Be Local Support Local goes both ways.

We at artofdining.net wish you a HaPpy Eid, and hope you are enjoying it to the fullest.
in our efforts to show how local community businesses can help and support its own, we would like to introduce D2ecars.com for you. A Saudi operated website, and a partner to artofdining.net. that makes buying and selling a used car much easier. if your not sure what you are looking for, it will give you inspiration, if you have a car in mind, you can look to see if it is on the website; if not dont despair, D2Ecars.com has a far reach and they can attempt to order you a used car according to your specifications from the U.S.A and for a price that can usually beat the same car in the local market. back to the point, yes they are a partner company, and yes they are cool in my opinion, but that is not why i am writing about them in this newsletter. The reason why, is that D2Ecars.com is giving all proceeds from advertising your car on their website to Young initiative Group (YIG). A charity organization that helps the local community. And we at artofdining.net would like to promote such practices by local businesses. Be local, support Local, goes both ways for consumers as well as businesses we think. --

Riyadh Event.. Oasis ft. Zahra

It takes place on the 2nd of October 2010, in DNA.

Over 25 designer items are displayed, some exclusively created for the event (DVF, Mathew Williamson, Nina Ricci, Bara Boux, Ana Sekularac, Krikor Jaboutian, Warda Haute Couture, Noa Couture, Georgina Goodman, Noon, Tasche, Bow, T-bag los angeles, MCM, Moe Khadra MOK, Asudari, RK designs, Kara Ross, and osman yousefzada)

100% of all the proceeds will go directly to Zahra Organization (Saudi Breast Cancer Awareness Center).

Tickets are sold for 300SR.
tickets are available at the following locations in Riyadh

- Harvey Nichols Riyadh ( Faisaliyah Mall)
- Cities Store ( Centria Mall)
- Maison B-OM ( Nujood Center)
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?id=518105574&pid=7458421#!/pages/Maison-BOM/113589225325549?ref=ts

For more information please don't hesitate to ask - info@oasis-mag.com.

Website Down

Dear members, I would like to apologize about the artofdining.net website being down on and off for the last week. This is due to our hosting company Netfirms doing some maintenance and upgrades on their servers. We have contacted them in regard to this issue and we are waiting to hear back from them with a time schedule for the problem to be fixed.

If u need to make a reservation please either visit our mirror website that we have put up because this problem at:
http://www.artofdinning.com

you can also email us any reservation requests at:
ls@artofdining.net

Smooth Website... technical problems fixed

We just moved artofdining from the old servers to new servers now. During this transfer we had a bit of small troubles. Small troubles are the worst since they are hard to notice and even harder to debug and fix. the website was acting randomly and sometimes not allowing members to make reservations. We fixed all of that and the site is running smoothly right now.

Please remember if u ever have a problem with the website and need to make a reservation, just send us an email and we will promptly look at the problem and make ur reservation.

Upcomming events

Here are some of the events that are ongoing for the next week or so:

1- Aisha's solo exhibition... Chinese Ink painting with Saudi influence as described by the Oasis blog. More info can be found HERE 26th May- 4th June

2-"Good Morning Saudi Arabia" A Hewar gallery exhibit 24th - 30th May .. More info HERE

We would love to hear your opinions about either of these events.. just drop us a line :)

The burger debate

For months now there has been ongoing debates between many of our reviewers and members in regards to the best burgers in Riyadh. The results are never conclusive, or even in agreement. For no one can compare a McDonald burger with a 90+ burger boutique burger. Even within the same price range controversy arises.
Therefore we have decided to run a series on 'The best burger in Riyadh'. In this series we will not only debate the burger but instead we will ask our reviewers and members to review the whole restaurant. We would also like our members to comment on this post by giving us their thought of where the best burger live (names) in their opinion and we will try to review all the homes of these burgers.

Please send all reviews to:
blog@artofdining.net

Tokyo, Riyadh.... a Japanese experiance.

Most of the restaurants in Riyadh offer a tedious dinning experience, only a few truly standout. For those seeking to indulge themselves in Japanese cuisine the options are limited, but one restaurant stand out which is Tokyo restaurant located on Uruba Street. The restaurant offers an authentic Japanese experience and is the closest thing to actually eat in the land of the rising sun. The restaurant is well known for its Japanese Head Chef.

You get a glimpse of Japan when you pass the Japanese curtains at the entrance of the single's section of the restaurants and notice the rack that curtains the numerous Japanese newspapers. Then you would be welcomed by the smiles of the affable restaurant staff. The singles section is well known for its vibrant environment, the many Japanese and asian customers, the sushi bar and the tapanyaki cooking tops turned into tables. The family's section on the other hand lack the lively atmosphere found in the singles section.

Anyway to the thing that matter the most which is the food. Miso soup and salad comes with any order a customer would chose along with an infinite supply of green tea. The soup lacks texture but the dressing of the salad offers an interesting taste. The sushi the restaurant offers is one of the best in Riyadh and the best time for it is Sundays because it is the day in which the restaurant gets its supply of fresh fish. The tempura maki is highly recommended. The only problem with the sushi is that there isn't that much variety of sushi for people to chose from which I guess is related to the authentic theme of the restaurant. The dish that offers the best value for money is the seafood tapanyaki. It contains two types of fish and shrimp. And for desert make sure that you try the green tea ice-cream.

Although the restaurant does not offer an elaborate sitting, it offers food that tastes very good and is consistent. The animated atmosphere adds up to the overall dining experience. Tokyo restaurant is one of the few restaurants in Riyadh that offers a unique dining experience and is highly recommended.

Ibrahim

sombreros...margaritas...The Mexican Food Festival

Men and children wearing sombreros , margaritas, Budin de calabacita (zucchini pudding), Arroz a la tumbada, Pico de gallo salad with jicama, shrimp 'cazuela' with bell peppers and cheese. It was a festive night at La Brasserie as HE Artoro Trejo the Ambassador of Mexico to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia inaugurated the Mexican Food Festival , that will be ongoing for the next ten days.

Chef Gostavo Pinet arrived to Riyadh two days ago from Rosewood Mayakobá hotel in Mexico to overlook and prepare for this event. Eventhough challenged by the scarcity of certain ingredients he was able to bring the true flavors of Mexico into the halls of La Brasserie Restaurant at this event.

Arriving to the event I was greeted by six different selections of margaritas: Ginger, pineapple, mango, plum, white grapes, and strawberry margarita. Even though I thought the pineapple margarita would be the one I would love at the end, it was the strawberry that won the prize… Moving along I got greeted by a smiling man wearing a sombrero hat and a ponchos. Seating was scarce at first since this event was overwhelmingly welcomed. I did not mind that at all, for it gave me more time to walk between the large selection of foods and give my eyes a treat. The setting was a buffet in the middle, a hot plate station for cooking skewers and casadias, another station for a variety of cooked sea food, and a beautiful island of at least twenty selections of deserts. As usual I decided to start with something that is made by many restaurants around the world, a traditional Mexican dish, the fajitas. Even though simple to make, it gives you an idea of how well the chef is, and what is his style of cooking. I have had oily fajitas, dry fajitas, fatty fajitas while I dinned in many Mexican restaurants in Southern California, and Mexico. I must say this fajita was excellent, light on fat, but in no means dry. Well balanced is the least I can say, a delicious start to open my appetite. Next were the cheese casadias, and the taste was just getting better. Overwhelmed and anxious to try other dishes my eyes took me towards the soups. There I met Chef Pinte for the first time. It is always nice to see a chef next to food, it gives me an essence of care, not only for the food but also for the person who will be eating the food. Chef Pinet recommended the Tortilla soup, he ladled the soup into the ball, and garnished it with some bits of tortillas. The soup was a very balanced one, not an overwhelming taste of broth as it should not be for a tortia soup, and loaded with flavors. From there even though satisfactorily full; I launched into the buffet trying bits of everything. Everything I tried was either great or divine, with one exception and that is the beautifully made ‘marinated tuna in a sweet and spicy dressing’ , it looked far better than it tasted for my own taste buds. (if anyone gets to try it, please let us know what you think).

Next stop was the Treasure Island (at least that is what I call it), the island of deserts. For once I was disappointed with my own self, for I knew I cannot try all the selections of treasures. I started off trying Sopaipilla and then the toasted almonds with vanilla sauce, the toasted almonds were really good. Then I walked around and let my eyes take the lead and choose my final desert. It was grape and almond tartlet and it was divine. Other selections of desert were rich banana nut bread, sangria roulade with Grenadine jelly, cinnamon rice pudding, steamed coconut flan, orange dust, and the most wanted 5 spice chocolate mousse cake. The mouse cake must have been exceptional for I could not get my hands on a piece, and I left before the new cake came along.

In every essence this was an amazing event, and even though the sombreros men won’t be there for the rest of the Mexican Food Festival, if you are looking for great Mexican food, La Brasserie restaurant, in Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel, is the place to dine for the next ten days. According to chef Pinet the selection in the buffet will be changing between couple of menus he has setup, and depending on the fresh ingredients they are able to secure for that day.

The Mexican Food Festival will be ongoing from the 12^th of April till the 22^nd of April in La Brasserie restaurant, Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel for dinner only, and Friday brunch will have some of the selections as well.

To reserve online through artofdining.net use this link : La Brasserie restaurant

100th Anniversary for sickle cell... Meat Co, Bahrain

In recognition of the 100th anniversary for sickle cell discovery, Society members and volunteers in Bahrain are hosting an awareness/fund raising campaign for sickle anemia over the next 6 weeks.
The kick-off will begin at Meat Co Restaurant in Adliya, Manama on the actual anniversary date of April 16 (Friday) from 1pm till midnight. All food revenues will go to the Bahrain Society for sickle cell disease patient care

The price will be 20BD for a 3 course meal.

We will update you as we know more about how the society members in Bahrain of different ages and nationalities are coming together to help the society in awareness and unity.

Layth Sudairy

Roma, Riyadh... The italian dream or...

The bread.... You enter a restaurant and you are extremely hungry, low and behold, the first thing that comes to you is a selection of bread, along with a side of butter and green as well as black olive paste. it is most certainly the best quality and freshest table bread a restaurant has to offer in Riyadh. I always have to keep the bread away from me, otherwise my dinner will be consisting of nothing but bread and butter :) The olive paste even though oily is actually really good especially with the balsamic vinegar.

We were a party of 18, and the service was pretty good. Do not expect all the starters or entrees to be delivered at the same time in Roma. The servings come in waves of four to eight dishes at a time. So if you are going to wait for all the food to come to the table.... For smaller parties the food will come at the same time.
I would describe the food in Roma to be more of an southern Italian style. I am in by no means an expert about all regions of Italian food, but that is the feeling i get. In southern i mean, pasta dishes that are made with heavier sauces, cream, lots of cheese, and pink sauces. My ritual in Roma, is to order an espresso as soon as i arrive. Sometimes I order an espresso with one scoop of vanilla ice cream as my starter (yup coffee/sugaraholic) once they come, I pour my espresso or most of it atop the ice cream, and have my desert as my first. The espresso there is excellently made(check my last post about excellent espresso), They do use the same coffee beans as those used by Anthurium, yet i still like the Anthurium espresso more, and i am not entirely sure of the reason. For me the espresso in Roma is a tidbit more bitter. guess this will need more investigating.

Back to the menu, starters and salads such as carpacio, fried calamari, insalata caprese are amongst the dishes offered, I opted for the tomato soup. and i have to say it is a must try. It is not a spicy tomato soup, but i have seen people people who turned it into an ocean of chili flakes. and it tastes excellent no matter what you decide to do with it. Pastas are well done, and not overcooked, but if you want a real al dente pasta, don't forget to tell ur waiter the magic word 'al dente'. Pastas are served with couple of choices for sauces, yet from experience, you can attempt asking the chef to make you any style of sauce you could think of -I wounder if they make a potanesca, someone should try asking for that- I have tried many of the sauces, and they are all very good. My own preference is the simplest and lightest 'tomato e basilico' (not on the menu but u can always ask for it).
The main dishes are excellent, I have never ordered one that i got disappoint in, whether it was beef, lamb, or fish.


In summery I would say the rating for this restaurant (amongst others in Riyadh) is as follows:

Food : 9
Starters: 9
Salads: 7
Pastas: 9
Meat : 9
Sea Food: 9
Desert :7
Service : 8 (for party more than 6) , 9 (for smaller party)
Ambiance: 8
Hygiene: 9.5
Acoustics : 9


Please feel free to add your comments whether to support or oppose this review, it is only my opinion, and it would be nice to hear others opinion about this restaurant.

Reviewed by Layth Sudairy

maintenance

Dear all members, we are preforming some maintenance to our website
www.artofdining.net

if you have any problems accessing the website, please access the mirror site we created to insure that our service is not interrupted to you at
www.artofdinning.com

Best wishes,
The webmaster.

BBM Artofdining.net (BETA) Reservations on the GO

We have launched in the last couple of months couple of services to help our members easily make reservations. One of these services is the BBM artofdining.net
With this new service there is no need to open your Computer or laptop, no need to fire-up your lovely BlackBerry browser, all u have to do is send us a Black Berry Messenger Message with all the relevant info for your reservation, and we will reply to you in the speed of light. Eventhough it has been couple of months since we launched this service, we are still working on bits and pieces of the technical issues, and it has nothing to do with ur reservation not being made (so don't worry) :)

For now; to access this service just add the following contact to your BBM:
PIN # 2627efb2
or
PIN # 258CFE19

Make a request by adding the following comment:

'art of dining [ur mobile number]"

The mobile number is matched to the number in your profile on artofdining.net and once verified, u will receive a welcome message and you will be able to try out our BBM reservations.

Best cup of espresso in Riyadh

I will start by writing, I am a coffeeholic to say the least. I love Coffee, every type of coffee, from American brewed, to Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian coffee. Coffee in all its forms is a piece of heaven for me. This time i am only talking about one specific type and it is :espresso.
I always thought i will never have a better cup of espresso than the one that the illy trained baristas in Java Time (used to be Coffee Time) make.

I will be boring for a bit, but I think it is necessary to describe what goes into making an excellent cup of espresso:

An excellent cup of espresso depends on many factors including the coffee that is being used. U can get the best espresso coffee and give it to an untrained person, and they will make you the worst cup of espresso you probably ever tasted. An excellent shot of espresso is made by the perfect adjustment of : the grinder, the amount of coffee, the tamping pressure, the amount of time a shot takes to get pulled, the water pressure, and the water temperature (the last two being the advantage of better machines) It takes weeks and lots of practice for a person to be able to pull a great espresso shot. An excellent espresso shot can be noticed as soon as it is served, usually from the crema on the top. The thickness of the crema as well as the color of it. I have seen baristas pulling shots that were half coffee and half crema, with crema that is lasting in the cup for more than 45 seconds at that thickness. A great shot of espresso should have dark reddish brown crema, not the light creamy one we usually see at cafes like Starbucks or the ones we see in many if not most restaurants all over the world .

Under Extracted espresso	Good Espresso

This was until I was invited to Anthurium for lunch. Anthurium is located on 'Satellite rd', in the same strip as Roma cafe. it is a California cuisine restaurant if i were to describe the food, with a new addition of sushi to the menu. I will not rate the food in this article, but will leave this to a later issue. at the beginning of our lunch and while we were waiting for the rest of our party to arrive, i decided i needed a cup of coffee. An espresso is what i ordered. it took some time to come. As i saw the waiter carrying the cup, I thought to myself this is going to be one of these one shot espresso's that i will have to swallow just to get my caffeine fix. But as it laid in front of me, my facial expression completely changed. An uncontrollable huge smile was setting on my face. I stopped the conversation at the table, and i said 'OH MY GOD, this must be an amazing espresso, it has been ages since i saw something like this' and i was only describing the look of crema the espresso had. It had tiger stripes.

Tiger Stripes can been seen on one of the pictures above. This means not only is the crema a dark reddish brown color, but it also has stripes of a darker shade. Hence the cup i got was as good as i can ever expect from the bean they were brewing. There were a couple of light spots on the crema, but i was willing to try that cup of espresso with no sugar at all. Something i forgot how to do after my last visit to Rome, where almost every other cup of espresso is an excellent cup of espresso. Everyone on the table was watching me, for i am not the type that compliments things easily. My first sip... no bitterness at all... It was superb. the smile on my face just got bigger... It was a heavenly moment. The rest of the cup was as completion of an outstanding shot of espresso. By far i am recommending giving Anthurium the emblem of "Artofdining's best espresso shot in riyadh', better than Jave Time, and better than any other cafe or restaurant i have tried in Riyadh.

By: Layth Sudairy

To reserve: Anthorium Riyadh

Intro

My name is Layth Sudairy and i am a co-founder of artofdining.net and i love to welcome you all to our new blog.

In the original planning of artofdining.net, a review section was planned. A place where we could write our own opinions about various aspects of the restaurants, as well as a section for our members to ad their own reviews. Yet along the way an aspect of a deal with an already established review website made us freeze that thought. We hoped we can achieve some type of complementary agreement with that website.
Obviously as everyone notices from our site, that deal never happened and we were too far forward in our web development to unfreeze the review section idea. Therefore we came up with a bit of a different idea now, a blog. It might be a real bad idea, but we at artofdining.net love to try everything. After all we launched a website where people can make reservations online! 'Why would anyone do that?' , is the question i hear the most after explaining what we do. I thought it was self-explanatory; it is a great service. u click couple of buttons and u already booked a table ii your favorite restaurant, all you wait for is an email or an sms that says 'your table is booked'. 'but why don't i just call them?', is the next question i hear. That is the harder question, I can even ask many international hotels and restaurant reservation websites the same thing. My simple answer: 'it is cheaper, actually it is free'. I personally think it is faster too. I don't have to redial if it is a new restaurant that always has a busy tone. Think of 'Burger Boutique' in Riyadh, such an instance where you think can i find some way to make my mobile redial faster when busy!!
Yet in our first, second, and third business plan we specified a unique goal with artofdining.net, and it was not just online reservations, our goal was to provide a unique service, one that is a fusion between online reservations, and Condé Nast service. Off course we are not expecting to be an all-out concierge service, but maybe just for restaurants we can be. So we launched couple of additional services, BB PIN reservations (where you can make your reservations directly through the BBM), an exclusive international restaurant recommendation email service, as well as couple of interesting newsletters such as 'hidden treasures' and 'Events'. I know many of you dont know about many of these features.
It is our fault, for we have lacked in our marketing and information department. We have been focusing on our sales department the last couple of months. After all we need to be able to sustain this company. No i will not be discussing the other question 'How do you make money?" let us keep somethings for ourselves after all :)
Riyadh has been our testing ground, and we thank all of our members for being part of this test. We did great so far: no reservation problems, no unattended requests. on the other hand with restaurants it has been difficult. The idea of an online booking does not seem to be understood or appreciated. So our struggle with restaurants continues. Few such as the Sheraton Hotel, and Pizza Amore, I enjoyed working with; for they seem to be the progressive ones, understanding the value of such service.
I will wrap this up now and both Mohammed Al Rashed, and I as the founders hope to start a relationship between us and our members. A relationship that can make artofdining.net flourish with your ideas, and feedback.