Spotlight On: Caffé Greco

It’s terribly easy to become a regular at Caffé Greco. After all, how many cafés have staff who make certain your favorite order is ready almost before you finish placing it? It may take you a while to settle on your favorite style of caffeine, however. A standard café Americano? A double cappuccino? Triple latte with a shot of mint flavoring? A little imagination keeps the baristas on their toes, and the java here is perfect.

If coffee is not your thing, there are Italian sodas in dozens of flavors, herbal and caffeinated teas and frappé freezes. The food menu is limited to a few types of paninis (made fresh) and single-serving pizzas, plus a selection of pastries and some hard-to-find desserts. Caffé Greco offers several types of cheesecake — the plain and blueberry are the best ­— even though the blueberries are canned, and raspberry is now on offer. The carrot cake, with its not-too-sweet creamy icing, is also a must-try.

The café is non-smoking, with two tables just outside the entrance for smokers. Wrought-iron chairs and marble-topped tables give the brightly lit interior a veranda feel, complete with a corner sporting low, cushioned wicker chairs around — what else — a coffee table.

Let’s face it, though: This place is all about the coffee. Caffé Greco even sells specialty beans by the kilo — perhaps to make up for the lack of branches outside Maadi and lack of delivery service. That’s okay, we can (and do) live off takeaway, but we really wish the café had WiFi.

Even without the tech-treats, though, Caffé Greco is worth visiting again and again and again — as the massive number of repeat visitors from all districts of Cairo attest.

Can’t afford the time to head toVienna?Relax with a day use in Cairo.

We admit: We were a little skeptical about the re-introduction of Doritos (LE 1 for a single-serving bag, LE 3 for a large bag) to the Egyptian market back in July. Considering the tried-and-failed brand had left the country over ten years ago, we weren’t sure it would stick this time around. That is, until we began the daily market runs, cleaning the neighborhood stores out of their Doritos stock.

Considering how often they run out, we think the brand’s success might have taken its producers by surprise as well. The flavors are well done, though the corn may be ground just a bit too finely in comparison to its American counterparts. Just one complaint: Where did those blue bags go? Every store we see fills its shelves with the orange-bagged Cheese & Spices variety alone. We’ve hardly caught a whiff of the vastly superior Sweet Chili Pepper-flavored chips since they were released.

The chips just keep on coming. Another recent launch has seen Lay’s premium line, Delights, expand to include a third flavor: Sea Salt and Black Pepper. An excellent addition to the line, which previously only included Thai Sweet Chili and Exotic Barbeque flavors, Lay’s has managed to produce a strong black-pepper flavor without overwhelming kick.

Unlike the Thai Sweet Chili (which is great in theory, but sadly overly sweet and underly spicy) this is definitely worth the extra money over the Chipsy variety. (LE 2 for a small bag).

Caffé Greco: Get your (custom) caffeine fix here

In more drinkable news, Beyti has made a brave step into the world of caffeine with the release of Csquared. The 250-milliliter, 206-calorie beverage is a little sweet for our tastes — for that calorie-intake, we’d rather have a Twix bar — and coffee snobs should definitely keep their distance.

Still, we have a feeling this new cold-coffee-on-the go will take off with some crowds — if only for the funky packaging. Props to whoever designed the bottle of this one; it is world-class. The only downside to the label is the lack of clarity. We had to look up an ad and call the company just to confirm the name of their drink.

If you feel like checking it out, look for a brown bottle that says “Cold Coffee Original.” (LE 3 for a single-serving bottle).

Things move fast in the nation’s capital. If you flip back to our Restaurant Guide, you’ll find the section had undergone a major update spree this month. We have revisited old favorites, tracked down those that fell off our radar and removed the few that have ceased to exist.

Mohamed Shady Caffé Greco: Get your (custom) caffeine fix here

Others that have closed temporarily for renovation include El-Gezirah Sheraton’s Ciao Italia, scheduled to re-open next January, and Chocofolie in Dokki (33 Amman St.). Chocolate lovers need not worry at press time it was closed for renovation as well, but should open on the twelfth of this month. We’ll definitely be among the first in line.

Restaurants you can currently visit for the sole purpose of admiring their intriguing dust collections include Pavarotti in Mohandiseen and Maadi’s Cuba Cabana and Pasta Pomodoro —all of which have joined the crowd invisible.

For those who prefer to dine at home, CityStars (2 Aly Rashad St., Nasr City) has welcomed Spinney’s, which, though now a Dubai-based multinational corporation, actually began in Alexandria in the early 1920s. Once a tiny British-owned shop, Spinney’s has evolved into an enormous and comprehensive grocery store, boasting one of the best selections of imported foods in Egypt. Nearby, InterContinenal CityStars has introduced three new dining venues: The Arcade, Al-Bustan and The Lounge.

Not everything is old in antiquities, either. Last month, the Egyptian Museum (Tahrir Sq., Downtown) opened a second Mummy Room. Be prepared to meet face-to-face with ancient favorites such as Ramses III and the priests of Amun.

From now until the end of October, Thomas Cook is offering a special six-day, five-night package trip to Vienna. The package includes five nights standard-room accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis, along with a roundtrip airfare from Cairo to Vienna on Austrian Airlines (economy class). Rates start at LE 4,391 per person; reduced rates for children are available. For more information, visit www.thomascookegypt.com or call +2 (02) 302-9656.

Travco has announced a deal on a 10-day Mediterranean cruise, starting at LE 9,750 per person. The cruise embarks in Barcelona, Spain, then heads on to Marseille, Villefranche (Nice), Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Civitavecchia (Rome) and Naples (Italy), before its return to Barcelona. Rate includes roundtrip airfare on Iberia Airlines, one night accommodation in Barcelona and airport, hotel and cruise transfers. For more information, visit www.travco-eg.com or call +2 (02) 736-2042.

Nope, it’s not. But let’s face it: September is not a month for messing around. The kids are back in school, and so we reluctantly return from our hideouts on the North Coast. Studies resumed, work back in gear, this may be the month to stay in. How, then, to keep cool in sweltering Cairo?

Enter the oft-forgotten day use: Many hotels in the city offer more-than-reasonable rates for day use of a room and all facilities, such as the pool, gym and even day spa. Bring your kids on a weekend, often for no extra charge, or sneak out of work one day during the week and go on your own . Day-use privileges are offered all over the city. To name just a few:

Downtown, try out the Semiramis InterContinental (tel: +2 (02) 795-7171). Day uses run from 9am to 6pm; children under 10 accompany their parents for free. Rates include use of swimming pool and health club, and massages, sauna and Jacuzzi are available for an extra fee.

Nearby, the Grand Hyatt Cairo (tel: +2 (02) 365-1234) also rents out its poolside cabanas from 9am to 8pm. Health club and sports facilities, however, cost extra.

In Zamalek, the elegant (and newly refurbished) Cairo Marriott (tel: +2 (02) 735-8888) offers day use of rooms and cabins for up to four people, running from 10am to 6pm. Health club facilities are included in the day rate, but a massage will cost you extra. et

Caffé Greco 64 Road 9 Maadi Cairo Tel: +2 (02) 380-9326 ­