No one comes to Ziryab for the food. Its sandwiches -hamburgers, turkey and cheese and chicken breast -are dully slapped inside white bread rolls. Its humus and fries are tasty, but notable so against few other choices.
But Ziryab is one of the few local cafes that always draw a crowd. Every night, Ramallah's more leftist crowd trudges up the steps to the second floor open gallery space to be warmed by its fire and friendly company. Owned by artist Tayseer Barakat, the café's walls are lined with either his work or that of other artists. Recently, Ziryab had a showing of Aqsa Intifada art. Instead of food, drinks are big. The only item on the menu with a listed price is the wine -$3.50 a glass. Freshly squeezed orange juice, an array of coffees and Palestinian Taybeh beer on tap fill the wooden table tops. Refreshments come with never-ending bowls of turmos, the cold yellow beans served and shelled over talk. The bubbling nargileh's (water pipes)soothes frayed nerves. Ziryab's best surprise is service. All orders come with a complimentary smile and jest from Ziryab's lone waiter who buzzes to tables in such high spirits that it is hard not to smile back. And in these hard times, even that is worth the trip.
Location: On the western side of Ramallah's mainstreet,next to Baladna Ice Cream.
Eats Rating:+1/2
Rating Scale:
++++next to heaven
It is nearly two years since I, the Phantom Diner, began haunting local restaurants, and it seems a good time to reframe my mission.
When we began, Palestine's economy was in full swing. Today, the daily income of most Palestinians is half what it was and dropping. Fish in the West Bank is harder to find. Fuel in Gaza is dwindling. Still, it seems important to highlight the Palestinian restaurants and cafes that have endured in today's Intifada. And sometimes, the source of that endurance is just as much the atmosphere of camaraderie as it is the food.
For
the reason, I am changing the way I rate local restaurants, granting a
rating for "Eats" and another rating for "Atmosphere." The first will only
judge the food and the second will rate the service and décor. This
way, the reader will have more information to decide -and restaurants will
not be unduly punished in the poor economic situation. Eventually, restaurants
should be able to use the additional information to improve all around.
Thank you to all my loyal readers and greetings from the spirit world!