Review: Sequoia

Name: Sequoia

Type: Outdoor Restaurant

Location: Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt

Ambiance: 10/10

Food Freshness & Quality: 7/10

Food Taste: 6/10

Service: 8/10

Value for Money: fair, expenisve

Vegetarian Friendly: yes

Photo from here.

Sequoia is a gem. I would not consider it so much a culinary place but a place to take people to enjoy the view, relax and have a great time. The unofficial dress code of Cairo does not apply here, and many young women prance about in outfits common to a club in New York City. The restaurant is located at the North tip of Zamalek island, and consumes the entire tip to provide a panoramic view. The whole restaurant is located outside and is covered by large swaths of white fabric overhead. It is like being on a beachside paradise, all of the plush chairs and couches are covered in the same clean white fabric. It is packed most of the time so I highly recommend reservations. Having an attractive young lady can be persuasive even if the restaurant says that they are "full" because they are famous for have attractive Western clients.

Food is definitely a bonus to Sequoia, not the main feature. The menu is somewhat small, although allows for a wide range of dietary needs. They offer everything from mezze (which are delightful) to meat entrees to pastas to gigantic salads. Nothing is really outstanding or terrible, but I recommend starting with a round of mezze and be sure to have drinks and dessert. This is a go big or go home kind of place. To really impress guests order the fruit salad dessert. It comes in a giant cocktail glass on a bed of ice. The real gem as far as food is concerned is the sushi. Sequoia offers the full menu for Mori Sushi, the best sushi in Cairo, made on the spot and delivered by special sushi waiters. For the perfect experience I would recommend ordering the main course from the sushi menu. Even if you are not presented with the sushi menu, just ask for it. Finish off the night with some delightful sheesha, plentiful, inexpensive and well-tended to, it is a must-have. Sequoia has three types of servers, one for food and drinks, one for sushi, and one for sheesha. All the sheesha guys do is run around refilling coals and making sure you have an optimal sushi experience. I recommend tipping LE 5 at the end of the night for good sheesha service. A night at Sequoia will run you on average LE 60 -200 a person, but if you intend to order alcohol, this number can go way up. Worth the money spent.

Recipe: Basil Pesto

I make pesto pretty much weekly, and I have decided to share my not so secret recipe. This is designed to make either 2 medium pizzas or 4 pasta servings.

Ingredients:

Large Bag of Fresh Green Basil (about 1 Gallon)

2-4 cloves garlic

100 grams Parmesan cheese (better cheese = better pesto)

lemon juice (1 or 2 large lemons)

olive oil (a lot, get a bunch and use it later)

salt & pepper to taste

If you want smooth pesto, put about 1/2 cup olive oil and juice of one lemon in a blender, add other ingredients slowly.

If you want thick chunky pesto (for pizza) add everything at once, and add olive oil as needed to smooth it out. You will need to stop the blender frequently and stir it with a spoon. Trust me, your efforts will be rewarded.

If you prefer sweeter pesto add more cheese.

If you prefer brighter pesto add more lemon juice.

If you prefer more savory pesto add more garlic and olive oil.

Review: Maison Thomas

Name: Maison Thomas

Type: Pizza Parlor, Takeout

Location: Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt

Ambiance: 7/10

Food Freshness Quality: 8/10

Food Taste: 9.5/10

Service: 8/10

Value for money: very good

Vegetarian Friendly: yes

When people tell you that Maison Thomas has the best pizza in all of Egypt, they are not exaggerating. According to the signs, it has been around since 1922 and is currently undergoing some renovations to keep the place looking classy.

From the moment you enter you can smell the pizza cooking, like a good Italian restaurant. The seating is informal, with high top tables against the wall. The menu is impressive for such a tiny place, with pizzas ranging from cheese to smoked salmon. Pizzas range between LE20-50 depending on the toppings. The pizza has a delightful sweetness, which I have deduced to come from the cheese. The red sauce is mediocre. The crust is very different from anything I have previously consumed, and if I had to guess, I would say that there is beer in the dough - taste it for yourself! The service is prompt and polite, food excellent, and atmosphere relaxed. They also offer a wide range of pastas and desserts, which have also been recommended to me by more than a few people. On your way out, buy some meats and cheeses (and wine and beer) to take home to continue the enjoyable experience. Bon Apetit!

"Perfect" Foods

So, I always rant to Yong about certain foods that I think have been perfected, by nature or by human hands, meaning, that I do not think it can be improved upon. You could also call this my favorite foods list. This list is ever-expanding. If a fruit or vegetable is listed, it means that it is perfect raw (and more importantly, fresh). Please enjoy my list and include your comments:

Apple Cider (hot)

Avocado

Basil Pesto (fresh only)

Champagne (even the worst ones are delicious)

Cilantro / Coriander (fresh)

Corn Tortillas (ingredients: corn, water)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (also marinated)

Frozen Yogurt

Heavy Whipping Cream

Lemonade (lemon, water, sugar)

Moroccan Mint Tea

Nutmeg

Parmigiano Reggiano Parmesan Cheese

Pistachio

Pomegranate Juice

Thai Green Curry

Thai Iced Tea

Raspberries

Wild Blueberries

100 Foods Every Omnivore Needs to Eat

Well, I came across this list here, and decided I would see how well I am doing . . . note, I am a vegetarian and have made all of the non-veggie foods red. The ones I have tried are green, and TBD are in black.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Results:

I can eat 60% of this list.

I have eaten 28% of this list.

I have eaten 47% of the foods on this list that I can eat.

I have not eaten 32% of this list.

I have not eaten 53% of the foods on this list that I can eat.

Bread: The New "Must Have" in Japan

From the NYT.

Read the article here.

Review: L'Aubergine

Name: L'Aubergine

Type: Restaurant, Bar, Nightclub

Location: Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt

Ambiance: 8/10

Food Freshness & Quality: 9/10

Food Taste: 9/10

Service: 7/10

Value for money: good

L'Aubergine is Egypt's first and only vegetarian restaurant - this does not mean entirely vegetarian, this means that their menu comes in two halves, half vegetarian, half meat and seafood. They also serve a formidable amount of alcohol, which is nearly as expensive as a meal. The downstairs is a nicely-styled tavern atmosphere and the upstairs is a night club. I ordered the four mushroom dish. It was extremely delicious and surprisingly filling, and included a large plate with mushrooms cooked four different ways and a large portion of mashed potatoes in the center. Although I would hardly call it a balanced meal, it left me feeling full and content. The fresh orange juice was delicious as well. My boyfriend had the pasta with mussels and rated it highly, it came with four large mussels on top of a bowl of pasta with a light sauce, he was also satiated by the meal. The ambiance was very pleasant, the service slightly better than the usual mediocre service typical of Egypt, but most of all I was happy NOT to see a pack of sleezy young men - the bouncer does his job, and I would say that it looked safe and fun for both men and women. The prices were a bit high, but as a vegetarian it was worth it to finally have a menu suited to my tastes.