Dear readers: I am back from my scintillating sojourn through the Middle East and Africa, but that doesn’t mean that the vacation can’t be savored again and again.
My suggestion for when you return from a far-flung adventure: Find a glorious restaurant that channels the sensibility of your trip—whether French, Mexican, Moroccan, or Chinese—then plan for a long, languid dinner where you are your travel companion review your digital camera snaps of the trip over multiple glasses of wine. Think of it as a way of easing back into, egads!, the office and fluorescent lighting.
Last night, I followed my own advice and booked a table at the transporting Casa La Femme restaurant in the heart of Manhattan’s West Village. With its sexy vibe, tents, and intimate seating areas, the restaurant rushed me back to the souks of Cairo with their pungent spice scents, colorful byways, and foreign flavors. We supped on zabadi, an Egyptian yogurt with cucumber and garlic, and samek mashway, the wonderfully simple whole grilled fish, washed down the signature lemonada cocktails (citrus vodka with orange-flavored liquor and mint leaves). Divine!
After a few cocktails, I certainly felt like I was back at the Mena House Oberoi hotel overlooking the pyramids in Giza—especially when the shimmy-shaking belly dancer led me to the dance floor, where I shook it like a palm tree amid a monsoon.
Today, I am paying the price, but it was so worth it, and I can face the day without cringing.
Signing off.