Java House

With ten locations throughout Nairobi you can't miss Java House.  They have a wide variety of delectable pastries and even some Mexican dishes to choose from.  Granted, Nairobi's version of Mexican food is very different than a native Texan's, but it's definitely a nice option to have.  My personal fav is their tuna melt with masala chips.  Their masala tea and coffee, of course, is excellent as well.  I always go for a double white house coffee, they know just how much milk to put in without making it all white with no coffee (you wouldn't think this would be a difficult task, but you'd be surprised).  If you want to take a little bit of Nairobi home, you can also buy Java House coffee beans at the restaurant or any grocery store.

Where to watch the World Cup

The first weekend of the World Cup proved to be an exciting one.  I watched way more soccer than I've probably seen in my entire life combined, but am now a football fanatic.  I love that the game is cut and dry and easy to follow, constantly moving with no annoying time-outs, and over and done within 90-100 minutes.  Some of the places we watched the games this weekend include:

China Plate

I love Chinese food and have been trying to find a really good restaurant to frequent.  China Plate is in my neck of the woods and has a fun sign to draw attention to it so I thought I'd finally get around to checking it out. 

Onami

Second time's a charm for Onami.  I was less than impressed with my first visit and had actually heard that the sushi was not that great before I went, but I'm always willing to chalk up a less than stellar experience as a bad night for the chef/server/whomever and give the restaurant another shot if an opportunity arises.  Fortunately for Onami their second chance came less than a week after my first encounter and they managed to redeem themselves.

Mataam Yemeni

I was told that during my stay in Cairo I must experience the wondrousness that is Yemeni food.  One evening we went to dinner down the street from my friend's apartment in Dokki at Mataam Yemeni, which literally means Yemeni Restaurant in Arabic.

Location: Dokki- Iran Street
Price: Very inexpensive
Atmosphere: Hole in the wall but not sketch.  Sheets of paper cover the tables but the service is quick and the restaurant was filled with locals except our group.

They bring you a salad to share that is especially good with squeezed lemon over it and individual broth soups which was equally as refreshing.  We ordered several dishes for the table to share including one egg and bean platter that was my favorite.  They plopped two large tortilla-esque flat breads on the table which we proceeded to devour and use to scoop up the various meats and food.  Overall the food was good and the experience was a definite must for anyone wanting to experience authentic middle eastern cuisine during their travels.

Drinkie's

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I discovered Otlob, then I find out there is this magical place where you can order alcohol and it will be delivered directly to your house.  What more can you ask for in a Muslim country where any drink other than fruit juice is hard to find?  I mean fruit juice is great and all, but you can only drink so much.  And personally I prefer mine for breakfast or mixed with a little somethin' somethin'. 

Locations: Zamalek- 155 26 of July St., Mohandeseen- At the end of Game't Al Dowal St., Maadi- 9 Streets beside Cilantro Café.  Delivery- 19330 from anywhere.
Price: Ten beers is just under 60 LE including the discount for bottle return
Atmosphere: Booze without the pain of lugging home the bottles and if you drink too much, guess what?  You're already home!

When you call they register your cell phone number and address in their system for future deliveries.  Novel concept isn't it?  Nairobi, take note. They deliver a selection of beer, including Egyptian brewed Stella and Sakara, and wine, Khayyam is a popular one, also made in Egypt, in a variety of bottle sizes, or if you're throwing a par-tay you can go with cans.