Dinner for Two

Our Syrian dialect teacher canceled on us tonight because her son is sick, so Rachel and I seized the opportunity while our babysitter, Latta, was scheduled to be here during the lesson, to go out to dinner by ourselves. Our other dialect teacher for our group class on Sundays and Tuesdays (we have three dialect teachers now, more on that in a future post) was raving about a restaurant in the Old City called Naranje during our last session, and we decided to try it out. We hopped in a cab, which dropped us off on Straight Street, so called because it traverses the Old City in a direct line from west to east through Souq Midhat Pasha, which we noticed has been restored since we were here in 2005. The new facades on the shops and level street are quite nice, but they lack some of the authenticity and character of the old, worn, rambling cobblestones and high sidewalks of the original. Still, they've done a great job.

After asking directions a few times to make sure we hadn't missed the restaurant, which was off a square that we had never been to before, we arrived. It's a beautiful space with a very high ceiling with fine tables in what looks like an old stone house. Although the place was empty downstairs, the host told us that all of the tables were reserved, but we could go upstairs and sit on the balcony. With its metal tables and cheaper chairs, the balcony lacked the ambience of the downstairs, but it had a view of the square and a large mosque, and it was nice to sit outside in what is becoming cooler night air. The waiter brought us menus overflowing with good options, and we decided on a chicken and rice dish that I don't remember the name of, some lamb kebab with eggplant and a sauce of pine nuts, onions, raisins, and various other ingredients and spices, hummus, and vegetarian kibbeh with spinach inside. Aside from the last dish, which was just okay and served cold contrary to our expectations, everything was delicious. We've had some good meals so far here, including at Shamiyyat, but everything has had the very strong flavors common in local "popular" food, which, if you like the flavor, makes it very good but not great; not the subtle blending of flavors in fine cuisine. Naranje was the latter-the best food we've had so far in Damascus, the bill coming to a whopping $30 for the two of us, including tip. We promise to take whomever comes to visit.

The evening reminded us as well of one of the reasons why we decided to come to Syria in the first place. The Old City, when it's not Ramadan or very late at night, with its plethora of colorful and aromatic shops hawking all types of wares, bustling streets, history, and vibrant atmosphere, was a lot of fun to walk around. We'll have to go back soon with Natalie when we have more time to explore.