Mesogio's Means Fresh Seafood.

One recent sunny Saturday, a group of us were hankering for some fresh seafood and we decided to try a long established seafood eatery called Mesogio's here in Bucharest.  It's located on 49 Jean Louis Calderon, St. (Tel: 0727 239 239) but we went without reservations and didn't have any trouble getting a table, although it quickly filled up by 2:30.  As soon as you enter, you are taken by the attractive surroundings and quiet elegance.  The seafood bar has a generous selection of fresh choices which the waiter will weigh and price for you. I found the largest shrimp ever and included one in my appetizer oder along with some fresh mussels and spicy calamari.  Everything was expertly prepared and very tasty and the house bread is as soft and warm as can be.  It makes a great sponge for the various sauces and everyone raved about it.  This place isn't cheap but if you want very high quality seafood in a beautiful atmosphere, this eatery is worth a try.  Bon apetite!

                     

                                             Make your selection and off it goes to the kitchen.

                                                    Mesogio's interior is peaceful and elegant.

                                                                 Truly JUMBO shrimp.

                                                Salmon is an economical and tasty choice.

                                                               Grilled whole Dorado.

                                                            Mussels in white wine.

                                                            Spicy Calamari is a favorite and the sauce is worth sopping up with                            Mesogio's very fresh bread.

New Eatery Tao has Bejing Duck.

                                                     Crispy spring rolls with hot sauce make a great starter.

This little Chinese eatery is on my way home from work.  One day I went in to get some take-out and after perusing the menu I saw the Bejing duck.  I asked about the preparation and when the waitress described it, I knew it was similar to a very memorable one I'd had in London a couple of years ago.  The problem was, you had to order it one day in advance.  I ended up taking home some very delicious Chinese noodles with chicken and a cucumber and crab salad.  The food was delicious, so it wan't long before I got a group together, pre-ordered the duck and off we went.  Everyone enjoyed the whole experience and the duck was the star.  It was tender and juicy and the thin, warm pancakes along with the cruchy, cool cucumber/onion sides created a satisfying mix of textures and flavour.  The Chinese beer, Tsingtao, is a great partner with the spicy sauces offered and the whole meal is extremely satisfying and enough for two people to share. Finally, at 68 Ron an order and 10 Ron a large beer, the meal won't lighten your wallet too much.   干杯！(Cheers!)

                                                         Bejing Duck with pancakes.

                                                                 Vegetarian stir-fry.

                                                            Clean, simple and comfy.

                                                          The big guy: Tsingtao rules.

Eat Like an Egyptian.

                   Egypt's national fave, Koshari, with a pitcher of lemon garlic juice to pour on top.

                 The wonderful mezze including Baba Ghannoug, Tzatziki, Tehina and Tomaya

 The ubiquitous, affordable and always delicious grilled half chicken. Served with some falafel, tehina and fresh pita, you can't beat it with a stick.

 Sahlab or "white tea" made out of dried and crushed orchis mascula with a generous sprinkling of coconut, nuts, raisins and sugar.  It's sweet, hot and served at the famous 170 year old Fishaway cafe in Cairo's old market.

So good, it got posted twice! : O

                                                Freshly Grilled Dorada in Alexandria.

The wonderful Egyptian "pancake" or Fiteer.  Stuffed with cheese, veggies or meat, it's very much like a giant Mexican Quesadilla.

Delicious Egyptian-style lentil soup with garlic, coriander and cumin.  Spice it up with crushed red pepper and wash it down with a Stella 115. Bliss!

A classic offering from Fishawy's: Mint tea, lemon juice and Sahlab or "white tea."

Greetings foodies.  Let's break bread together--well, make that Pita. 

 I've just returned from Egypt and thought I'd like to share some of my better eating experiences. (What? Food news??)  I didn't know much about the cuisine of Cairo and environs before setting my sandals in the sand, but I am happy to report it was a lip smacking smorgasbord of savory delights.  Yessssss.

  I think the first meal we had set the tone.  It was a simple array of mezze, mezzeh or mezza.  No matter how you spell it (it's a Persian word in origin), it means you are in for some serious taste.  One of my favourites was the Baba Ghannoug, a paste of eggplant, tahina, garlic and spices that highlights any fresh pita it meets. I've had this dish before but the Egyptian twist (different spices?) brought it to a new level.  Speaking of pita, the bread served to us (known as Eish Masri) was almost always baked fresh and arrived at our table puffy, steaming and soft.  The disk-like pita makes a perfect scoop for dipping into the variety of dishes including hummous, Tehina (sesame paste) and the national dish of Egypt: Koshari.

  Koshari is a vegetarian's dream since it combines lentils, rice, small macaroni shaped pasta, and is topped with garlic-lemon juice and hot sauce.  The final touch involves a sprinkle of perfectly toasted onions.  Dig in!

  Another excellent dip was the Tomaya.  This is a whipped up, light concoction of garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.  It's offered here in Bucharest when you are eating Lebanese food but, once again, the Egyptian version was tastier.  I've got to try making it myself because it makes such a great addition to so many dishes.

  Last but not least, Egypt's most popular suds is called Stella 115 which I find ironic since the Belgium version is one of my favourites as some of my fellow beer-drinking friends know.  In any event, the Egyptian Stella is lighter, sweeter and a cold one goes really well with the spicy cuisines found everywhere.  Stella is only offered in a very few places so when we did find a shop, we stocked up the hotel room fridge.  Nothing was better than an icy cold Stella after a hot, dusty, noisy day of touring--OK, maybe two. Cheers!

Honey Hunting in Dambovicioara, Romania

Honey hunting in the hills of Romania came about as the result of a breakfast one morning while a bunch of us were staying at a small village Pensione. The hostess served a small dish of honey with our generous country-style breakfast and everyone liked it so much we decided to head out and find the source. We were given rough directions (a finger pointed towards the hills) and a description of a house. The locals were friendly and the finger pointing continued..."a little higher," "around the next bend," etc. and onward we marched. As we climbed higher, it started to "spit" and farm dogs barked at our "intrusion"but we were not to be deterred. Farm fresh "Miere" was the goal and damned if we would give up. The last slog was the highest and steepest but we could sense we were almost there...sure enough we spied a rustic apiary...isn't that what a bee farm is called? A few shouts from us and a very small woman appeared on the door step of a miniature house. She called for her husband and the jars of clear, golden sweetness were soon in our hands and for a country bargain: 18 Ron a hefty jar or about $6 Canadian. I'll take two and a couple of photos for the memory. I've been spreading it on my morning toast, dropping it by heaping spoonfulls into my tea and generally loving the smooth, sticky goodness of something worth hunting for.

It's Just Different Here.

After living just over a year here in Bucharest, I can properly say things in this city are different. It may not be the most attractive city I've ever lived in and it certainly doesn't win any points for the purest air or the cleanest streets, but it has something special and that might just be related to it's rough edges, hidden attractions and idiosyncrasies.

Some of the things I've noticed about life in Bucharest include the following: Cars park on the sidewalks and the concept of poop and scoop has not arrived yet; there are loads of inexpensive taxis everywhere; you can smoke pretty much anywhere, and people do; fur hats and coats are ubiquitous so if you feel strongly about PETA you probably don't want to come here; yes, there is a stray dog problem and they do open the garbage bags left out on the street; there are lots of beautiful parks; the Romanians love their meat and potatoes and their Ciorbas or soups, but the Turks have a strong influence here and there are Kebab and Shaorma places on almost every corner. All the food is cheap and delicious. I have found the Romanians to be very friendly especially if you make an effort to learn the language or offer up a smile when involved in a transaction. The street names are virtually impossible to pronounce; the area known as Lipscani is a treasure loaded with great little cafes, shops, clubs and restaurants. They have a number of very impressive and modern malls, if that's your thing, and IKEA is here, of course. The more I get to know the city the more I realize all the great things it has to offer. It will never be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are intrepid, and willing to take the good with the bad and the ugly, then you will probably enjoy this developing chip off the Eastern Bloc. Noroc!

Romaniacs!

Living in Bucharest for the past year has really opened my eyes to Eastern Europe and I intend to share some of my experiences with those of you interested in getting some insight into this quickly developing country of contrast--one not that long out of the grip of Communism. It's absolutely fascinating, educational and full of surprises--just the environment I thrive in. I will be sure to include lots of great pictures to go along with my tales...especially food related shots as I'm always intrigued by new cultural delights for the palate even if they involve lots of grease. Apparently the word hasn't wuite gotten out about the long term dangers of a high fat diet, smoking (everyone smokes!) and/or the political incorectness of wearing dead animals. So refreshing! So, stay tuned for upcoming posts from Andrea of Ro-MANIA!!!

Living in Prague is Making Sense!

I just got back from the grocery store and I think I'm getting the hang of it. Compared to my first uncomfortable and rather embarrassing foray, this was smooth as butta.

I pushed my 10 crown coin into the handle and released my cart from it's lock, I then grabbed a litre of Mleko from the shelf, ordered some "grilvany kure" (grilled chicken) without sounding like a total 'tard and made my way towards the veggies. I put a few mushrooms in a bag, placed them on the scale, did the touch screen thang, out pops the sticker price tag, and on it goes to the bag. (By the way, Czechs use decagrams, not grams for food--for example, 100 grams equals 10 decagrams or "deset deka." It took me quite a while to figure that one out! ) Then I went to the baked goods area, bagged a baguette, found some new foreign cheese on sale (appropriately stinky) and threw that into the cart as well. They have almost no boxed cereals and the imported ones are way expensive but they do have a huge selection of Museli so I grabbed the most delicious looking one and proceeded to the packaged soups where Knorr sells a respectable instant Goulash soup that just needs water. They have a nice selection of wines from California, Chile, Argentina, Australia, and local Moravian ones but I opted for a Cotes du Rhone from France. Last but not least, the check out counter...have money ready and bag your own stuff quickly! no holding up the line in this store unless you want the hairy eyeball from the locals. Take shopping cart back to lock up area, push in lock, out pops 10 crown coin and done! Phew!

So, before I close this epistle on getting my groove thang in Prague, I have a few more observations to add to my original ones.
All the bathrooms (toaleta) have motion sensor lights which turn on as you enter. Should you sit motionless on the toaleta for too long, you'll be pitched into blackness. The first time it happened, I was like, "who turned out the lights!?" Doy!

The cutlery and napkins will always be grouped together in a container on the table, not laid out on a placemat.

The beer is cheaper than water and much more delcious!

The waiter/waitress comes to your table at the end of the meal with his/her cash purse and adds up your meal individually unless someone is picking up the whole tab. The tip is usually included.

If you order condiments like mayonnaise or mustard, they'll charge extra. Same for the old bread basket.

Everyone smokes, even durng meals. The other night we were enjoying our Americky Burgers and some dude was puffin' away on a huge stogie. Ahhhhh, second hand smoke for dessert.

You can't go wrong with the soups! The other day I had the best chicken noodle soup of my life! (sorry mom) and it was 35 cz or $2 Cdn. Steal deal!

They take their dogs on the Metro. They also take their bikes, suitcases, baby strollers and anything else they feel like hauling along. Have shit, will travel!

Chocolate bars and chocolates are cheap, of good quality and plentiful! I have a small hoarde of Toblerone from Switzerland in the fridge--100 g bar is only $1.25 Cdn. I would never buy it before 'cause it was too expensive!

Ya, life in Prague is pretty sweet. : )