John Harris
Contributor. John has lived in the United States, India, Lebanon, England, and Scotland and has called Cairo home since 2005. He lives in Zamalek with his wife and three kids. John serves as a writer, development consultant, and father to rambunctious kids. He writes about food and travel for Al-Masry Al-Youm English Edition.
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Until recently, if you were looking for a quality baguette in Cairo, you were substantially out of luck. While you could find many imposters that looked and felt somewhat like a baguette, chances are once you actually tasted them you’d be...
Walking into Trattoria in Zamalek, I’m reminded of that American TV series Cheers, famous for the tagline “where everyone knows your name.” Cheers was based around a homey bar/restaurant in Boston that provided a neighborhood community gathering...
Taboula has two things going for it: location and quality. In terms of location, it’s the only dining option outside of a hotel anywhere near the embassies section of Garden City. At lunchtime, Taboula gets a tremendous boost from this monopolistic...
A certain skepticism has settled over this column about Cairo’s hotel restaurants in recent months. Some, to be fair, are wonderful. Birdcage at the Intercontinental, and Massala at Karvin come to mind. But many others, perhaps most, provide...
It’s an odd sensation to eat in a place like Wagamama. You may be in Egypt, at either of the Japanese chain’s two locations--in City Stars or Nile City Towers--but you’re eating exactly the same selection, served in exactly the same style, by...
Fromagerie is a new entrant in the high-end delicatessen market in Cairo. The Maadi-based retail store serves cheese imported from Europe and home-made bread. Well, the bread is not exactly home-made. It's imported as frozen dough, then rises and...
Quality Indian options are appearing all over Cairo faster than Rama fled to Sri Lanka to rescue his beautiful wife Sita. It used to be that those with a hankering for curry were limited to Kandahar in Mohandessin or making the trek out to the Mena...
There’s a certain buzz these days along Brazil St. in Zamalek. Not far from the Mobinil store on the north side of 26th of July St., there’s been a rash of openings at the higher end of the shopping spectrum. Within the space of a few months, along...
Beyond its delightful baladi bread, Cairo isn't known for the quality of its breadmakers. Unlike the French in Vietnam or Lebanon, those stuffy Brits never inspired a love of yeast in Cairo’s kitchens. While baladi bread is delightful, there is more...
If it were up to me, I’d never dine in Cairo’s hotels. Too often, the food is over-priced and under-spectacular, set in an under-inspiring ambience. In seeking out the very best of Cairo’s dining options for our readers, however, I do...
