Al-Ameer Restaurant

Raghida Choucair
Comp 227
Essay# 2
Evaluating a Restaurant

Al-Ameer Restaurant
27346 Ford Road
Dearborn Heights, MI, 48127
Saturday, October, 10, 2009
Time: 3:00 pm

Have you tasted “Lebanese Shawarma” in Al-Ameer Restaurant?


Just on the intersection of Ford road and Inkster Street, in Dearborn Heights. There is a nice building with big red tents on all sides. In that building, you can see the Middle Eastern architecture style merged with an American style to give a unique picture for Al-Ameer restaurant.
Al-Ameer Restaurant was highly recommended to me by two of my friends, because it is clean and their food is fresh. So, I decided to go with my children to this restaurant on Saturday, October 10, at three o’clock, in order to avoid the lunch time crowds.
Once we entered Al-Ameer Restaurant, two waitresses; a lady and a gentleman welcomed me and my children. They were dressed in a neat elegant way. The lady asked us to wait for her in the hallway until she would arrange a table in a non-smoke family hall, and she went inside the restaurant.
I strolled in the hallway looking at the pictures on the walls; I was astonished with the appearances and the lightening. Al-Ameer Restaurant was sufficiently decorated with a Lebanese style. Although I am originally Lebanese, which this made me remembered my childhood in Lebanon.
Few minutes latter, a nice man (I learned later, he was the restaurant owner) came, welcomed me and my children, and walked with us to our table in a very elegant hall.
Luckily, our table was located in the corner. This helped me to saw all the gorgeous interior decorations. The hall was sufficiently decorated in Arabic style. The colored statues were standing in the corners as those displayed in a museum. The astonished pictures and paintings hang on the wall as those were displayed in an art museum. The embroidered mirrors in the walls portrayed the Arabic agriculture. The elegant chandeliers in the ceiling and the extraordinary lamps made me feel as if I were in a Middle Eastern Ancient Palace. Adding, the floor was covered in a fancy burgundy carpet. The tables were adorned with white tablecloths, and setup with linen napkins.
Believe me; I was impressed with all the beautiful views. I didn’t notice the waitress speaking to me until my son whispered in my ear. :” Mom; we are hungry, please order the food”.
The waitress put a batch of water and some cup on the table. She gave me the menu and waited to take our order. I discussed with my children what food they liked, and suggested to my daughter to select a boneless chicken. Finally after about five minutes of chatting and discussing; my children and I decided to select Al-Ameer main dishes:
The waitress said:” It is my pleasure to serve you. Please be patient with us to prepare delicious food for you”. She took the menu and vanished in the kitchen.
I thought it could be around ten minutes and they would bring the food, but it took more than forty minutes. My daughter finished reading her story. My older son talked with his friend on the cell phone and discussed with him about the math homework, and my younger son took a nap in his chair. Finally, the waitress came with big tray of fresh and healthy Lebanese food. I told her we waited a long time for the food, she said: “Please taste our food and decide if we deserve to take our time preparing it”. Also, she advised me to make a reservation before I came to the restaurant, and she apologized for my children and left with a warm smile.
Wow! Wow! She was right, the food was very good, the rice was exactly how it should be, and the meats were perfectly cooked. All the food tasted like home cooking rather than a restaurant cooking.
Let me start from the beginning. We got a basket of hot pita bread with half dozen of pickled cucumbers as appetizers. The pita bread was really good, warm, and freshly baked.
We got side dishes and main dishes, and both were competing in deliciousness. The side dishes were: Babaganoush; a grilled eggplant was flavored with lemon, red pepper and a touch of paprika. Taboli, Hummus, and Falafel were served with creamy yogurt sauce and strips of iceberg lettuce. (All are well known Lebanese food). Believe it or not, most of the Americans in Metro Detroit are familiar with the Lebanese food.
Main dishes were served with many types of food: Shish Tawook, grilled boneless chicken with garlic, Lamb Shawarma, Fattoush, fried kibbi, and rice. All the dishes were particularly well cooked meats and well marinated chicken.
The young waitress came to our table for many times, and asked if we need any help. She delivered some drinks for me, and pop for my children. Also, she changed the empty plates on the table.
When I finished my heavy lunch, the waitress came and offered me a free dessert; I selected a baklava, sprinkled with honey and nuts. It was delicious sweet to balance my salty meal.
My children were urging me to eat Arabic ice cream for dessert. I was hesitated to agree with them because I was on diet, but I changed my mind after I tasted one spoon. It was natural fruit ice cream, covered with a peanut’s powder.
“Now it is time to go home kids. If you are not tired I am”. While I was negotiating the departure time with my children, the waitress put a nice brown envelope on our table.
I opened the envelope and I read the receipt. I thought it would cost me much more expensive, but it was a reasonable amount for a family to spend a good time and to enjoy a nice dining experience. It cost me forty five Dollars plus five dollars tips for the waitress.
Please remember. Al-Ameer Restaurant has delicious food with reasonable price, and friendly waitresses. But the service takes a little bit longer than other restaurant because selections are cooked to order.
According to Detroit News Restaurant Guide; Al-Ameer is rated one of the four-star-restaurants in Michigan. The cuisine is Lebanese Middle Eastern with lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian entrees. Also, Al-Ameer Restaurant offers take out and catering
Concluding, it was a great experience for me and my children to go to that restaurant. In fact, we enjoyed our meal in “Al-Ameer” Restaurant. We were not just paying for the food; we paid to be treated as the preferred guest in a fancy dining room. For instance; the waitresses were so friendly with my children, my drink was never empty, and I felt satisfied with the food and the cozy warm atmosphere. If you are looking for all of those and more, then you should go to Al-Ameer restaurant.

bussines letter

October 26, 2009

Professor P.F. Potvin
Comp 227
University Of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI, 48128


Dear Professor. Potvin


Thank you so much for your help in the first quarter of this class (Composition 227- Fall 2009). You are an excellent teacher and have inspired me to continue learning with an open and positive mind. I appreciate all your hardships of teaching. In fact, you deserve excellent recommendations from all your students.


I am going to write some notes about the materials and the subjects that we covered this semester. Also, I would like to shed lights on some issues and suggestions for future improvements, which may help the students to do better in this class.

First, you selected the right text for this class. The Longman Writer’s Companion is a good book; students will have beneficial use of this text. Even after they finish the class, they can use it as a reference for writing in the future. It gives guidance for the student and helps them to know how to improve their grade in an academic writing manner. I follow the same instructions in this book with another class’s papers and projects.

Second, I enjoyed group discussions to the fullest; it is very supportive. I love the way we discussed the subjects and the materials in class. Each student feels free to talk about his/her opinion and the other students listen to the discussion. Actually, I did not experience a large group discussion in other classes. I was feeling shy to speak in front of other students. But your strategy of picking a student to speak and analyze the subject in a critical way encouraged me to participate in the discussion. Now, I can do it easily without any barrier.

Last, I highly appreciated your strategy in correcting our essay. Peer review and teacher review helps me to correct my errors, improve my essay, correct my grammar, and change the instruction of my essay.


I like to recognize some issues that concerned me and I am sure I will find the right responses from your side. In addition, I will add some suggestion to improve the course in future:
· I have some doubt to address that I understood the requirements of writing and compiling comprehensive journals, I reviewed the syllabus but it did not help. My concern urged me to ask. Am I on the right track?

· I hope you talk about the portfolio. What do we have to do? How can we organize it?

· I suggest that we have access to read other students’ responses and entries on Blogger Dash board and on C-tool discussion board. In this way, students will learn from other people’s experiences. Also they will increase their awareness of writing and creativity.

· for the future; I recommend expanding the class time to two hours per session, because it has great benefits for the students


Of course, your experience in teaching exceeds by far my experience. But, I hope that you consider my mentioned notes and recommendations as little hints to add on your excellent method of presenting the materials and conducting the class.
Once again, thank you so much for your time, and patience.


Sincerely,



Raghida Choucair
6572 Colonial Street
Dearborn Heights, MI, 48127

classical music

Clssical music is my favorite music, which it helps me to calm down, sleep , work, and to practice my daily activities in a normal way.

Usually,I move between two types; the traditional type of classical music and the modern type, Sometimes it comes with a wonderful sound, such as the persian music and the turckish music.

Book review "Dinning Out">

Book Reviews- "Dinning out"

1. The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine” This book is about very famous chef, Bernard Loiseau, who committed suicide because he failed to caramelizing cauliflower.
Audiences for this book are people who like to read and ask about the quality of food.
Detail: the chef Loiseau was suicide for a simple reason, he failed to have the people enjoy his caramelized cauliflower.

2 “Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise” Ruth Reichl, a restaurant critic in a NewYork Times, tells her experiences with the restaurant. Audience: People how is seeking for a respectful and truthful when they want to eat out.
Details: The book is wonderfully revealing about the double consciousness of the critic.
She Compares the restaurant world of New York to a theatre, with the diners and critics merely players in it.

3 “Turning the Tables: Restaurants from the Inside Out”: this book encourages people to eat in restaurants. The author criticizes those who denounce eating at restaurants.
Audiences: people how like to eat in the restaurants and they are restaurants’ fan.
Detail:” you are not intimidated or overwhelmed when dining out, enjoy your time and find a good atmosphere for your pleasure, ask for more plates and extra dessert and enjoy yourself”.

4“Oxford Encyclopedia - Food and Drink in America”: This encyclopedia gives some details about food ingredients, food history and food safety.
Audiences: people how like to know more information about the healthy food and the ingredients.
Details: “has been balanced by the Protestant tradition of making people feel guilty for not eating well.”

5“Culinary Encyclopedia”: This encyclopedia contains pictures and recipes of high-quality foods.
Audiences: People who like to eat a good food; they look for recipes and pictures.
Details: “to see what can be made elsewhere of the same idea”.

6“Taste: A Literary History”: the evolution of tasting food throughout history
Audience: people who like philosophical issues and maybe historian food.
Details: “An animal that eats and thinks must think big about what it is eating not to be taken for an animal.”

I would like to read The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, because this book gave me a positive reception of food and a new way of approaching restaurants critically. Usually, when I like to eat out; I look for some concerns. Such as, the quality of food must be healthy. The service must be good, and the people working there really care for me. As a reason, I am not just paying for the food when I go out; I am paying to be treated as a guest in a proper place.

2009 UMD Writing Awards -response

Raghida Choucair
Professor P. Potvin
Comp 227
9/28/09


2009 UMD Writing Awards
Department of Language, Culture, and Communication in University of Michigan – Dearborn honored the winners of the best student’s writers for 2009.
Writing Awards Ceremony is to celebrate with the best student’s writers in UM Dearborn for 2009. The reception took place in the hall 1030 CASL, UM-Dearborn, on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, at 5:00 pm.
It is very nice to celebrate with the winner students. It will encourage them to improve their writings. Also, it will encourage other students to enter the context next time.
I was impressed with the audiences. The chairman, the parents, and other people show their interesting of listening to the students’ poems or stories. They encourage the students to write and to improve their skills. It certainly will encourage other students to participate in the contest in the future.
It is very brave to read in-front of people and wait for their evaluation of your performance, considering that writing an essay may be easier than standing and presenting it in a public place. I can tell some winners in the ceremony had shaking hands and they almost lost their points. Some students were shy to read in-front of the audience. Hence, their articles were read and presented on their behalves by others. Some participants read very short poems while other students read long stories. Also, some winners read their works in a fast way.
I noticed that most of the participants had creative writings. In fact, this event encouraged me to write and to participate in coming contests. I was thinking it is hard to enter a writing contest because winners must be good writers and I am not able to contest with them. I believed that it would be very difficult for international students to be part of the contest, but after attending this event I feel I am able to be one of those writer winners in UM- Dearborn next time.
Finally I would like to send my proud congratulations to the winner students of the 2009 UM-Dearborn Writing Awards
Recommendation:
Winners must read slowly.
Winners should have good eye contact with the audience
Stick with the time limit. Do not exceed the time limit and do not make it too short and quick.
Read in way to attract the audience.
Read in a way that keeps the listener so excited to know what will happen next.
Use tone and voice changing when moving to an excited part
Keep the listeners attached to your voice tone, your words, and to your body’s language.