Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- When Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan came to Washington recently, it was Philippe Massoud's restaurant Neyla that provided the food for the lunch in her honor. The astonishingly beautiful young royal rose urged Westerners and the peoples of the Middle East alike to focus on their similarities, not their differences. "Unless we succeed in understanding each other in depth, we will be in danger of widening the gap between us." Advertisement Philippe, watching from the wings, took her words to heart. Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of a renowned hotelier who built the Summerland Hotel -- site of several hostage releases and exchanges -- he grew up with war. The family was evacuated from their apartment opposite the Holiday Inn where one of the early battles took place, when he was only 4. Advertisement For the next six years, they became, as he puts it, "refugees in our own hotel." It was an extraordinary experience. Theirs was not the only family sheltering. "There were Christians and Muslims. It was a microcosm of a united city, a mini all-compassing peaceful area of Beirut." The hotel became a focus of furtive activity, a haven from the war. "We were very, very busy because of the war. People would sneak out under the bombs, bribing militia to cross the border to get to the hotel." Philippe learned then how to make the best of living life under difficult conditions. "Sometimes," he says with a wry laugh, "food would run out. There would be nothing in the refrigerator except caviar to eat with scrambled eggs." In defiance of the horror around them, they would fly in oysters from Paris. Outside, the family, which was Maronite, was persecuted by fundamental Muslims for being Christian, and by Christians for living on the Muslim side. In 1985, he arrived on holiday in the United States to stay with an aunt and uncle. Shortly before he was due to fly back, his father called and forbade him to return. A year later, his father was assassinated by fundamentalists, one among the moderates of both sides to be killed over the years. Advertisement Philippe attended high school, an enthusiastic member of the football team. After graduating, and drawn both by childhood memories of passing through the hotel kitchen filled with smells of baking croissants on his way to school, and the innate recognition from his childhood that "food is where everyone forgets the negatives of what is going on around them," Philippe trained to go into the restaurant business. After opening a restaurant in Marbella, Spain, where he discovered a love of Spanish food and culture, he went, in 1994, to New York. Now he finds himself, since 1998, in the heart of downtown Washington, conjuring a Mediterranean sunshine cuisine from recipes he and his team developed following a 40-day visit to the Lebanon. And he is a man with a new mission. From April, he is launching what he calls Cooking For Peace classes, bringing groups of 10 in to experience Middle East cuisine. The culture of a region can be learned through experiencing its food, and he wants, he says, taking the words of Rania, to "enthuse people with what it means to bridge. Many Middle East people who are here have helped build this country. They are the modern day Irish." Advertisement Call the restaurant and ask about Cooking For Peace classes. And, in the meantime, try the two Neyla recipes that follow. Recipes serve 4 Fresh Mozzarella Salad 1 pound Heirloom tomatoes, cut in half 4 tbs fresh basil, chopped in fine strips ½ pound bocconcini mozzarella 4 ounces baby arugula 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil 2 tbs lemon juice 4 tbs aged Balsamic vinegar ½ tbs cracked black pepper In a small bowl, mix all ingredients well and serve. Grilled Delmonico Steak 4x10 ounce Beef Rib Eye Steak 4 tbs 5-Peppercorn mix ½ pound oven roasted Fingerling Potatoes 20 each Asparagus stalks 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil 10 each Kalamata olives split in half 10 each peeled oven roasted pearl onions 1 tbs minced parsley ½ pound split Heirloom tomatoes 3 ounces lemon juice 1 tbs salt & pepper 3 tbs fresh thyme 3 ounces minced garlic Rub steak on both sides with peppercorn mix and cook to desired doneness. Toss potatoes with half of the oil, parsley and some salt and pepper to taste. Place in pan and oven bake at 350F approximately 10 minutes, depending on size. Grill steak to desired temperature, then slice into quarter inch slices. Advertisement In a sauté pan add olive oil and sauté asparagus, olives, onions, tomatoes, thyme and garlic. Sweat ingredients, and add lemon, cook for additional 1 minute and remove from heat. Place potatoes in center of plate. Spread asparagus around plate, place steak atop the potatoes, and top with sautéed vegetables. Neyla -- A Mediterranean Grill, 3206 N Street NW, Washington DC, 202 333 6353.
