Restaurant review: Sizzling Schatz Macrobiotic aspects all considered, slow progress is the way forward We have to go forward, the ticking inside impels us to move, the springs entrapped in the lining of our souls are scratching, screeching. Anything to cool off the urges of the soul, anything to tone up the cellulite of existence, anything for a good meal and a new pair of shoes. My companion and I advance, with this dual purpose, towards the eastern suburb. The ride in the overland metro from Ramsis to Roxy, costing a quarter of a pound each, entitles you to a fresh view of urbanity and the human soul. "To sweet memories," the graffiti announces near the wagon's door, followed by names of three boys bound in a nail- scratched, misspelled vow of friendship -- nothing that time and a fresh coat of paint can't heal. The tables at the retro café-restaurant are also scratched, every single dark-tinted inch of their wooden surface, for memory's sake or art's. The sackcloth curtains colour the afternoon sunlight with honey. Schatz, as this establishment is called, can be translated loosely as honey. The German word, literally meaning treasure, is used as a pet name for anyone you love and wish to keep for a while. I am told that Schatz rocks at night with a hip and young crowd. But the laid-back hours of the after-shopping escapade with a few friends are soothing. The waitress, nose- studded and almost bilingual, brings us a menu of mostly Italian cuisine. The menu instructs us to "ask about macrobiotic food, diet food." We ask, and take the waitress by surprise. Apparently, the macrobiotics are yet to happen, the special chefs brought in for the task are taking their own good macrobiotic time. The place has a spacious dining area with an L-shaped service bar and a semi-open kitchen in the background. The pizza oven behind the bar is done in faux rustic, to match the rest of the décor, featuring also a sewing machine, an old iron, and a miniature Swiss girl's hat with a braid of blond hair made of vegetarian, non-edible fibre. The chairs are old-style, with the arms and the back wrapping around you in half circle, loving but not intrusive. The food takes forever to come. A friend says it is slow food, a concept worthy of endorsement, apparently along with all forms of cautious progress, in food as well as politics. I am told that a squad of slow food cooks are converging slowly on Cairo, and promise to keep you slowly updated on their whereabouts. Slow food, by the way, is a half-Italian movement of international dimensions that started out in protest against McDonalds opening up in Rome 20 years ago. The movement seeks out traditional ways of cooking from far off places, promoting recipes, ingredients and lifestyles long threatened by our reckless desire to get back home today. After a prolonged hiatus, during which we sip languorously our Italian-flavoured sodas, the first appetisers appear. The rocket, or gargir, salad comes with pine nuts, finely-sliced mushrooms, and balsamic vinegar, minimalist, brushing shoulders with snobbery, but so timidly the latter is not quite sure how to respond. The Schatz starter is a collection of edible chicken nuggets and cheese croquettes. The pizza staggioni, the first of the main dishes, has a fresh topping of olives, tomatoes and green peppers and is enough for two. The fettuccini pasta with pesto basil sauce and chicken is convincing. The sizzling skillet of pasta, meat, and vegetables is an Italian housewife's homage to recycling. The burrito chicken sandwich tastes like fajitas, says the Mexico-trained Californian on my left, a comment I found deep without grasping its full meaning. The dessert is the best part. The chocolate cake with fudge sauce, served with vanilla ice cream, is rugged to the touch but undulating to the senses. The crepe with chestnut sauce grows on you, the first bite tentative, the second better, the fifth and sixth and seventh I leave to you to judge. Schatz, 55 Al-Shahid Abdel-Moneim Hafez, Almaza, Heliopolis, (02) 2903170, is open 10am to 1am. Rustic, friendly, slow, excellent for an after shopping escapade. Alcohol not available. Lunch per person, LE70. By Nabil Shawkat
