We went for the fledgling democracy, but stayed for the stuffed pigeon.

A couple of weeks ago we took the subway downtown in search of real Egyptian food. We went to a little place called  Felfela. It was a pretty cute place and the food was decent. I got meatballs and Koshari.  Koshari is an Egyptian dish of rice, lentils, garbanzo beans, and pasta. They pour a tomato and garlic sauce on it and top it with fried onions. It is common food in Egypt and you can find it just about anywhere.  It is nothing spectacular, but it is good stick to your ribs food. 

My food was alright, and the girls seemed happy with their choices.  My youngest loves the local preparation of lentil soup and my older daughter is always happy when she can have spaghetti with meat sauce. I wish that my husband could have said the same about his meal.  He had something more daring in mind.

Ever since we watched the Anthony Bourdain Egypt episode, he has been wanting to try stuffed pigeon, a local specialty. When his plate came to the table, he licked his lips in anticipation of what he expected to be a life changing meal.  His experience was nothing like the show, however. He dined on a tough, gamey bird stuffed with lord only knows what while the bird's friends and relatives watched from a nearby cage.

When my older daughter realized that my husband was dining on a "rat with wings" she was at first appalled and then she got the giggles.  She kept glancing at the cage nearby and laughing.  We were all cracking up by the end of the meal.  Even my husband laughed as he choked down bites of squab that seemed more of a burnt offering than a culinary one.

On our way out we stopped to watch the cook make falafel. Then the girls posed with this incredibly creepy statue of a man smoking shisha.   

With bellies full of rock dove and regret, we headed back to Ma'adi on the Metro.  We picked up the subway right next to a side of Tahir Square you don't see in the media... The side where they sell t-shirts emblazoned with images of Sponge Bob, Che Guevara, and the martyrs of the Egyptian Revolution without even a hint of irony.

Cheers,
Jenn


Here are the Anthony Bourdain Egypt videos in case anyone is interested.  There is a segment about the pigeon near the end of the first video.. and he talks about Kusharie at the end of the first video and beginning of the second.  Enjoy!