Max’s; A little touch of home in a far away place

[erro]

Here in Alexandria Egypt one is virtually assaulted with a plethora of fabulous food and culinary delights. For literally pennies you can enjoy a traditional fare from falafels, ful, and khosary, to faatah and oh so many other wonderful dishes that tempt and excite the palate. But for all of the amazing food that Egypt has to offer sometimes, and especially after having been away for so long, one can find solace in a simple and familiar dish. This is where Max comes shining through.
Max is Egyptian born and raised and has spent several years in New Jersey before returning to Alex to run the eatery that is situated at the end of El Bitash in the Agami district of West Alexandria. He is, as I have found the vast majority of Egyptians to be -warm, open, and affable. His English is very good and he is always up for a good conversation; that is as long as the local football match between Alex and Cairo is not on the Telly.
Like all the shops on these crowded and busy streets, Max’s place is tucked away in a space no bigger than perhaps 4 x 15 metres and is suggestive more of a storage unit than a restaurant. With no sequestered areas for either cooking, washing up, or sitting, as in western restaurants, it’s all there for the world to see and one could certainly call it cozy.
Once you work your way past the polished wooden countertop, which runs parallel to and is snuggled up against the sidewalk (reminiscent of the tabernas of the ancient world), then past the “kitchen” you arrive in the white tiled walls of the “dining area” which contains four high top tables and stools rather than chairs. Just a few steps further and you reach the back of this establishment and the small sink where Max washes up.
The “kitchen”, where Max works his magic, consists of little more than a small industrial oven, a gas fired stovetop constructed from just a few pieces of angle iron (which reminds one more of a campsite than a restaurant) and a diverse array of pots and pans. There are also all the essential accoutrements of seasonings that add such zest and flavour to his dishes. This seemingly meager assortment of cooking essentials only adds to Max’s prestige at the culinary arts; so little tools yet such wonderful results.
There are menus but they seem to be rarely if ever used, as everyone who comes here already seems to know exactly what they want.
But it is not the fact that the food is so outstanding as to be garnering a Michelin rating but that it is all so familiar and just plain good. His pizza and pasta dishes are as good as anything you will get State side, or anywhere else in this great world that I have traversed. After having sampled his seafood pasta and chicken alfredo pasta dishes, as well as his superb pizza, I didn’t particular care to explore more diverse dishes that might be available, which I now believe to have been to my own disadvantage and lasting regret.

[Detroit Dan]

The next time I am in Egypt, I will have to go there.
Actually Egypt is on my bucket list, so someday it could happen.

[erro]

(01-22-2011 08:45 AM)Detroit Dan Wrote:  The next time I am in Egypt, I will have to go there.
Actually Egypt is on my bucket list, so someday it could happen.

You will certainly not be disappointed my friend. I regret having left myself. t is a truly wonderful and remarkable place.