17 - 23 January 2002
Issue No.569
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 17 - 23 January 2002 Issue No.569 |
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Arctic remedies
Injy El-Kashef gets snug as a bug
I do not know what on earth is going on, but this cold wave must stop or my nose will freeze, fall off and smash to a thousand smithereens on the floor. Not an attractive prospect... OK, I'm exaggerating, but really, will it ever end? In any case, the rain has afforded me the opportunity to drive in the mud, splashing everybody on the street and having loads of fun -- and that, of course, is because I have the luxury of turning the heat up full blast. Once I park, get out and head to a restaurant in weather like this, all I am praying for is a warm, cozy little place where I can find good food, a pleasant atmosphere and perhaps a nice glass of wine to warm things up.
At Castella I found all the above except the warming beverage, which was a great pity, but none that was going to deter my dining partner and me from enjoying our meal: we were famished. We liked the place as soon as we had entered and asked a very elegant maitre d' in black suit and grey shirt with tie to place us in the warmest corner of the restaurant. He did, but something was not quite right: a direct source of cold that we could not identify was torturing my friend's shoulder.
Climate control more or less dealt with, we now had to consider ordering a filling meal so that our fingers could start to defrost and function again. He started with a Cream of Tomato Soup that did the job perfectly, tasting, smelling and feeling simply wonderful. Perhaps one small disappointment was the softness of the floating croutons, which were clearly not toasted. Ah well, these are but minor details. My starter was a huge plate of al dente Spaghetti with Crab Meat, and I will state right away that the crab, although it was of the processed persuasion, did not disappoint me in the least since I had perceptively guessed it would be so before ordering. So far so very good. I could not finish my plate, since I was attempting to save room for my main course (between us, I could have finished it, of course, but such greed would have been unseemly around the dashing beau with whom I was lucky enough to be dining).
One Beef Stroganoff for him and one Veal with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce for me. Olé. Truly and honestly excellent, with the most appetising, soft, rich, milky and buttery mashed potatoes on the side. His Stroganoff was the typical rich mixture of textures, colours and tastes, executed by the book, while mine was bathing in an incredibly good brown sauce and surrounded by vast quantities of mushrooms. We were full in a flash (at least he was, but I had to pretend again, and could not blame my appetite on the cold since we were all its victims. Some people just stop eating at a certain point while others can go on and on -- it takes all kinds to make a world, what can I say?).
Desserts were just as huge, although I must admit my Profiteroles were a little disappointing: I like chocolate sauce that is soft and undignified; this one was too cool, calm and collected, not to mention rather hard. As for his Crème Caramel, it was simply excellent (not to mention twice the regular size, with little scoops of whipped cream and a cherry). Gorgeous little place; save the drinks for after dinner; at least they won't go to your head.
Castella, Al-Merghani St, Heliopolis.
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