. El Pollo Rico Reopens in Wheaton

4. What Ris Lacoste Learned While Working at Friendly’s

5. Are Ethiopian Eateries Really Hurting Because of the New Cab Meters?

6. Woman Returns Nearly 100K Found at Cracker Barrel

7. WSJ: Chuck E. Cheese’s May Be the Most Dangerous Restaurant in Town

8. What Does a $19 ‘Mixed Grill’ Get You at Lebanese Taverna’s New Bethesda Spot?

9. The ‘Subversive Element’ at Ray’s Hell Burger? Catsup!

10. Are Hot Dogs Really Made from Pigs’ Lips and Assholes?

A chef/owner whom I respect once told me that only amateurs—those, in other words, without a firm grasp of the costs of running full-service restaurants—have a hard time understanding the sometimes high price of dishes. Well, I felt like a rank amateur on Sunday afternoon at the new Lebanese Taverna in Bethesda.

A couple of dining companions and I ordered a selection of mezze along with a Lebanese-style pizza and a mixed grill. We opted for the latter item, a $19 indulgence in a sea of single-digit mezze, as an insurance policy—to insure that we’d have enough to eat in case the mezze proved inadequate. Little did we realize that the reverse would be the case.

Read More “What Does a $19 ‘Mixed Grill’ Get You at Lebanese Taverna’s New Bethesda Spot?” »