La Dolce Vita ~ The Sweet Life

I've been mentally checked out of Doha a few months now. Pretty sure it was an auto defense mechanism that kicked in to make the transition from the sweet life I've had these past five years easier. No mental investment, no loss. It's how I operate. It's not intentional, it just is. One caveat, though, awesome friends that are dragging me out and throwing me right back into the middle of things, experiencing a little of Doha that I hadn't already

...which brings me to a mini review of La Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant at Souq Waqif.

I didn't go prepared to review the place, I was too busy guffawing it up with one of our Italiano dinner mates. Yes, Angelo, learned to eat from his Sicilian grandmother who didn't let him off easy. The barely adult man, I swear, ate one of everything while kissing his closed tipped fingers with "magnifico" being spewed after every other bite. Ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's the testament of how authentic the "Italian-ness" of this eatery was. It all began with the perfect Italian hostess/waitress/manager, Juliana and Angelo exchanging pleasantries, we think, in their native language. Oh, to be an Italian fly on the wall.  Thinking back, they were no doubt excoriating me for my heavy handed pepper grinding over my pumpkin ravioli, which apparently no respected Italian would do.  Another strike against the loud American.  Anyway, just suffice to say if you want a night out and feel like you've escaped the sand pit and landed in the middle of Tuscany, La Dolce Vita is the place to head. Word: make sure you like your pasta "al dente", which was a great concern to Juliana, as she repeated it to each guest individually. I'll take authentic pasta any way I can get it. Bring it on. Buon appetito!

I realize that I have failed you with no pics of the restaurant or food. Instead, you get some authentic Doha Souq Waqif. What can I say?

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Doha's Breakfast Central

Hide your coffee pot, hide your toaster,
and hide your fryin' pan, cuz...

(for best results use your Antoine Dodson voice ↑)

Doha's Breakfast Central has come to rescue us from banging those pots in the kitchen by removing the guess work of where Doha peeps can go for a good breakfast, OR where to avoid. Being that breakfast is my FAVORITE meal, I jumped on the @DineatDawn twitter bandwagon right away so that I wouldn't miss any of their review announcements. Yours truly was even bestowed the honor of accompanying them on a covert mission to a local diner, but I'm afraid my incessant chattering throughout the meal was a distraction and now they feel a "do over" is in order. So how do burning ears affect taste buds? I guess ears weren't the only thing burned...can you say bridges? Anyhoo, give my twitter buds @haniarif and @vallath a warm welcome by gracing them with a visit at their new tumblr site...

Oh, and just because I've been thrown under the bus doesn't mean they wouldn't enjoy a bit of chatter from you. Let them know how they are doing and/or suggestions on whom to review.

Happy eating!

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360 Restaurant

So here's the lowdown on The Torch Hotel's 360 Restaurant that we talked about a few days ago. Everyone needs to do it at least once, if not for the food, for the experience itself. Where else will you get a spectacular 360 degree view of Doha without leaving your chair and from 47 stories up? Pretty intense. So intense that on the ride up, Kristi announces, "I think I'm going to throw up". Not exactly reassuring "pre~meal" words. So what abut the food? There was an express lunch menu that offered three courses with several options each for 85QR ($23). Let's take it a course at a time.

Kristi and I both opted for the cauliflower soup for our "small" starter. It was delicious. If you don't like salmon, do not let the mention of it in the soup's name scare you off. It's one bite sized piece for decoration and did nothing whatsoever to taint the soup.

Time for the main course. Kristi ordered the "Grilled New Zealand Lamb Medallions". She found it to have more than just a mild wild taste. Also, she was sad to see such a measley portion of broccoli, but enjoyed the two florets, along with her roasted potatoes.

I ordered the "Broiled North Atlantic Salmon". I'm still trying to muddle through exactly why I got that, because it's never been one of my favorites. Unfortunately, 360's version didn't change my mind, but I did love the gravy that came with it. The "potato puree", aka mashed potatoes in my small world, were rich and yummy.

We ordered the "Nougatine Parfait" and the "White Chocolate Brownie...yada, yada, yada for dessert. Why are the food titles so long winded? Cut to the chase, please. The brownie didn't really seem so much, well a brownie that I'm used to anyway. And that huge lemon looking thing on top is passion fruit sorbet that will keep your mouth in a puckered state for a week of Sundays. The parfait was pretty good, nothing I'd write home about, hmm, or is that what I'm doing now?

Bottom line: 85Qr for a 3 course meal in a really nice restaurant in Doha is a pretty good deal. Even though we weren't "wowed" over by our first experience, I'm really glad we visited 360. The menu, we were told, will change weekly. So, maybe we will make better choices next time.

Cheapskate advice of the day: Drink your after dessert coffee at your favorite local chain afterward, unless you want to pay 27QR for a cup half the size that they offer. Ciao!

Last weeks menu...

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Aroma

Mini food review...

I visited Aroma at Kempinski Residences and Suites with a friend yesterday. Since I hadn't been before, I was a little extra excited being the multitasker that I am. "Double whammy, an overdue visit with a gal pal and a blog post to top it off!" Yeah well, not so much, as I was too engrossed in our rapid fire conversation to really soak in the nuances of the food before me. Mindless eating. We have been warned of such atrocities. I do however, remember liking the mozzarella smothered chicken. It was very tame with no Arabic spices screaming at me. Four years later and some of those flavors still don't jive with my buds. The carrot caraway soup was pretty good, I guess, if you like that sort bland flavor. Tomato basil would have been my ultimate choice, but it didn't happen to be an offering on the lunch set menu. For dessert, I got some kind of mascarpone cheese tart thingamabob and subbed good old standard vanilla in lieu of the Turkish coffee ice cream mentioned in the description. I was in play it safe mode. I'll give you my dad's canned answer when asked to judge the dessert. "It had sugar in it, didn't it?" Bottom line: I'll be back.


The set menu was 90QR ($25) which included a starter, entree, dessert, breads, and a coffee/tea. There were several options in each category to surely please everyone.

Food: Good
Atmosphere: Modern, quiet, cozy, not crowded
Service: Excellent
Location: Across from The W, Next to Somerset ~ Google Map
Phone: 4405 3333 () ‏

I forgot to include this starter that my friend got. I'm not so sure what it is...

but, it sort of creeped me out.

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Rogers Diner ~ Doha

Three times is a charm. That's how our third run to the newly opened Rogers Diner in Doha worked out for us. We tried to squeeze in Thursday night and then on Friday afternoon, but business was booming. One last attempt on Saturday and we sashayed on in. We were seated at a table for two, or make that one and a half. If we had been plus sized, we would have been SOL. We were understandably "bumped" a few times while awaiting our food with the tables being too crowded in the area we were seated. The noise level was pretty loud with the espresso machine running every few minutes and the ever screaming baby in the corner didn't help matters. Other than that, the decor was bright, open and airy, with the chrome 50's diner feel. Oh and there was a pretty cool vintage aviation theme going on. The moment I saw a booth vacate, I requested to be moved. The staff did so most obligingly not making me feel at all guilty for my request...almost like, "what took you so long to ask?". Seated at our new table it was an instant transformation. Much more relaxing, so much so that I forgot about the noise level and the big lunged baby. Bring on the food. The menu was a fair sampling of appetizers, burgers, pastas, fajitas, and steaks. The Tex Mex burger and Texas Chili that we decided on (do you spot a theme here?) arrived looking mighty delish, but the taste is in the test. They both passed with flying colors, but I do have to note that when scooping the chili with my chips, there seemed to be an abundance of grease. That sounds pretty disgusting, but the chili had great flavor and I didn't note the grease while actually eating it. So, if appearance bothers you, just close your eyes and savor the flavor. They had some good looking desserts, but we had to opt out in case we get stuck at the one and a half persons table next time. Ciao!









Location: C-Ring, across from BMW Showroom (Ramada area)
Phone: 974 4455 23333
Atmosphere: Fun, bright, casual, bit noisy
Food: Good
Service: Good
Price: Reasonable~similar or slightly higher than Chili's & Applebees

Tex~Mex Burger/fries: 44QR ($12)
Texas Chili and chips: 36QR ($10)
Fountain Drinks w/refills 10QR ($2.75)

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Dial for Doha Delivery

Once upon a time in my Qatar social circle, I was known as Delivery Queen. Pots banging in my kitchen tended to give me a headache, so I quickly adopted the mantra "I call, You deliver". Just between you and me, my delivery days of late are nil to none. I've actually started to like the tunes the pots are playing. My impressive collection of delivery menus is gathering a nice layer of dust and Doha sand. Don't get me wrong though, Paula Dean's not inviting me to her show anytime soon. Here's a little hint of some of the places around town that deliver. Don't fret if you don't see your favorite eatery. Check out Doha Delivery for all your delivery needs. How's that for a free plug, guys?


































And remember peeps, the delivery folks are risking
life and limb to get your food to you. TIPS are appreciated!

For some recent interesting dialogue on tipping, visit @DohaNews tumblr

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Wafi Gourmet Hits Doha

David and I stopped in at the newly opened Wafi Gourmet in Landmark last week. The open market atmosphere was buzzing with a "come hither" attitude that I just couldn't pass up. Coffees, pastries, meats, fish, appetizers, everything right there on display for your ogling eyes. They definitely had my attention so we decided to stay and try it out first hand. Without a doubt, it was the best fatoush I've had in Doha. We kept it simple and just ordered grilled chicken for our entree...had to leave room for dessert! Apparently, there is a small portion not listed on the menu that was offered to us, but we opted for the regular since we were already sharing. The chicken was perfectly seasoned and cooked and way more than our appetites could handle. Thinking back, the small order would probably have done the trick. We rounded out our meal with cappuccinos and a tiramisu. At the risk of being sued*, I have to say that the tiramisu was dry, practically tasteless and about the size of a fun size candy bar, but maybe our fault? Perhaps we should have gone for the baklava. After all, Wafi is a Lebanese restaurant, duh (not to be confused with LRD on The Pearl).










P.S. For some reason I was camera shy and only pulled out my mobile for pics. What's up with that? Weak moment, I guess. Anyway, as you can tell the food pics were "after" thoughts. That's how much chicken was left after we both had our fill.

Mini Review:

Will definitely go back. Nice atmosphere, good service, reasonable prices~higher than Turkey Central, cheaper than hotels. No iced tea, bring your own sweet-n-low (you know, to counteract the dessert!)

*Kuwait blogger sued over bad restaurant review

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Doha Scenes

While hitting the Doha streets yesterday, Kristi and I, ran across a few sights that I'll share. No, I didn't let missy drive the Jeep outside the compound, but when I emerged from the villa she was in the driver's seat and had already backed out. She's a brave soul to get between me and my baby.

Surely this comes off
(I hope they still love Iraq~They lost to Iran last night)

The helmet is a good move, but bicycling
in a Doha roundabout...NOT!
(especially when I'm on the road driving AND taking pictures)

Interesting football (soccer) sculpture
hanging in City Center Mall

Ok, so this is just a blueberry bagel from Bread and Bagel at The Beach Tower in West Bay, but you know I can't go too long without mentioning food. While I'm not a bagel connoisseur, I thought it was pretty dang good.

Click to enlarge menu

We're off to Qatar vs China in the Asian Cup tonight. I'm sure the venue will offer many intriguing sights, so hang tight. Pics will be forthcoming. Looking forward, but not to the traffic. Pray for David, please. Patience, my dear, patience.

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