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!