Phoenicia Restaurant

The other night I was taken to a new restaurant in Glendale, well sort of a new restaurant. Apparently the Phonecia Restaurant had been in Glendale on the same corner of Central and Lexington years and years ago. Phonecia serves traditional Lebanese Food. We were greeted very warmly by the staff and sat in the fairly empty, but elegant dining room. There is a tented area outside where it seemed like more of the action was and the restaurant seemed to get busier as the evening progressed.

My husband and I shared the "Arz" meal for two. This combination included just about every Middle Eastern favorite of ours, hummus, falafel, kebabs, tabbouleh, baba ganoush, rice, salad, stuffed grape leaves, rice, a never ending basket of warm pita, and other dishes I had never tried before and couldn't name. There was a tremendous amount of food that the two of us, our two children, and the two adults with us (who had their own entrees) could not even come close to finishing.

Based on this visit, I would recommend Phonecia. I am sure I will go back for more.


Phoenicia Restaurant
343 N Central Ave
Glendale, CA 91203

24/7 Mandalay Bay

When family and friends are staying on the strip, they usually ask me where to eat? They've done the buffets and some of the high end restaurants and now just want to eat in a more normal way. Since you never know what time you might want to eat and everyone wants something different, I recommend one of the 24/7 cafes in the top hotels. So in the coming weeks I will discuss four of my favorites. The hotels will be Mandalay Bay, Bellagio, Venetian and Wynn.

Raffles in Mandalay Bay is a lovely series of rooms with a South Pacific feel. The rooms have marble topped tables and booths, large comfortable chairs, high beamed ceilings and walls of glass looking out at palm trees and and gardens. The service is efficient and friendly.

Although they have seemed to trim the menu in the last year, there is still a good variety of dishes to order. Some breakfast ideas might be Eggs Benedict ( try it with smoked salmon instead of Canadian bacon), Lobster Omelet or build your own omelet. Maybe your in the mood for a salad. How about a Southwestern or Champagne Chicken Salad. Add a soup and two people can share and be full. My favorite is the the Baked Potato Soup ( topped with bacon, chives, cheddar cheese and sour cream). There is a good selection of sandwiches, wraps and burgers.
Pastas and Italian favorites, steaks, ribs, fish and other interesting entrees are available. Finish your meal with some carrot cake or maybe a vanilla creme brulee,then take a walk upstairs at the shops of Mandalay Place or outside in the gardens.