Grocery shopping in Beirut

Shopping here in Beirut is not like shopping in, say, Atlanta. In Atlanta, I would decide on a recipe, go to the store I knew carried the ingredients I would need, come home and cook. The End. Very easy, all cravings met, meal plans facilitated.

Here, it’s a little different. Here in Beirut I can decide on a meal, write down the ingredients, and if I’m lucky, I only have to clear one entire morning to go – what we have come to call it – hunting & gathering. Most often though, despite my efforts, there are always going to be ingredients missing. Sometimes you just can’t find avocados anywhere, or lemongrass, or nori. Once I searched for sour cream for weeks. You learn to either change your mind about what to make, or you substitute. Instead of rice vinegar you use white vinegar, or if you’re making vegetable dip, lebnah will work instead of sour cream.

Last week we were all set on making sushi at home. I went to three different stores to buy nori– my first picks for this kind of thing – and they were all out. Not a single sheet of seaweed anywhere. In the evening a friend mentioned that she had been looking for nori as well, and someone else said that they had seen some at Idriss. The next morning I ran over there, and bought both packs. Yes, there were only two packs left, and yes, I bought them both. This is something you learn as well, to survive in the expat jungle – if you see something you like, something you know runs out from time to time, you buy it all! Stock up!