Dateline: Nubia

A lot of the meals we ate in Egypt contained many of the same elements. Whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner, there was likely to be a variety of breads, small dishes of olives, pickled veg, hummus, yogurt, fresh fruit, tomatoes, cucumbers, and more; plus plates of cold cuts and sliced cheeses.

Breakfast was likely to include grilled tomatoes topped with cheese, scrambled eggs, omelettes, beef or chicken sausage, hot and cold cereal, and fuul -- mashed fava beans, which you can self-season with red pepper, cumin, salt, lime juice and oil. Properly seasoned fuul is very tasty, though sometimes it was served in dishes labeled "foul," "fool," "fowl" or "crashed beans," none of which sound especially enticing.

Typical main courses for lunch and dinner include kofta (ground beef or lamb grilled as a kebab) or chicken, served with rice and veg. Fish is occasionally an option.

It took me a while to notice I was eating basically the same foods every day, because each cook put a unique spin on the ingredients and seasonings.

One example that really stands out is a barbecue luncheon served on an island in the middle of the Nile, catered by our hotel, the Basma in Aswan (right). Set and setting undoubtedly had a lot to do with my enjoyment of this particular meal -- seated in the shade at a beautifully appointed table within sight of the Nile on a gorgeous day -- but so did the way the chef handled the seasonings and the stove.

We spent the morning riding camels up to explore the ruins of San Simeon Monastery (circa 6th century AD), then visited a Nubian village where I wish I had bought a kora. Then our Nubian boatman motored us through the reeds in a scene that more than one of us compared to "The African Queen." It was a fun-filled morning, and in spite of the nice snacks provided at the Nubian village, I was actually hungry.

Once on the island, we sat at linen-draped tables under a pergola and dined on a selection of salads including spicy pickled vegetables, herbed olives and smoky baba ganoush. This chef seasoned very generously with black pepper and garlic. The main dishes included sea bass grilled in foil with tomatoes and peppers, crisp grilled chicken and cubes of tender beef. Cinnamon rice was provided, along with the usual white variety. Every bite was a delight.

I'm certain there was also dessert. There's a slight chance I may have skipped it, as the chicken was so good seconds were practically a necessity.

Four-star(ch) dining

Our fearless leader, Madame Mumtaz, loved to take us on "discoveries," to increase our understanding of how the other half (or the other 99 percent) lives. One such discovery was a restaurant in Aswan favored by locals where we dined on koushari.

The modest two-story restaurant had the square footage -- and the ambience -- of some of my favorite New York destinations such as Sirtaj, Margon and Tajin. Same decorator, too: Formica tables, fluorescent lights, scarred vinyl tile floors. Like the meals served by the aforementioned faves, koushari is starchy, served in abundant portions and reasonably priced (I'm guessing about the last -- Madame Mumtaz treated).

Koushari is mainly pasta tossed with beans, lentils, chickpeas and other legumes. I suspect the variety and proportions vary according to what the cook has on hand. It's as spicy as you want to make it -- the food is served with lime and garlic sauce and a snappy red-pepper sauce on the side.

There's something about the multiple starches that had a comforting effect. A lot of the food in Egypt somehow brought to mind the cozy food mom used to make, though I doubt that my mother -- excellent cook that she was -- ever heard of baba ganoush or could have gotten away with serving eggplant at virtually every meal.

Rice pudding was offered for dessert. There's an extremely short list of foods I don't eat. I regret to say that rice pudding is on that list. I hated to offend the honor of the chef, but I was so overserved, foodwise, for so many days, I just couldn't go for it. However, the rice-pudding aficionados in the group gave it their stamp of approval.

Dateline: Cairo

As I've probably mentioned before, my idea of a perfect meal is a few bites of a lot of different dishes. That preference means Egyptian dining is ideal for me, though the abundance of choices -- and the delightful seasonings that guarantee I'll want more than a few bites of each -- mean a light meal is almost impossible.

The lunch we enjoyed at Andrea, which we visited on the way to Sakkara, is an outstanding example. We started with multiple "salads": baba ganoush, hummus, tahini, beets, bean salad, cabbage with a tangy mustardy dressing, and baskets of hot pita fresh from the clay oven. Next, french fries and a couple of meatballs -- crunchy on the outside with juicy centers, followed closely by grilled chicken, rice and veg.

The chicken was remarkable. We had seen and smelled dozens of them spinning slowly on rotisseries as we entered the courtyard. The scene would delight the heart of any ace barbecuer. Since I try to be somewhat health conscious, I'm usually a skin chucker. But this skin was sublime: crunchy, seasoned with lots of salt, pepper, garlic and fresh oregano. The meat directly under the skin was crisped to an almost jerky-like consistency -- smoky, chewy and delicious. The spices penetrated the meat down to the bone.

Somehow I had room for sweet green-fleshed melon to end the meal. Or maybe I just wanted to linger a little longer in the beautiful courtyard, surrounded by adobe style buildings. Reed matting overhead shaded us from the sun, as we relaxed amidst the fragrant flowers. Another magical meal in Misr.

Dateline: Aswan

"The better the view, the worse the cuisine" seems to be some kind of unwritten restaurant law. Think of every top-floor revolving restaurant you've ever been to, or any Chart House. If they can pull you in with some other element, they can build a clientele without having to rely on the food.

Nubian Home Restaurant is a stellar exception to the rule. Situated atop one of Aswan's highest hills, Nubian Home has a stunning three-sided view, overlooking the Nile, the city's skyline with its domed basilicas and towering mosques, Elephantine Island, the Temple at Philae, ruins of 11th-century fortifications, Aga Khan's tomb, and even the home of Egyptian pop star Mohammed Mounir.


To spend a pleasant hour or two at this vantage point watching feluccas and motorboats ply the Nile would be reward enough. An edible meal would be a nice extra. But the four courses served to our group at Nubian Home ranked among the best meals we had during two weeks of feasting in Egypt.

As with many Egyptian meals, this luncheon feast began with a selection of cool salads: white beans, chickpeas, and potatoes with a light mustard dressing. Tahini was provided for dipping chunks of light wheat bread, which was dusted with coarse whole-wheat flour. One of our fellow travelers commented that although the bread wasn't warm, it hadn't been out of the oven very long.

The next course consisted of three tagines -- earthenware dishes full of okra, eggplant, and meatballs, each tender and tasty in a different style of tomato-based sauce. I didn't expect to have much interest in the main course: grilled chicken with cous cous and crisp-tender vegetables. However, it was so excellently prepared and attractively presented, I almost ate the whole thing. That left no room for dessert: fresh whole bananas and peaches. I tucked a piece or two in my bag, in case I was ever hungry again.

The staff was welcoming, service efficient and nonintrusive.

As if the food and view were not enough, the Nubian Home even had some scarves and souvenirs for sale. A poly-sensual experiance, as MBTP might say.

Dateline: Giza

In a post earlier this year, I mentioned that it doesn't surprise me that a wonderful feast for two can be had for an investment the size of a week's unemployment check. What's more amazing is to be served a quite good meal that costs no more than an hour or two of minimum wage.

I had an exposure to the extreme end of that spectrum recently at Felfela, a take-out stand practically in the shadow of the pyramids. Falafel with tahini on pita can be had for a single Egyptian pound (exchange rate: 5.62 pounds to a buck).

Egyptian falafel is made of ground fava beans, rather than the more common chickpeas, blended with spices including fresh coriander leaf (a.k.a. cilantro), parsley, lime juice and spices. The crispy-fried Felfela version was drizzled with tahini and tucked into light, fresh pita. Another version Cousin and I tried featured tender, garlicky grilled eggplant on the same pillowy pita.

Madame Mumtaz, our fearless leader, suggested we order our falafel without salad (garnishes of tomato and lettuce). Several people in our group went for the full treatment without ill effect.

We enjoyed a tasty, satisfying dinner for two for less than the cost of the largest Starbucks latte. Cheap at twice the price.

Dateline: Luxor

Libra Zebra reports in from her Egypt adventure, and appears to be eating well:

"We got a 4:30 wake-up call to be ready in time for our Egyption Farmhouse Breakfast. It was still pitch dark at 5 when we took a motor boat across the Nile from our hotel, walked down a narrow gangplank and up a little hill overlooking the river. The area was enclosed on three sides with fabric hangings and the ground was covered with Oriental carpets. We sat on low stools around two round tables were set with crisp linens. A brass tray in the center of the table held olives, cucumber, tomatoes, baba ganoush, feta and tahini. A galabeya-clad gentleman passed two types of bread fresh out of a kiva-style earthen oven, and poured fresh-squeezed orange juice. Cousin compared it to a scene from the Arabian Nights.

As the stars faded and the sky brightened, we feasted on an assortment of cheeses and cold cuts, omelets prepared to order, cereals, fuul (a lentil dish kind of the texture of refritos, which you can season to taste with ground chilis and cumin), sausages, fresh and dried fruit, Egyptian rice, yoghurt, pastries, and more. What a feast! Lots of different tastes and textures to sample. I couldn't begin to try them all, but I could have happily stayed there all day to try.

The sun rose over the Nile as birds chirped in the rustling trees surrounding our little slice of paradise. A meal we'll never forget."