4 -10 April 2002
Issue No.580
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 -10 April 2002 Issue No.580 |
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Human resources
Injy El-Kashef springs to lifeIt is a blessing to have a few friends at the office. All too often one is in desperate need of a fun transition between work and home, yet too lazy to go through one's address book and dial a few numbers -- perhaps because one knows all too well that the attempt will be met with an uninterested voice at the end of the line that would put even an elephant to sleep. What has happened to people? I thought all things came to life in spring, yet everyone seems to be firmly in hibernation mode. I am faced with so much laziness, so little willingness to tear out of cocoons and seek some fun in life that it had almost begun to contaminate me as well.
And that's when office friends come in handy. You make a few determined steps into an office and are soon off with two charming people, heading towards the Greek Club in Talaat Harb Square. My dining partners and I were famished, exhausted and in serious need of a beer. We walked into the Greek Club and were in not much of a mood to greet the many people that seemed vaguely familiar. In my days as a social butterfly, I would probably have walked up to every one of them and offered my warmest smile, but right now I thought: They can see me too, if they want me they have to come get me. I need some food first.
The waiter was sweet and our beers were before us in no time while we awaited the salads. The bubbles in the drink affected our mood and before long we were human beings again. Soon the Greek Salad arrived. A very good salad it is, with all the components of a baladi salad but topped with a big chunk of white cheese. We had not one order, but two. The Baba Ghannoug was also very good: not too thin, with the obvious presence of aubergines -- just the way I like it. It required only a sprinkle of salt and it was perfect.
The food proper soon followed. One look at it and my expert judgment knew it would be extremely tasty. We had ordered grilled goodies, Shish Tawouk and Shish Kebab, but there is Shish and there is Shish. Some Shish is dry and stringy and some is juicy and tender. Ours was of the latter sort and for the first time in years I found myself secretly envying my companions' food, although I enjoyed mine. I had the chicken bits on a skewer because I had been apprehensive of the meat, considering my dental state. Big mistake. Those bits of kebab looked simply wonderful, the marinated juice oozing out of the tender morsels. Just the thought of it now makes my mouth water. The accompanying fries were also very good, especially when soaked in the juice on the plate.
The speed at which we finished our food was phenomenal. Almost embarrassing. Did anyone actually chew? One way of avoiding this topic was to order more food of course, and dessert was in order. Unfortunately, the Greek Club is a consistent venue: the atmosphere is always nice, the food always tasty, the prices always reasonable, and desserts never available. The only thing to have was ice-cream and that is one item I do not trust in Cairene restaurants unless they are that way specialised. So our very modest bill of LE 140 taken care of (that's a little less than LE50 each), we were ready to go home and offer phone therapy to our hibernating friends.
Greek Club, Talaat Harb Square, Downtown.
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