Abou Sid

I arrive at Abu Sid and as soon as you walk in it feels like old Egypt.The large doors remind you of some thing you would see in front of and old mosque.Walking in you notice the dimly lit ,low arabesque chairs and tables,marble,colors of dark green,dark red,while paintings of old Egyptian characters paint the walls.The bar looks like something you would see from a scene in an old Arabian film.I sit at my table, and take a look at the menu,Plenty of choices to choose from,but realizing i'm going to eat somewhere else in a few hours i cant order too much.For starters I order the FUUL BESARA (pureed fava beans)and LAMB KOFTA (ground lamb and spices).For my en tree I order the MOLOKHEYA with rabbit.This is to most locals as the place to eat when you come to Cairo.The smells illuminate the dining room of cumin,sheehsa,coriander,garlic, intensify and water my mouth. I hope i have enough room to eat later,i guess we'll see.The AC cooled dining room is slowly filling up with diners every couple minutes. A good sized menu makes me wish i would have eaten here a couple times during my stay.The pita arrives first always,then my kofta and fuul come.The slightly spiced fuul is served cold in a small bowl,a perfect starter.My kofta is six small oval shaped lamb patties,that were tender,full of spices and works well with my other app.After a few minutes my entree arrives.A bowl of rice topped with four pieces of grilled rabbit,a bowl of Molokheya,and a small bowl a simple but flavorful tomato sauce.I pour some of the Molokheya over the rabbit,then add some of the tomato sauce.Altogether a great compliment to each other.The rabbit was tender nice flavor,the rice was perfectly cooked,the Molokheya was the texture of how traditonal molokheya is made,a bit soupy but with plenty of flavor as the tomato sauce finishes the whole meal. I wash it down with a glass of water and i'm famished.I don't think i'll be eating later.Pay my bill and i'm out the door.All I have to say is when you are looking for the perfect meal when visiting Cairo,come here.Abu Sid,the true definition of authentic traditional Egyptian cuisine.