A food truck? In Abu Dhabi??

In America, food trucks are the real deal.

These mobile eateries literally drive up and park next to the people and keep the masses satisfied with delicious food and drink. They started to pick up on the West Coast but have now consumed just about every major metropolitan city in the country.

Great movies like Chef have documented the rise of food trucks in America.

Editor's Note: the movie also has an amazing soundtrack so do yourself a favor and get a free listen on YoutTube.

Like many things in the Western Hemisphere, I knew it would be just be a matter of time before this latest culinary craze trickles down to the UAE.

Introducing the 21 Emirati Cafe food truck:

I apologize in advance. Due to a broken foot -- I will explain that story later -- I could not conduct my normal investigation nor did I prod the workers with inquiries.

Just a few of the many questions we all have:

- What does the "21" mean? Is there an age restriction to dine here?
- Do you guys serve Emirati food? Did the country's founders snack on nachos?
- What is business like? I can see you are very busy...
- How can we keep track of where you will be? Are you going to hit any huge music festivals this summer?
- Is that a black velvet rope next to the window? So luxurious.

Instead of an interview, I snapped a few photos and then hobbled away in disgrace. But after research online, I found they do have a Four Square account, whatever that is?

I have seen the truck perched off Sheikh Zayed Road (Salam Street) near the Eastern Mangroves but during this particular encounter, I found them in the parking lot of the Marina Mall. As the picture shows, foot traffic was very heavy that night.

Has there been any other sightings? Please, do tell.

I really hope the food truck culture picks up in Abu Dhabi. The 21 Emirati Cafe is a pioneer in the local scene and as soon as I get in there for a taste, I'll be sure to update my local readers on the flavor. Cheers.

Adventures in Cyprus

Living in the UAE puts you right in the middle of the world. Literally. Places we would not have dreamed of visiting while we lived in the States are now in the palm of our hand.

Sri Lanka, Kenya, Turkey... the list goes on and on.

So when my lovely wife had a small window of time in between starting her new job, we packed our bags, booked some cheap flights and zipped out of the sweaty desert for a few days.

When we first touched down in the Mediterranean island of Cyrpus, it looked like a Euro-trash Spring Break party straight out of the trailer park. Thirsty and mischievous teenagers crammed the passport arrival check-in desk. Backwards hats were everywhere.

Luckily, all those young hooligans got on a bus to Ayia Nappa and were never seen again. I'm sure that's a great part of the island but my wife and I just wanted to chill out. Entering a wet T-shirt contest or bonging a bottle of Jagermeister was not on our itinerary.

Instead, we sipped white wine and watched the world go by from quaint cafes in Nicosia. We strolled the marina in Kyrenia and did our best to shun aggressive locals trying to get us on their cruise boat. We gawked at sun-burned tourists in Paphos and melted together while watching the sunset.

It was the perfect getaway. And to spend that time with someone you love makes it even more special.

She is quite lovely. A perfect traveling companion.

I like her because she is always down to try anything. That includes the local cuisine.

Everyone loves to eat well while on vacation and we were no different. There were strong Greek and Turkish influences, fresh mezze with every meal and did I mention the wine?

And of course, some hilarious things happened, too.

I was shocked when I realized that in Cyrpus, they drive on the left side and the wheel is on the right side. I found that out as soon as I walked off the plane and approached the Budget rental car desk. That took a few days getting used to as I ripped our little compact car through the mountains.

On the Greek side of the island, most of the signs had English translations. The Turks, on the other hand, don't give a shit so we got lost while driving. Quite often.

When we asked for directions after crossing the border, the agent asked me a question in Turkish -- more than once -- and when I did not have a Turkish response for him, he decided to search our car and all our belongings. It was very strange.

For some reason, people assumed I was Turkish. It must be the nose. Or my beard? As long as I did not speak, my street credit was solid. But the gig never lasted very long.

To watch the US-Belgium match in the World Cup, we confidently strolled up to some dingy bar on the strip in Paphos and the manager thought he recognized us so he awarded us with two free shots just for walking into his bar. It was actually a very official welcome. He wrote down Two Free Shots on a scrap piece of paper, handed it to me and showed us to our table.

During another boozy encounter, while slugging watered-down Tequila shots at a pool bar in Paphos, a teenage bartender asked us with a serious face, "Why are you guys even here?" I was taken aback by her honesty. I think she was hinting that we were staying at a family resort and no one had ordered Jose Cuervo at that bar since 1995.

The best part of our trip was when we drove up the Karpaz Peninsula (in the red box below). Everyone we talked to asked us why we would take such a long excursion and advised us that it would be boring. We found it to be the best day of the entire trip.

We would just pull off the road at random times to take in the sights and stop and these little beach bars. If we had done better research, we would have stayed a least one night at the Big Sand Beach Bungalows. We stopped in for a beer and good conversation.

No need to describe the place. Just check out their video:



Along the peninsula, it was nothing but amazing scenery, quiet landscapes and some skinny-dipping in broad daylight (Sorry, no pictures). That basically checks all my boxes for a good vacation.

Cyprus is an interesting island with a very divided history. Now I finally understand why my good friend from high school, Alexi, who comes from a strong Greek family, absolutely despises Turkey.

Sometimes, you just have to go to places and figure it out for yourself.

Cheers, Alexi.

Global grocery shopping

I remember when I lived on St. Thomas in the Caribbean and a gallon of milk would cost eight US dollars. It would then expire two days after you bought it from one of their many clean and sanitary grocery markets.

Ahhhh, island life. Sometimes I miss it a lot. Other times, not so much.

But now I live in Abu Dhabi -- which technically, is also an island -- but our grocery options are a little more vast. At the same time, there is a huge dependency on the other countries around us.

Simply put: there are only so many kinds of food you can grow in the sand.

I do most of my grocery damage at a special little place called Lulu, the most popular grocery outlet around these parts. Each mall -- there are many of them in this fair city -- have a Lulu Supermarket. And you know whenever you put the word "super" in front of anything, it becomes that much more awesome.

I really like their advertising campaign, too:

On one side, you have a happy Emirati family enjoying an afternoon at the grocery store. Looks like mom fancies some top-shelf goodies. Go ahead, girl! When you look at the other side, it tells me: Oh, and we also allow white people to shop here, so throw on your favorite pair of blue jeans and get on down here.

I joke because I love.

Seriously, Lulu is actually a very good market -- any consumer's one-stop shop.

A simple stroll through their fresh vegetable isle is like taking a flight around the world. Of the groceries I bought yesterday: the salmon was from Norway, the lettuce was from Holland, the red onions were from India, the avocados (Miranda's favorite) were from Kenya and the red apples were from New Zealand.

We also got to enjoy farm fresh, locally-grown UAE mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes and beans. And after last night's dinner, we indulged in some chocolate from Kazakhstan for desert (thanks, Kristen).

This is what 543 dirhams worth of groceries from Lulu looks like. The black bags contains about 687 dirhams worth of whiskey and wine I bought at a nearby liquor store...

Yes, you are a math whiz. On this particular shopping spree, the alcohol did cost more than the food. Don't judge. Did I mention I'm on a diet? Which means no more international chocolate for me. It's OK. Next time I need to get my Kazakhstan fix, I will just holler at my good friend, Borat.