A good night in Dubai continues when one discovers that behind the humble façade, the Capitol Hotel houses a restaurant that serves… BURRITOS! At last, after 2 and a half years of craving Mexican and finding only a few wilted restaurants with nary a Latin American in the kitchen, I found a decent burrito. It’s not amazing, mind you, but it is just across the street. This is a milestone of my life in Dubai.
But the best part is that this is no ordinary restaurant. This is “Savage Garden,” which is a perfect microcosm of Dubai’s gloriously weird side. It’s a small restaurant with ground and mezzanine floors, all decorated like an Amazonian version of the Tiki Room ride in DisneyWorld, with giant fake trees and vines protruding from the walls, interspersed with fake birds and animals and ethnic masks. It may or may not be named after the cheesy Australian pop duo. It has a fabulous live salsa band, comprised mostly of Philipinos and fronted by woman dressed much the same as the working ladies in the lobby. The dancefloor of Savage Garden is aswirl with Dubai’s tight clique of semi-professional salsa regulars, most of whom are Lebanese. And then there was my table of friends, a mélange of nationalities typical of any gathering in Dubai: 1 American, 2 Lebanese, 1 Egyptian, 1 half-Egyptian/half-Swiss, 1 Brit, 1 German, 2 Argentinians and 1 Dane.
A good night in Dubai continues on my favorite club, which is grungy, friendly to all shapes sizes and persuasions, spun by the best imported Lebanese DJs, and underground (literally underground – it’s built into the corner of a basement parking lot).
A good night in Dubai typically ends with some munchies (my fave is a cheese and zaatar mana’oushe), though last night I skipped that part and went straight to the part where I fall into bed with a big grin on my face.
1 comment:
I am very interested in working in Dubai. I'm a technical writer. Do you have any ideas on to break in, or know of any jobs? Thanks, Joel eleysium at gmail dot com
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