Thursday, July 05, 2007

The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt


This is the kind of story about Egypt that I really love...well, I liked the crocodile a lot even if it may or may not be absolutely true. And I'm more than willing to toss my vote in with Scott Macleod for Lucille's cheesburger. It may not look like anything special, but Lucille's is the only place where I will eat a cheeseburger. Their apple crumble pie with vanilla ice cream is rather bewitching as well.

I was up at 6 am this morning to take a family of four who had been staying with me for a few days to the airport to catch a plane to Sharm el Sheikh. They wanted to get a sense of Cairo that wasn't bounded by the walls of a hotel, so they stayed in my guesthouse for a while, enjoying the heat and my pitiful excuse of air conditioning, being woken at 7 am by the grooms preparing breakfast for the animals, and trying out some of the local family restaurants. I sent them to Abou Sid in Maadi for dinner last night because they wanted some Egyptian cooking. Abou Sid is a chain of family restaurants that may just serve some of the best Egyptian food in the country, aside from a number of grandmothers that I know.


As I was driving back to the farm, I realised that I have some errands to do in Maadi and decided to treat myself to lunch at Lucille's as a reward for going into town. So imagine my delight to run across this article in my Google alerts. I promptly emailed it to my kids and some of their friends for whom Lucille's was a regular hangout.

Who wouldn't like to live in the country with the best hamburger in the world?

copyright 2007 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Anyone Hear The Tick Tock?



Ok, I can't verify the headline but the news stories caused great hilarity and rejoicing around here. Apparently a 16 ft crocodile attacked the boats of some fishermen such as these, then killed and ate a dog, and moved off in the Nile. Crocodiles haven't been seen around Cairo in a long time, certainly not since the High Dam. There are plenty in Lake Nasser above the dam, but this is the first I've heard below the dam. There are pet stores that sell baby crocodiles and possibly this is one that someone decided to let loose....like the stories about the sewers of New York...except that the Nile is the natural habitat and without people hunting for it, a croc would be quite comfy. You think that anyone is going to celebrate the return of an endangered species?


copyright 2007 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Sunday, July 01, 2007

So What Did You Have For Dinner Today?

If it was fish, it probably wasn't what you think.....

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00026&segmentID=7


copyright 2007 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani