The restaurant covers three floors and each has a long counter like you see behind Carter in this picture. We sat on the second floor and during the meal we could see them bringing up huge vats of the different elements that make up koshari. Then they prepare the individual plates at the counter and serve you at the table.
So what’s in it? It has macaroni, rice, broken pieces of spaghetti, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce (in the silver cup) and fried onions (the brown things on the top next to the chickpeas). It’s super cheap and yummy. Everyone in Egypt makes their own version of koshari, and everyone thinks their mom’s is the best.
Abou Tarek’s was really good. I wish I could have it for dinner again tonight, but it’s located downtown, near the embassy. We order koshari from Arzak (Egyptian McDonald’s) and it’s good, but it’s the difference between having a McDonald’s hamburger or one from RG Burgers. One is fast food and the other tastes more like how you’d cook for yourself at home, but better.
It’s really great comfort food. A nice blend of flavors and textures: soft rice and macaroni, crunchy fried onions, earthy tasting lentils balanced with an acid bite from the tomato sauce. Great, now I’m making myself hungry and all we have in the house is cereal.
The boys love koshari too. They even liked the hot sauce that you can add to it from the silver bottles on the table. I’m proud to say that I actually used the hot sauce that was sitting on the table and didn’t let my thoughts of “I wonder how long this has been here” and “who has been touching this before me?” keep me from enjoying it. If you come and visit, we’re totally taking you here. We’ll even pay for dinner. Our total for 7 kosharis and 7 waters (we had friends with us) was 85 LE. Under $15.
Why is my daughter not wearing pants? Because 1/2 way through the meal Josh felt something warm and wet and somehow she peed out of her diaper and all over her pants. Of course it was the one time I didn’t have a spare change of clothes in my purse so she had to be half naked for the rest of the day. And I wasn’t sure how I was going to change her diaper in the bathroom, but luckily there was a small windowsill that I was able to perch her on to help get the job done. It was the windowsill or nothing since the bathroom had water all over it from people getting crazy with the bidet hose. Really.
Doesn’t she look like she’s been eating a ton of koshari?
All those fat rolls on her legs . . . chubby bunny.
To see Anthony Bourdain’s impression of Abou Tarek:
I love what he says at the beginning about the pyramids. Dude cracks me up.