I’m back from my trip. While I had more on my mind than food and drink this trip, I think we ate reasonably well. (Actually, I think this is the first vacation I have ever taken that wasn’t at least 90% about food and wine). That said, I understand some of the criticisms of the local cuisine. These are my thoughts, with a caveat that I am no expert in the foods of the region (I have Lebanese or Turkish takeout a time or two and month, and make a decent hummus, but that is about it as far as qualifications). Forgive my spelling throughout! Food: In general, there was significant sameness in the food at many restaurants. OK by me, as I liked what they had, but almost every place started with mezze, and it was almost always some combination of 2-4 of hummus, rice stuffed vine leaves, babaganoush, tahini, and “country salad” of cucumbers, onions and tomatoes. Next was often kabob or kofta. Some places had more on the menu (often stuffed pigeon or tagine, local stews that are only slightly similar to the Moroccan dish of the same name), but we even found sometime that these were not actually available. On the street, we tried koshari, which ranged from simple pasta (spaghetti and ditalini together) with spicy tomato sauce to deluxe versions with chickpeas, lentils, fried onions and more. It is a bit of an odd, carb-heavy combo, but I liked it. There was also falafel, which went by the name ta’amaya in Cairo only, and foul, which reminded me a bit of refried beans. We also tried baklava-like sweets from carts which were very nice, if you like that kind of thing, but messy to eat on the street. Bread was an interesting item. In Cairo, we got soft, white pita with most meals, but were occasionally disappointed to see western bread. In Luxor, however, the pita was much more rustic. It was like the difference in Paris between a baguette and a rustic country loaf. Freshness was occasionally an issue, but we hit at least one or two places with great rustic pita in Luxor. We also enjoyed snacking on cumin breadsticks from the local bakery there. Egyptian rice was excellent. It was medium-to-short grained with a nice, sticky texture, and was served mainly as a side dish for stews. I must look for some in New York. One observation, which our friends in Cairo confirmed was characteristic, is that no place seems to do everything well. For example, Ali Baba in Luxor had great bread, but the remainder of the meal was on the dull side. Of the mezze, each place did a few well and a few were forgettable. Drinks; I had half-thought I would skip the alcohol in a Muslim country, but it was so readily available that I gave it a shot. We found three local beers: Stella was the lightest, with a unique aftertaste that reminded me a bit of Heineken. Sankara was the next up, and to me the cleanest and best. Meister was a heavier, and more alcoholic lager, reminding me a little of Carlsburg. For wine, Omar Khayyam red tasted like airline wine, passable at best, and a glass local sparkling wine was awful (although it might have been open too long. There was some mousse, but the wine was severely oxidized). Fruit juices were great. Although I found the limoon (lemonade) a bit sweet at times, watermelon juice was very refreshing. Mango was very thick and pulpy – you could spoon it out. Strawberry came with juice and whole fruit, served with a straw and a spoon. Sometimes the juices were blended in a way that they were quite foamy. Not icey, but topped with a medium-thick, stable foam – maybe blended with egg whites? Prices Things were cheap, very cheap, even though I believe we often paid 2-3 times the local price where prices were not set (at street carts, for example, we would often be quoted 2LE for what a local got for 1LE.). A snack on the street would be 1-3 LE, with a bit less than 6LE / $. Dinner entrees might run 20-40LE in many places. A bottle of water (1.5L) was 2LE in Cairo. The asking price in the Luxor tourist areas was 10LE or more, but 3LE seemed to clear the market if you indicated you knew the fair price. In some of the fancier places, we did manage to run up bills of maybe 300LE, $50, but for 4 people with food and drinks, some of these seemed bargains. At Mohamed Rafia, a kilo of tiny, delicate lamb loin chops from the grill was considered outrageous by local standards at 90LE ($15). Try getting anywhere near that price in a US restaurant! Specific Recommendations The best meals we ate in Cairo were at Abu el Sid, the restaurant at Al Azhar Park, and Mohamed Refia. Abu el Sid was a well decorated, modern restaurant in Zamalek. The mezze were very good, including a lamb and pine nut meatball, and I tried the molokhiya, a Jew’s mallow and garlic soup that I liked very much, despite the somewhat “slimey” texture of the mallow (think okra and spinach crossed). I can’t recall (or find) the exact name of the beautiful new spot in the Al Azhar Park, but we enjoyed open-air dining and a wider array of mezze, including excellent grilled chicken livers with lemon. Refia was a open-air grill house in a dark, souk-like alley, with unbelievable grilled meats (the lamb chops, mentioned above, might be the best I’ve ever had), served with a non-alcoholic bloody Mary referred to as “Egyptian whiskey.” (I asked a local who was with us for the real name, and he indicated there was no other name.) An awesome setting for late-night (midnight) dining on a festival night. In Luxor, good food was harder to find. We tried a few places in town, but most were hit or miss, acceptable but not more. We did find, “Chicken Hut,” which I assume was the Happy Chicken place referenced above. Oddly, no chicken was available, just very nice falafel and foul. In Sharm el Sheikh, we had only one night out, but I liked Tam Tam just off the main strip in Na’am Bay very much. We ate outdoors, with very nice mezze, generous portions, and great local music. In general, Sharm is all flash, sort of an Egyptian Vegas-by-the-sea. Go for the beach or diving, but this is not Egyptian culture. Our hotel in Luxor, Al Moudira, was amazing. It is smaller hotel, with a luxury compound-like feel. The rooms are huge and well-decorated, and the outside dinning area was beautiful, as were the gardens and pools. Service was excellent. The restaurant was a nice place to eat, but was a blend of foods, leaning more to the West. It was perfectly nice, with a menu that changed daily, but it would not stand out in a major Western city. You probably eat better there than elsewhere in Luxor, and the setting is great, but it is not the food you have traveled 5000 miles to try. Non-food thoughts: You can’t miss a felucca (sailboat) ride on the Nile in Luxor, especially for 30LE / $5 per hour. Despite the fact we were going to one archeological site after another, I was impressed by the variety of sights and feels. My favorites temples were Hapshetsut and Medinet Habu (although nothing against the big guns of Luxor and Karnak), and the Valley of the Nobles tombs were a nice contrast to the Valley of the Kings. The hike from Hapshetset to the Valley of the Kings was great, if a little hot and dusty. The tourist souk at Khan el-Khalili was perfectly nice, but we had a real adventure at the Friday flea market under the autoroute, along a nasty abandoned railway / dump, near the old cemeteries. Based on the stares we got, I think we were the first Westerners to find this huge place, and I am not sure everyone would be 100% comfortable there. Among the more interesting items for sale, I passed on the various live snakes, but I did find a World War II tank shell that had been turned into pharaoh-themed trench art. Final Thought For what it is worth, I ate and drank everything, including the salads and fruit juices. Bottled water was my only nod to food safety. No problems for me, although my wife wasn’t 100% by the end. Your mileage may vary.
