Restaurant review:
In search of perfection
The vegetarian and the carnivore go out for lunch.
Yasmine El-Rashidi finds the perfect place
It is a match made in hell. My meat-loving friend, and salad-hogging me. Our search for perfection on this particular humid summer night started in Zamalek, took us across Dokki, and ultimately -- on high recommendation -- took us far from our vicinity of choice, and into the suburb of Maadi.
When we finally found it, the small, quaint restaurant with refined diner-style booths and wood-panelled walls made us feel quite at home. Lucille's -- named after Lucille herself (known to frequent the place and chat with her guests) -- spells "home-made" in every sense; from the menu, to the décor, to the charming waiters that know just what to say, when to say it, and have mastered the art of leaving you alone.
The menu made me instantaneously smile. My eye scanned the salads section and the selection of dressings, and my friend went directly to "Bountiful Beef", then on to "Burgers", "Chicken Corner", and "South of the Border".
My mind was quickly made; chef's salad without the turkey and the widely-reputed honey-mustard dressing. My friend took time -- pouring in high confusion over the too-generous menu. The selections were narrowed down: Colossus burger, philly steak sandwich, beef souvlaki, lemon garlic chicken, beef faijta's, or chilli con carne.
The colossus burger -- two burger patties with double the cheese and extra everything which the menu noted you had to be "very hungry" to order -- won quite easily given the declared "famished" state at the table. We unanimously voted for the appetiser "Sample platter" -- potato skins, onion rings, chicken strips, quesadillas and deep-fried mushrooms.
For drinks I added to my survey of national hot chocolate, and my friend went for the raspberry ice-tea with liquid sugar (literally liquefied sugar).
The drinks arrived fast; the ice-tea proving a refreshing twist to the "regular" ice-tea, and the hot chocolate definitely ranking high on my list of locale's with chocoholic-satisfying stuff.
The sample platter came soon after, its name slightly defying reality. "Sample", in my mind, implies small, sort-of itsy bitsy bits of things. Lucille's definition is somewhat different; the array of appetisers much bigger than bite-size. And certainly scrumptious -- the onion rings were not too oily, fresh crunchy and hot. The potato skins were perfect. Spicy but not too much, just enough salt, a crisp exterior. I passed on the rest, but my friend gulped the rest down -- the expression on his face remaining one of pure pleasure.
"Mmmmm," he responded to my "what do you think?"
We were given just enough time to pause and breathe before the main course was placed before us -- an arrival that had our eyes open wide and mouths drop in shock.
Colossal is the only way to describe the burger -- big does not even come close.
The salad too was large; a bowl filled with very crisp, fresh lettuce, grated carrots, red cabbage, cheddar cheese, a boiled egg, seasoned crunchy croutons, and perfect tomatoes -- not too soft but not too firm. The dressing (served on the side in a large container) was divine. The ideal mix of mustard, honey and pepper (and maybe some oil?), Lucille has found the optimum ratios to attain the not too sweet, not too peppery, not too mustardy dressing. The salad -- as a whole -- was scrumptious.
The burger too made the mark. The beef was lean, juicy, well-spiced, and grilled to well-done precision. The bun was fresh, lightly toasted, and still crunchy on the inside despite the tomato, mayo and mustard.
"And yum," my friend pitched in, getting the hang of the "review" questioning. "The fries are like the ones we make at home."
Despite our now-protruding bellies, we went for desert; carrot cake and "mud pie". The carrot cake was moist, icing-covered, filled with tasty apple pieces, nuts, and a mild spice. The mud-pie is not easy to describe. The gooey chocolate filling in the crunchy crust is mere bliss -- not too sickly and not too rich.
At LE110, with some left-overs, we knew we had found perfection.
Lucille's restaurant, 54 Road 9, Maadi. Tel: 359- 2778
(Lucille's also has a kids menu and children's activity book).
