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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Interview Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Maximum decibel
By Andrew SteeleAndrew Steele pumps up the volumePerhaps I am becoming an old bore, but I must confess that I found the newly opened TGI Friday's in Heliopolis was certainly the most boisterous venue imaginable for an evening's dining. Not that the service wasn't efficient and the food excellent, on the contrary, in fact. The venue itself is well chosen: the Merryland gardens boast space, both for parking and greenery, and the venue is set far enough back from Higaz Street for it to be a world away. It emerged during our visit that TGI Friday's is actually more like a planet away.
Mohamed, Carmen and myself were seated like lightning and promptly introduced to our waiter for the evening, who was cunningly monikered Jumbo. Carmen felt it would have been improper to ask why. The menus are vast, all-singing all-dancing affairs, with special sections and subliminal graphics. Draft Stella features here, and jolly good it is too, but, at LE30 a pint, certainly not a brew for the faint of wallet.
We elected to begin with a Three For All: a selection of buffalo wings, fried mozzarella, and loaded potato skins for three -- specially designed to induce bonding over supper. It was all done rather well, with a good selection of dips, including blue cheese for the buffalo wings and bolognaise for the cheese. The potato skins were filled with melted cheese and beef bacon bits.
The festivities began in earnest in the interlude between the starter and the main, and were presumably provoked by the ill-timed event of a customer's birthday. The entire troupe of waiting staff descended on the birthday boy's table and began a series of syncopated chants and birthday tunes amidst much clapping and whooping. These subsided after some time. The best was yet to come, however.
Main courses arrived with fanfare, Carmen's fajitas sizzling spitefully on their skillet. My Chop House Steak was a prime piece of meat to be sure. Cutting like butter and dollopped with a rich herb gravy, the only thing lacking was the rasher that the menu had promised it would be wrapped in. Carmen's fajitas were of the chicken variety and well marinated in Cajun (?) spices. Mohamed's Herb Grilled Chicken was just that, rubbed with rosemary and thyme and pleasingly browned. All were accompanied by good, fresh vegetables and a choice of potato. The food in general is actually a consummately executed reproduction of the stuff you would find in TGI Friday's in Britain or the States, so if that's your dining predilection, here is probably the best place in Cairo to find it.
And the branding doesn't stop there, oh no; the delights of the floorshow were yet to be seen in Friday's unique brand of after-dinner entertainment. The music was cranked up for a techno reworking of Zorba the Greek, upon which a few unwary diners, accompanied and chivvied along by the unerring might of the wait-staff task force, began a high-kicking lateral conga sort of thing to much clapping and hilarity. This was followed by a really rather dissolute attempt at a routine from Saturday Night Fever. This rather fazed Carmen, and she felt compelled to order a cheesecake for her health. This too was good, smeared with cherry jam and in possession of a nice crunchy bottom. Jumbo sped the bill for three to our table, which hit base at LE220 with two pints of Stella and a Gin Fizz. Par for the course.
TGI Friday's, Merryland Gardens, Higaz Street, Heliopolis
Tel 4508090
