Eating Out
Eating Out
Edited by Caitlyn Davey [email protected]
In search of the big cheese We took to Abu Dhabi’s streets to discover the best cheese boards and selections the city has to offer. Words Gary Green
Bord Eau In stunningly beautiful surroundings at the Shangri-La, overlooking the Khor Al Maqta’a, and beyond it the Grand Mosque, it’s only fitting that the cheese on offer at Bord Eau be similarly first-rate. Offered as a subsidiary to your main course – to help either cap off a meal in a satisfying fashion or as a flavourtempting stopgap between courses – the selection is hand-picked by the chef, suited to the current mood and presented impeccably. Their St Maure goat’s cheese from Poitou, France, is the highlight here. Another unmissable choice is a sheep’s cheese from San Petrone. All is served on crisp poilane bread, finishing off what is an indispensable stop on your Abu Dhabi cheese tour. Dhs65. Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri, Bain Al Jessrain (02 509 8511).
Le Bistrot Jones the Grocer
Spaccanapoli
Pappagallo When this cheese board arrives at the table, it makes a striking impression with its artfully constructed arrangement of dried figs, leaves and breadsticks – which aren’t just for ornamentation, but as richly flavoursome asides to the cheeses themselves. Instead of regular bread, we have ginger bread, adding a sweet dimension to the cheeses on display here, and while the cheddar may be too on the mature side for some, the board gradually evolves to some delectably smooth fromage – the highlight being their Thalegio cut, which has an elegant soft-yet-hard texture, its taste Pappagallo intensifying with each bite. The Gorgonzola is also choice. The board is packed at just the right level to be filling, but not overbearing, and at Dhs40 it can make for a great accompaniment to a main, or as a business break bite. Dhs40. Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area (02 644 6666).
Bord Eau
Spaccanapoli Served as a buffet as opposed to a pre-determined board, you get a well-sized portion of warm bread and a nice selection of help-yourself chilled grape. Dealing with creamier fromage than most, your time at Spaccanapoli may be more of a one-note affair than other establishments. However, their Fontina is exceptionally good, hitting the right notes between silkiness and firmness. The products on show here – Asiago, Taleggio, Scamorza – are all very aromatic, adding a refined layer to them. Spaccanapoli is also a warm atmosphere to enjoy your food in, of which there is also antipasti to be
enjoyed as part of the buffet. Dhs119. Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi, Hamdan Street (02 616 6166).
Dhs50. Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area (02 644 6666).
Le Bistrot
Jones the Grocer has an entire room devoted to cheese, which should be some indication of how seriously it takes its boards. The menu offers a choice of three, five or seven selections, coming with cold cuts and antipasti, and with over forty cheeses to choose from, it may be a bit difficult to pin down quite what you want – but we can suggest a few starting points. If you’re Brie-inclined, theirs goes astonishingly well with their own brand of crisp bread, while their Mimolette comes aged either at three months, providing a lovely smooth texture, or tougher and richer at six months if that’s what you prefer. Jones the Grocer recommends that you try their cheese before buying, which’ll mean you’ll get the perfect pick. Various locations including Al Mamoura (02 443 8762).
Le Bistrot’s cheese board is a thing of traditional sensibilities; displaying the classic favourites (Brie, Cheddar, Gorgonzola) in an unfussy assortment, which underplays the intense flavours that lie in store. Firstly, their Roquefort is a particularly strong blue cheese, and while their Cheddar may be slightly too dry in relation to the mainly softer cheese selection, it’s counterbalanced by a Brie de Meaux; perfectly ripe, it goes particularly well with a dip in the herb sauce that’s provided. In fact the trump card here is the combination of deceptively simple yet well-picked condiments. It’s a straightforward board, which makes it a disarmingly appetizing choice because of such modesty and understatement.
Jones the Grocer
November 6 – 12 2013 timeoutabudhabi.com 37
Edited by Caitlyn Davey [email protected]
In search of the big cheese We took to Abu Dhabi’s streets to discover the best cheese boards and selections the city has to offer. Words Gary Green
Bord Eau In stunningly beautiful surroundings at the Shangri-La, overlooking the Khor Al Maqta’a, and beyond it the Grand Mosque, it’s only fitting that the cheese on offer at Bord Eau be similarly first-rate. Offered as a subsidiary to your main course – to help either cap off a meal in a satisfying fashion or as a flavourtempting stopgap between courses – the selection is hand-picked by the chef, suited to the current mood and presented impeccably. Their St Maure goat’s cheese from Poitou, France, is the highlight here. Another unmissable choice is a sheep’s cheese from San Petrone. All is served on crisp poilane bread, finishing off what is an indispensable stop on your Abu Dhabi cheese tour. Dhs65. Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri, Bain Al Jessrain (02 509 8511).
Le Bistrot Jones the Grocer
Spaccanapoli
Pappagallo When this cheese board arrives at the table, it makes a striking impression with its artfully constructed arrangement of dried figs, leaves and breadsticks – which aren’t just for ornamentation, but as richly flavoursome asides to the cheeses themselves. Instead of regular bread, we have ginger bread, adding a sweet dimension to the cheeses on display here, and while the cheddar may be too on the mature side for some, the board gradually evolves to some delectably smooth fromage – the highlight being their Thalegio cut, which has an elegant soft-yet-hard texture, its taste Pappagallo intensifying with each bite. The Gorgonzola is also choice. The board is packed at just the right level to be filling, but not overbearing, and at Dhs40 it can make for a great accompaniment to a main, or as a business break bite. Dhs40. Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area (02 644 6666).
Bord Eau
Spaccanapoli Served as a buffet as opposed to a pre-determined board, you get a well-sized portion of warm bread and a nice selection of help-yourself chilled grape. Dealing with creamier fromage than most, your time at Spaccanapoli may be more of a one-note affair than other establishments. However, their Fontina is exceptionally good, hitting the right notes between silkiness and firmness. The products on show here – Asiago, Taleggio, Scamorza – are all very aromatic, adding a refined layer to them. Spaccanapoli is also a warm atmosphere to enjoy your food in, of which there is also antipasti to be
enjoyed as part of the buffet. Dhs119. Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi, Hamdan Street (02 616 6166).
Dhs50. Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, Tourist Club Area (02 644 6666).
Le Bistrot
Jones the Grocer has an entire room devoted to cheese, which should be some indication of how seriously it takes its boards. The menu offers a choice of three, five or seven selections, coming with cold cuts and antipasti, and with over forty cheeses to choose from, it may be a bit difficult to pin down quite what you want – but we can suggest a few starting points. If you’re Brie-inclined, theirs goes astonishingly well with their own brand of crisp bread, while their Mimolette comes aged either at three months, providing a lovely smooth texture, or tougher and richer at six months if that’s what you prefer. Jones the Grocer recommends that you try their cheese before buying, which’ll mean you’ll get the perfect pick. Various locations including Al Mamoura (02 443 8762).
Le Bistrot’s cheese board is a thing of traditional sensibilities; displaying the classic favourites (Brie, Cheddar, Gorgonzola) in an unfussy assortment, which underplays the intense flavours that lie in store. Firstly, their Roquefort is a particularly strong blue cheese, and while their Cheddar may be slightly too dry in relation to the mainly softer cheese selection, it’s counterbalanced by a Brie de Meaux; perfectly ripe, it goes particularly well with a dip in the herb sauce that’s provided. In fact the trump card here is the combination of deceptively simple yet well-picked condiments. It’s a straightforward board, which makes it a disarmingly appetizing choice because of such modesty and understatement.
Jones the Grocer
November 6 – 12 2013 timeoutabudhabi.com 37
