Archive for the ‘ 0-50 ’ Category

The Anatomy of a Pizza

20081021-motorino-margI spent much of last year gorging on pizzas. To be honest i have spent much of my adult life gorging on pizzas. I could go almost as far as to say that it is comfort food to me. Heck – in college I even worked for a couple years in a pizza joint. Even though my contribution in the establishment was restricted to the delivering of pies in the used golden saturn that i had bought for 3000 dollars! Which mind you was a much harder job than actually making em’… considering that it was in extreme weather conditions of Worcester Massachusetts, and to a lower-middle working class client base that barely tipped and the odd student dorms that never tipped!

But even in my humble beginnings as a foodie in college, i always knew a good pizza from a bad one. Continue reading

Best Biryani in Dubai

So judging by the mostly hole in the wall posts on the blog so far you would think that either i’m super broke, or a reverse snob that shuns finer things in life. Perhaps both might be true to a certain degree. So perhaps i am routing for the underdogs here, even though that is not my intention! (However if you do want a comprehensive fun list of back alley eats in dubai then you must check out ILiveInAFryingPan.com – its one of the best foodie blogs iv come across). Truth be told, I do enjoy a fancy schancy meal once in a while. In fact Verre at the Hilton (now called Table 9) used to be my favorite restaurant at one point, but i dont feel the urge to post a blog about it as there are already enough people out there writing about the Zumas and Okkus. Continue reading

Dhansak and Bombay duck

Put 6 people from Bombay in a room and the conversation inevitably turns to food. Everybody in Bombay has a favorite place for everything – dosas, vada pav, ice cream, sizzlers, street sandwiches, pani puri, punjabi dhabas, pav bhaji, frankies, idlis and a long list of private caterers for just about anything. It might have something to do with the sheer size of the city and it’s population that makes it increasingly difficult to drive across town to try a new joint. So most of the time, you end up championing your neighborhood jaunts. Townies swear by Kobe sizzlers, Rustam ice cream, Shiv Sagar idlis, Goriawala cakes, Mahesh Lunch Home…. and suburbians love their Yoko sizzlers, Dynasty Chinese, Brownie Point Cakes, Amar Juice Centre idlis and Gajali for seafood. Continue reading

Goan paradise in Dubai

I was thinking about what could be the perfect title for this post. It would be an understatement to say i love Goan food. In fact in college I had used my Goan prawn curry on several occasions to earn brownie points in pursuit of ‘you know what’. When i turned vegetarian in 2000, i managed to stay that way for eight months untill i went to Goa – where the smell of prawn curry and rice made me fall off the wagon. That was the beginning of my pescatarian journey which lasted for almost 10 years before i turned fully vegetarian again. Continue reading

Zaatar W Zeit – The evils of franchise

I’v been a big fan of Zaatar W Zeit. Its makes the staple labanese mankousheh into a fun hip concept. Its probably what Micky D’s is to americans in terms of being good reliable confort food – only much healthier. Over the years their menu has evolved a bit to include rolls, pizzas and stuff, and they have started offering multi-grain dough which is a big plus for lots of people. Continue reading

Vietnamese food in JLT

I went to uni in Worcester, Massachusetts where Vietnamese was comfort food. There were 3 restaurants (all owned by the same extended family) within a 1 km radius. For 4 dollars and change you could stuff your face and have leftovers for the late munchies. So when I moved to dubai, I was naturally disappointed that Hoi An was the only vietnamese restaurant in town. Now Hoi An might be a nice restaurant in its own right – but its definately not the Vietnamese food i’v been used to. (for those who don’t know Hoi An – its a high end French Vietnamese eatary at the Shangri-La on Sheikh Zayed Road)

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Pakistani budget eatary in Deira

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Over the past few years Dubai has seen a spurt of Pakistani Restaurants crop up all around town. Notable ones being BBQ delight (which has got a couple branches now including Karama & JBR Walk), Bundoo Khan at Clover Creek Apts in Deira, Student Biryani and of course the evergreen (well barely green since the only thing green is the stale salad) Kebab Rolls in Barsha. Daily has had a bit of a revival, albeit with mixed reactions, with a branch in Barsha as well as the flagship on Oud Mehta. And then you have the Wrap and Roll Handi in Barsha which does the dhaga kebab with some panache.
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Authentic Moraccan Food at unbeatable prices

After having heard about Mauley Youssef, the new-ish Moraccan eatary on Jumeirah Beach Road, we finally made it down there. Quant, tiny little roadside eatery with couple tables outside and a few more cramped inside. Considering that its the beginning of what seems like a long hot summer, we were surprised to see the outside table/s fully seated. Despite a couple of cool air blowers i would not be one of them tables! Continue reading