Cairo food scene, pretty sad

I've never traveled to any place where the food has been so, ehh.

I'm a self-proclaimed foodie who not only kept a food blog in NYC, but takes cooking classes in every place I visit. I love food.

I ate my way through Thailand, with its delicious pads, curries and flavors. China was one great meal after another, introducing me to dim sum, hot pots, XO sauce, and Paris Baguette. In Vietnam I fell in love with pho and summer rolls. India, the land of curries, naan breads, and how can I forget my all time favorite, pani puri? Morocco had me salivating with its couscous and tajines, and that fabulous Mechoui Alley in Djemma al Fna. I tried camel in Morocco, kangaroo in Australia, beef hearts, roasted chicken, and ceviche in Peru, and I only need to mention "France and Italy," to summarize their selection of deliciousness. Whenever I travel, I love to explore cultures through their food.

But here in Cairo, I am living in the world capital of mediocrity. Everything here is just OK, and the cuisine holds no exception to that standard. Most restaurants will try to get the general idea of the dish they are reproducing, but without trying to make it a great dish. It's just OK. Although it is a lot like NYC where you have so much competition for all these restaurants and international cuisines, unlike NYC where everyone is trying to be the best, Egyptians are OK with just OK.. This is a city where every restaurant makes the most delicious sounding food, and usually in fabulously designed spaces, and then it is presented in front of you in the saddest way.

Paninis aren't pressed, and aren't oozing out cheesy goodness. Macaroons are stale. French fries are soggy. I haven't walked into a single bakery where anything was freshly baked. Every pastry has looked sad, tired, and old. Baguettes are either too hard and crumbly, or too soft and chewy. Pastas are always overcooked and swimming in pools of cheese sauce completely lacking in flavor. Pizzas are bland, bagels are no better than Lender's bagels. Cakes are all the same, spongy, blahness; and popcorn in the movie theaters is always stale and under seasoned. I once was super excited to find my favorite brunch, Eggs Benedict, only to receive a piece of salmon and hard boiled eggs on 2 stale pieces of baguette with mayonnaise on the side. I was heart broken. My girl friend and I were so excited to have some Mexican food, but when the food arrived, it was just OK. I spent so much money on the tiniest, blandest sushi rolls. And yet, all these restaurants have the audacity to charge a ridiculous amount, for little quality. I imagine that the only reason why these restaurants and shops are getting away with it is because of the snobbism associated with, look, I just bought a 30 LE pastry, and I don't even know what this is supposed to taste like, so it's all OK to me.

Although there are a handful of great restaurants that I frequent on a cycle, generally, dining out in Cairo is one continuous let down after another. It's my fault for getting my hopes up, but I just love to go out for dinner. It's unfortunate that I'm not finding things held to any kind of standard that is either acceptable, or appropriate for the prices they're charging. I'll pay a lot for a good meal, but it's not OK to pay a lot for crap.

Cairo is such an expensive city to go out in, more than NYC. When you consider what the average person makes here to what the average restaurant charges, it's insane. Some prices are comparable to what we pay in NYC, so just imagine how much this is for the average Egyptian! But at home, you could get a great meal at any price. And more often than not, the best meals are the cheap ones! In the East Village, I met up with my girl friend every couple of weeks at our favorite 50% off sushi restaurant. We'd spend $10 for 3 rolls, soup, and salad. Here, I spent $30 or 200 LE for blahness. Or there was Smac, or Artichoke Pizza, or Mamouns, or curry row on 6th street, all with their fantastic $8 meals. Or how about the salad bar at Whole Foods, or dim sum at my favorite, Jing Fong, down on Elizabeth St, that's never more than $15 pp. Or pho on 32nd, another $8 bowl of noodle soup. I mean, the options were endless, and I never had to spend a lot of money at all for a great meal. But in Cairo, the food generally sucks, and it isn't cheap.

These sentiments are equally shared with my fellow expat friends, and this is often a topic of conversation as we are eating a disappointing meal. Just imagine how it may feel to be away from home and so looking forward to that favorite dish, only to be served something that doesn't even resemble it, let alone taste like it. Going out is such a huge part of having a social life, and thank God the company is always good, because the food is just another depressing let down after another, especially when the bill comes.