This is a continuation of the post regarding Brian and Kathy’s visit. However, this event deserves a posting all by itself.
When we have guests on the North Coast, a driver takes us to our destinations in Alexandria. Two drivers have done this for us over the past two years and, coincidentally, both are named Ibrahim. One is married with children, the other a young, single guy. Hence, the distinction: “Old Ibrahim” and “Young Ibrahim” – no disrespect intended toward either man. On this day, “Old Ibrahim” was our driver. He has been extremely good to Ron and me, even inviting us to his home for dinner. So, on this day, Brian, Kathy, Allison and I set out to see some of the sights of Alexandria.
After visiting the Alexandria Egyptian Museum we determined that lunch should be next on the itinerary. As an aside, Ibrahim does not speak a lot of English. However, I must note that he speaks a LOT more English than I do Arabic. Therefore, I have a great deal of respect for his efforts. He asked us if we wanted American or Egyptian food. Well, we ARE in Egypt…. so of course we said Egyptian. Then, “fish or beef?” For whatever reason, we agreed on fish as our answer. You could see at once that this decision pleased him. He knew the precise place to take us!
A short drive later we ended up in what appeared to be an alleyway. There was a restaurant sign in front of us as Ibrahim pulled to a stop so, we proceeded to get out of the car. As the first door opened, we were literally smacked in the face by the smell of fish. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like fresh fish! I hardly knew what to do…. should we continue on or possibly change our minds to the “beef” offering? With a lot of false bravado, we all exited the car and Ibrahim backed up the alleyway to find a place to park. Kathy was so traumatized by the smell that she forgot to shut her car door. We chased the door down and got it shut before it whacked an unyielding obstacle or, worse yet, a pedestrian. Then we continued forward toward the restaurant sign.
The restaurateurs herded us across the street toward another door. Oops!, we must have been heading toward the wrong restaurant. Actually, no. Inside this door was a whole bunch of seafood on ice. Sea bass, denise, calamari, shrimp, clams… LOTS of seafood. We were to pick out what we wanted from this selection. Then, across the street, in an outdoor kitchen, our selection would be cooked – steamed, boiled, grilled or fried – our choice. Then, next to this outdoor kitchen, was the dining area that we had originally set out for. Well, Kathy and I looked at this extensive selection on ice and immediately headed outside. I had no idea that she was not a seafood fan. Alas, I am a tad squeamish in that area as well. How we came to a consensus regarding this eating venue remains a mystery. However, Brian and Allison were having a grand time perusing the selections and picking out our lunch. Interestingly, after they chose the kind and amount of sea sustenance we desired, the choices were weighed…… ALL TOGETHER!! No difference between sea bass, clams or shrimp. Wow, we must be in a foreign country!
Thankfully, once we were seated inside the dining area, we could no longer smell the decades of fish that had preceded us in this location. Soon the food began to arrive…. beets, pickled vegetables, tahina, babaganoush, baladi bread and rice. Then, the main dishes started arriving. Brian and Allison had ordered steamed mussels, clams and shrimp and grilled denise and sea bass. When the shrimp arrived in all their glory, heads and all, Kathy’s complexion started turning a funny shade… then the fish arrived with the heads still on and the eyes staring right at us. That’s when her complexion faded to a true gray! NOT good. In the meantime, a huge plate of fried calamari arrived. This had not been ordered, but, what the heck. We began to eat it and, to our delight, it was absolutely fantastic. After about half of it was gone, the waiter arrived with the mussels and clams and realized we had not ordered the calamari. He took it back! I guarantee you…. some other table was served our leftovers. But, it was probably the best calamari any of us had ever had. So, we are thankful for the mistake.
Poor Kathy sat through the meal and hesitantly accepted pieces of fish that Brian removed from the intact grilled fish, as well as a few shrimp that he removed the heads from. That is why this picture of Kathy and the fish on ice is so amusing. Pictures can be deceiving!! 
Thank goodness for her that she liked the rice, bread and hummus selections. We are all much richer for this experience. Thank you, Ibrahim!
