But first accountant, Rabia Javed is dancing her way over to Lebanon at her pick.
She says it's more than just a meal.
It's a festival of rich flavors, enticing colors, live entertainment, and warm Mediterranean
hospitality.
They're all about enjoying life and good company here.
It's in Pompano beach and it's called La Vie Lebanese Cuisine.
So my name is Al Ahmad.
I'm actually the manager at La Vie.
To the La Vie, we came up with the name because especially my brother, he's very active and
energetic.
So you wanted it something that, you know, reflects that.
So we picked that name, we were like, La Vie, enjoying life, you know, living it to the
fullest.
So as you can probably see the moment you step into the door, the first thing you notice
is the decor, we kind of made it in a way where it incorporates, features from both
Lebanon and Morocco.
So when people come in and you see the combination, the lights also on top it all off, we do have
a belly dance show.
So that the moment you incorporate all of those things, it becomes like you literally
get transported to either Lebanon and Morocco.
Now our menu is very diverse.
We kinda designed it in a way where it's accommodate to all our customers' needs and it kind of
incorporates both Lebanese foods and also Moroccan.
As you can probably see, the Lebanese section is more about the kebabs.
Like we have chicken kebab, lamb kebab, lamb chops among other things as well.
And then what really makes us stand out is the tarajis, they're pretty much presented
in a traditional way.
We cook on one south front, they're marinated and sauteed in this sauce.
So it's kind of very juicy and tender.
La Vie is all about providing our customers with a unique and authentic experience.
We want to make our customers feel special.
And like I said, we wanna be able to help on transport from here to the Middle East
where they can have that unique experience.
La Vie in French, it means the life.
That's right.
You feed good.
You dine good.
You live good.
And that's what it's about.
That's right.
So tell us about the restaurant.
You go in.
And all of a sudden you see all these beautiful mover chandeliers, land trends, rich curtains,
paintings and it's just a gorgeous restaurant.
We started off with the Baba Ghanoush, which is a smoked eggplant dip.
[Michelle] That's right.
[Rabia] And it's very flavorful.
And what they do, is they bring these little mini pita breads, which are like maiden house,
very warm.
[Ashley] Yeah, they were good.
[Rabia] They have these amazing dips, which are part of it.
We also had a hot appetizer as well.
The chicken bastilla, which is a shredded chicken pie basically.
So that was the appetizer.
[Michelle] Bastilla is usually a pastry on the outside and the shredded chicken on the
inside
[Rabia] Yes.
Sometimes has a little sweet.
Yes also it has cinnamon on it and a little bit of powdered sugar.
It's like sweet, you know, and savory together.
I've never had Bastilla in Miami.
Delicious.
Ashley.
The decor was beautiful.
I felt like I was transported into the Middle East with all the stained glass and the chandeliers.
So we started out with the hot mezze platter just to get--
[Michelle] A taste.
[Ashley] a mixture of everything.
There was a pastry that was rolled that had feta and mint in it.
And it was--
Yum.
delicious.
There was also another pastry that had spinach and it was kind of triangular shaped.
Like a spanakopita maybe?
Kind of.
Okay.
Yep.
And then there was another one that was beef.
Peter.
I had the veggie special, which had the Baba Ghanoush a little bit of spice.
I like the falafel pita bread, stuff that in.
Basically, literally that meal in itself could be an entire meal.
What I would like--
[Michelle] Was that a mezze platter as well?
It was a mezze platter.
Okay, but it was a vegetarian mezze platter.
Vegetarian.
I did start the menu with a great, coffee Kahlua martini mix.
Wow.
And it was so good that I had to have a second one, for dessert so.
It sounds like something for dessert.
Why not start--
Start the day off well
Absolutely.
I had a great drink there as well.
It was like vodka and fused dates and I think it was called Pure Romance or something along
that line.
[Michelle] Why infused dates for date infused vodka.
[Ashley] Date infused vodka.
[Michelle] Okay interesting.
And the dates weren't inside the martini, but it was so sweet and delicious.
But not too sweet though.
Not too sweet.
And it came with a beautiful flower.
[Rabia] Aww.
One of those like orchards.
Yeah, there presentation is amazing and everything.
So yeah.
I had actually the Turkish green tea and it came with little bits of mint in it and they
just pour it right in front of you out of a kettle.
It's just a great experience.
So what was your main course?
We got the beef kebabs.
They were marinated to perfection.
[Rabia] Yes.
A kebab is always hard to cook perfectly because you're cooking so many things at once.
You also had a kebab, Rabia?
Yeah, so I did the mixed grill, you know, it gives you a variety of different proteins.
So they, you know, grill little pieces of chicken kofta kebab, which is the beef and
then chunks of little lamb, but it tastes amazing.
Is it kofta like the ground.
Yes.
Beef?
It is ground beef.
And then the--
Kind of like a meatball?
Yes.
You had shawarma?
We had, I had shawarma, it's a nice, soft wrap.
Good spices.
He did come with a large, I don't know if it was a jalapeno pepper, but there was something,
[Ashley] Oh yeah.
Good spice.
[Ashley] I ate that.
And he said, be careful.
Oh God, by mistake?
No, I did it on purpose.
It is spicy but it's good.
Anybody have dessert?
Yes.
I had the walnut and pistachio baklava.
It was amazing.
With the tea again, you know, it was just perfect.
I had the Walnut baklava also cause--
[Michelle] That's actually my favorite baklava.
Me too.
The one with walnut is so good.
Is there dancing?
Yeah.
So, I was just gonna say.
They do a dancing, belly dancing, Wednesday, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
And, you know, she comes in, she's very engaging and you're like, "Okay, I'm just in a Mediterranean
place "and enjoying a great meal with belly dancing."
Well Robbia, La Vie Lebanese was your choice and sum it up for us.
You enjoy great middle Eastern Mediterranean food and entertainment and they treat you
like hospitable, but great service.
Ashley.
It's a hidden gem that I was looking forward to going to, and I was delightfully surprised
and I'll definitely be back and I wanna bring a big group there.
Nice, Peter.
Definitely a hidden gem.
I will definitely be back.
Great quality of food, great value.
The experience was wonderful.
They coach, you know, first timers like myself and we'll definitely try any of the entertainment
as well.
Well, experience the true spirit of Lebanon at La Vie Lebanese Cuisine located at 281
South Pompano Parkway in Pompano beach, open daily for lunch and dinner, reservations are
accepted.
The average price for dinner without drinks is about $45.