Restaurant review: Cool chillies In tears with pleasure, Gamal Nkrumah and his son Karim dug into perfectly seared flame grills at Chili's We are already at the very portals of the height of summer. Perhaps climate change will enhance the way we eat. That said, although there is anecdotal evidence of a correlation between heat waves and hot food, there is scant scientific evidence that as temperatures soar, the palate yearns for dishes that sound hot but are actually pretty cool. So off we set for Chili's. The particular meal we savoured was fun, and at less than LE150 a head was good value. I opted for the subtly seasoned tilapia fillet topped with mouthwatering garlic-and-lime sauce, together with guiltless honey-mustard glazed salmon and fresh vegetables including broccoli, carrot and zucchini. The flavours were most intriguing. All the ingredients were clean and fresh. The fish was freakish, the herbs and spices far from overpowering, and the flaky flesh itself -- dawn-tinted and cream-coloured -- was decidedly empyreal. Lightly sautéed, the vegetables exuded a refined, penetrating aroma. It was the sort of feast, I imagined, that still makes an appearance at the salons culinaires of the big trade fairs of Europe. My son and I were greeted by the warm smiles of waiters bedecked in red. A few vermilion flame trees were in full bloom, and the lilac jacarandas of Maadi vied with the multi-hued bougainvillea for the attention of passers-by. Spring metamorphosed into summer, and it was time to get hot on temperature control. In sweltering Cairo, this is the season to head for Chili's. The ambient temperature at this time of the year varies tremendously, as anyone who has taken the trouble to monitor it knows. The nights are balmy, and daytime temperatures can be unbearably torrid. Some days are overcast, and others sparkle in brilliant sunshine, under cloudless and azure skies. Good-value food is a challenge in Cairo. Fast food is surprisingly emotive, especially for teens and adolescents, but that for me is a huge chunk of its charm. I take my sons to such restaurants, and they appreciate that kind of dish best. They hate the traditional meaty overcooked vegetable stews of Egypt. They find the blubbery morsels of mutton especially despicable. "Mine is a simpler affair, Baba. Steak is my preferred meat dish, dad. Especially when presented with prawns," Karim said. Whatever the veracity of his tale, he was soon spooning mouthfuls of the garlic-and-lime-doused grilled plump prawns, the flame-grilled steak and the delicious garlic toast that accompanies the sumptuous dish. I stuck to the guiltless vegetables and gave him my mashed potatoes, but not before having had a spoonful myself. Neither of us was in the mood for fiery foodstuffs. And, Chili's, contrary to commonly held assumptions, does not house exotic ingredients. Nor did we care particularly for authenticity. We were far more interested in the proper bubbling on the surface of our first-choice grills. Easter is over, and so is the Lenten diet of cabbage soup. Neither of us cared for soup. Chili's soups, much to our chagrin, always end up far too much on the creamy, somewhat greasy, side. We also passed on the classic molten chocolate cake -- syrupy sweet and hideously calorific as far as I was concerned. There is another facet of life in Maadi to consider. The distinguishing aspect of the suburb that sets it apart from others in Cairo is that Maadi has seen a steady swell of expatriates who have brought their own culinary traditions and distinctive dishes with them, subsequently being subsumed as our own Egyptian specialties. Fast food, American-style, is no exception. Chili's, New Maadi, does not provide the glamorous setting of Chili's Nile City on the mooring boat in Zamalek. But it does have a functional playground area for kids, and it is one of the most tried-and-tested, dependable and consistent high-end fast-food restaurant chains in Cairo. As my son and I left Chili's to venture deeper into the Al-Bandar Mall to watch a movie in the cinema next door, only the sudden insight that we had eaten so satisfactorily prevented us from assuming that we had just walked off a film set. Chili's Grill & Bar Al-Bandar Mall 1 Palestine Street, New Maadi, Cairo Tel: 2520 3144 or 2520 3122 Lunch for two: LE250
