Here are our top picks from Middle East:

Lebanon:
(Note: Lebanese don’t really use the street names, so all the places are known to be next to something else. All of these places, though, are know to every Beirutis, so just ask.)

Restaurants:
*Al-Balad, rue Ahdab, Downtown Beirut (next to Starbucks and Rotana Cafe), tel. 01-985 375. Inexpensive, laid-back atmosphere and delicious Lebanese mezze, also a favourite of the Beirutis since 1975. Always full (especially evenings) so book ahead or prepare to queue for the table. Try the red spicy hummus (hummus bil flayfle), potatoes spiced with coriander (batata harrah), fattush-salad, sheesh tawouk (chicken grilled in sticks) and the Lebanese pizza, lahme bi’ajin. Sasi loves!
*Abdel Wahab el-Inglisi, rue Abdel Wahab el-Inglisi (next to Monot street), Ashrafiyeh, Beirut, tel. 200 550. A bit more posh restaurant, good buffet tables and mezze, located in an Ottoman house, nice roof-top terrace. Don’t forget the hubbly-bubbly water pipe, shisha (or nargileh in Lebanese).
*Chez Popye, Bin Saoud Building, Raouche Street, Raouche, tel. 01-864799. A delightful memento from the past, pizzeria with authentic deco from 60′s. Absolutely adorable, used to be the hang-around place of the stars and later war journo’s, and Sasi remembers Sunday lunches here with parents when he was kid. (Mind you, it was behind the enemy lines during the civil war, so food was good enough to risk life. It still is.) Go while you can, it will be closed soon for sure (its not posh enough for Lebanese). MaikuSasi loves!
*Casper & Gambini’s. An expensive coffee shop chain located in many posh areas of Beirut. Try their lovely deserts and great salads, don’t mind the cigar smell sometimes. Maiku loves their Bombay Chai Ice Tea.
*Bayrock Cafe, Raouche, overlooking Pigeon Rocks. Nice place to have a lunch and a bit rest of sight-seeing.
*Waterlemon, ABC Mall, Ashrafiye. Good, though a bit pricey, lunch place and good people watching.
*Lina’s. Hamra, Downtown, ABC Mall (at least). Cafe chain, not cheap but better than Starbucks (sorry, Sasi). Also serve lunch, and best place to observe Lebanese house wives and their maids.
*Leil w’Nahr, avenue Charles Malek, down from Spinneys. Nice lunch, free wifi.
*Pepe’s Fishing Club, old port of Byblos. One of the old time legends, a good fish restaurant with good sunset views from the terrace. Not the cheapest, but doable. Don’t miss the photo collection in the wall: fading snaps of Marlon Brando, Brigitte Bardot, Frank Sinatra, Jacques Chirac etc. who used to dine there. Also, if you ask nicely, they might open you the home museum of the late owner Pepe Abed, also a underwater archeologist and collector, old pal of Jacques Cousteau (his famous red hat is in the museum). Maiku loves!

Snacks:
*Barbar. There is only one place to get the most delicious shwarma sandwiches in Beirut: the chain of Barbar’s. The biggest and busiest one is on rue Spears in Hamra. Also fresh juice and mind-blowing ice-creams. Hordes of people in lines waiting for their snacks, always. Cheap, too. MaikuSasi loves!
*Zaatar w’Zeit. Another local fast-food, highly popular especially late nights/early mornings munchies after clubbing. One in rue Nasra in Sodeco, one in rue Bliss in Hamra (opposite the gate of AUB) and also elsewhere. Best kafta (with cheese), kafta bil jibne and chicken with cheese, djej bil ajin. Mains 2-3USD. Sasi has always loved.
*Bliss House. Also in Bliss st. opposite of AUB, lunch fave of the students.
*Universal Cafe, rue Jeanne d’Arc (of from Bliss and AUB). Hamburgers since 70′s, popular with students and teachers.
Also, don’t forget the street vendors selling ka’ak breads in mornings, and corner bakeries making fresh manakeesh, zaatar is the one with thyme (Maiku’s favourites are the ones with cheese, fresh tomatoes and fresh mint – jibne, panadura w’ nana).

Cafes, clubs and bars:
*T-Marbouta, Pavillion Center, 1st Floor, behind Librarie Antoine in Hamra, tel.01-352302. Cool coffee shop, better than any chains. Free wifi, nice atmosphere, loads of hip young (leftist and artsy) people, NGO meetings, artistic&music happenings, even a library. Maiku loves!
*Acid, Sin el-Fil (behind the Futuroscope center). Very funny and friendly gay club. Music is mainly techno but changes at some point to Arabic disco. You can be sure to find a teacher for those hip movements! Open drinks, 20 USD entrance, ladies free before midnight. Sasi loves!
*B 018, Not necessarily our first choice of clubs, but a must see for everyone visiting Beirut. Rumours say its build on the civil war massacre site, and deco is pretty much mock-style horror with its coffin-shaped tables (Design has been on the pages of Wallpaper*). Located on a car park a bit out of town, underground cellar but with an opening roof and loud techno (a bit 90′s). Gay-friendly. Dress smartly and don’t come too late or you won’t get in. Bouncers are famous of their selectivity.
*The WHOLE Gourard street in Gemmayzeh. Full of bars, pubs and small restaurants. Good ones in our opinion: Dragonfly (bar), Torino Express (bar), Le Rouge (restaurant), Bar Louie (jazz bar), 961 (bar), Living Room (bar), Griffin’s (English pub). Most of the bars sell also some food. Not very cheap places, though, but hey, show me one cheap bar in Beirut!
*Also the whole rue Monot, but its getting a bit out now. Chrystal is still one of the most popular (and most expencive) posh clubs in town, come to see how rich, young and pretty (and siliconed) Lebanese party! Dress EXTRA smart (no t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, and no shorts and sandals for Heaven’s sake, not to any Lebanese club/bar!)
*Place d’Etoile in Downtown is full of restaurants and coffee shops, which are buzzing especially on summer evenings. Have a shisha and a drink, or just stroll around.
*Fly Bar, on the roof top of Virgin Megastore Downtown (entrance outside behind the building). Exellent views over Downtown, especially after dark. Table reservations needed, dress smart.
*Bubbles (former Sky Bar) club in roof top of Palm Springs hotel, Ain Mreisseh, only open in summer. Casual smart will do.
*White, club in downtown, in the rooftop of Al Nahar building. Another open air club. Snob.
*The Island in Riviera Hotel pool area, table reservations needed on summer weekends. Hope you have a thick wallet and a nice car.

Hotels&hostels:
*Pension al-Nazih, avenue Charles Helou, Gemmayzeh. Dorm beds and double rooms, budget option (the only decent in Beirut) and backpackers favourite.
*Port View Hotel, rue Gourard, Gemmayzeh. Nice family hotel. Mention us and discounts follow for sure!! Doubles around $60.
*Mayflower Hotel, Hamra. A true Hamra institute, a before-, during- and post-war hangout of journalists and NGO people. Doubles around $70.
*Orange House in Mansourieh. A small, pretty and cosy bed&breakfast held by two incredible women who maintain a nature reserve area of turtles. On a pristine clean beach where turtles come to nest. Nesting time around July to September, but ask more info from Mona and Habiba. Doubles $40, using the beach only for a day $10 per person. Around 8km south from Tyre towards Naqoura. Tel. +961-(0)7-320063, +961-(0)3-383080, email: monahabiba(at)gmail.com. MaikuSasi loves, adores and so on!

Other Middle East

Restaurants & Bars:
* A juice shop in the end of Shoukri al-Quwaitli in Hama, Syria. Unfortunately we forgot the name of this place, but its in the end of the street, on the corner of the souk. The best apple juice in ME, claims Sasi. MaikuSasi loves.
*Yalla! Bar & Restaurant, Masbat, Dahab, Egypt. Really good value breakfasts, good offers on happy hours, nice staff. Free sun-beds in the daytime (its by the beach, you can swim too).
*Tota Dance Bar, Mashraba, Dahab, Egypt. A pub quiz night every Monday is a favourite of (male) backpackers and dive masters. Cheapest beer in town might also have some influence on that. Dance, well, um…
*Biti pizza, Midan al-Mahatta, Aswan, Egypt (railway station square). Good pizzas, even better Egyptian pizzas (ftireh). English menus only offer Western style, but ask the waiters to get you Egyptian ones, they are far more better (and cheaper). Even the ancient Pharaos ate pizza – see here.

Hostels&Hotels:
*Baron Hotel, Aleppo, Syria. A true old-timer, a glimpse of the past. The 1909-opened hotel was once on of the most famous hotels in the Middle East. Agatha Christie, TE Lawrence (of Arabia), Roosevelt and Ataturk (father of modern Turkey) all stayed in here, Agatha Christie wrote the first chapters of The Murder in Orient Express in one of the rooms (you can still stay in the same room). A little has changed, hotel is somewhat rusty now with flaky paints and broken tiles. Rooms around $40-60. Or you can have an afternoon tea in the lobby bar. Maiku loves!
*Cleopetra Hotel, Petra, Jordan. Tel. +962 77 6582385, cleopetra_h@hotmail.com. A non-fuss hotel in Wadi Musa, offers free transport to Petra. Their slogan is “come as a guest, leave as a friend”, and its true!
*Bedouin Garden Village, Aqaba, Jordan. About 10kms South of Aqaba town, this peaceful resort is a good value. They have tents, huts and bungalows, cheapest from 2-4JM per night, bungalows with bathroom 20JD. Best part of it was the garden with a small pool and really cozy Bedouin style sitting area with free wifi. They serve inexpensive food too.
*Seven Heaven Hotel, Masbat, Dahab, Egypt. Laid-back, easygoing chilling place, friendly owner, a bit weird restaurant staff. House cats available! Own dive shop, Divers Down Under.
*Nefertiti Hotel, El-Sahaby Street, Luxor, Egypt. Info@nefertitihotel.com. By far the best hotel we stayed in ME, clean rooms with hot water bathrooms, helpful staff. Their tours to the Valley of the Kings were also really good and not a rip-off price (some hostels had sold exactly the same trip on double price, it appeared in the bus).

Dive shops:
*Aqaba Adventure Divers. Located next to Bedouin Garden Village. Good gear, nice DM’s, good trips. Fun dive JD25.
*Divers Down Under, see above, Seven Heaven Hotel.

Shopping: (Maiku loves them all)
*Sebastian, Citadel st. Aleppo, Syria. Down the citadel. Craft shop, carpets&rugs, antiques, jewellery. Not pushy staff, you can just admire the goods. Have a look of their silver necklaces, though. Web-orders, too.
* Oriental Batman, Hama, Syria. Follow the narrow alley by the river bank in old town behind an old aqueduct and you find this gem. A truly weird bric-a-brac shop full of all kind of stuff, from antiques to old tools to tourist crap. You might find Aladdin’s lamp in here, am sure, if you search hard. Name has nothing to do with Batman the movie guy.
*Diwan. The best bookshop chain in Cairo. One of the branches is 159, 26th of July street in Zamalek. It has also a coffee shop. Others in Heliopolis and Cairo Marriot Hotel.