The third article that describes in more detail part of our experience in Qatar during a Fulbright visit for 6 months.

This is one of the most difficult articles to write, although one of the most important for those planning to visit Qatar. I am not a restaurant expert, I am just providing our family’s experience. If I sound like I’m advertising a restaurant, I’m not, we just must have really liked it. To be honest, food is probably what we enjoy the most in Qatar.

Qatar offers a wide variety of food options with a wide range of costs. The first restaurant I visited in Doha was Turkey Central on Al Mirqab Street, a few hours after arriving in Doha. He wasn’t very fancy, but he was hungry enough and wasn’t so sure about future meals, since he didn’t have a car at the time. The menu consisted mainly of grilled meats and a mix of Middle Eastern salads. My host, Mohammed Alsayed, an engineer from the University of Qatar proposed a mix of chicken and beef skewers and a set of mixed salads including Taboli, hummus, green salads, yogurt and eggplant salad. The prices were very reasonable at less than $ 6 per person. The aroma of the food as it was delivered was unbelievably delicious. The food itself looked and tasted good.

This simple, low-cost restaurant became our favorite restaurant during our Fulbright visit to Qatar. We especially enjoyed their chicken kofta sandwiches which consisted of chicken kofta rolled in a pita bread with tomato sauce. Both were served hot and sizzling, and they were extremely appetizing with their flavorful flavor. There were several restaurants that have a much better atmosphere, service, and similar menu, but somehow Central Turkey remained a favorite when it came to taste. So we learned to order take out only. Across the street was another restaurant, Al Bukhari, which we visited once. They are very famous for lintel soup and are worth trying.

One of the restaurants that offers a similar menu, but in a much more elegant setting, is Almajlis Al-Arabi. It has at least 2 branches, but the one we visited several times was a very short distance from the iconic Mall, an exclusive shopping center in Doha. The problem was always finding a parking space. Doha has grown a lot in a very short time and parking has become a very difficult problem throughout the city, but especially in the Malls. After a few visits to all these restaurants, we got a bit tired of the same grilled skewer theme. On the recommendation of another Fulbright scholar we decided to give an Indian restaurant called Caravan a try.

The Caravan restaurant is in a square off Salwa Road. The plaza has other different restaurants, including Pizza Hut, Pandarosa, and Starbucks. After struggling with the parking problem we head into the restaurant, the entrance is attractive and an Indian host dressed in western clothes leads us to our table, lights a candle and leads us to the buffet. A large room lined with between 20 and 30 food items. The highlight of the buffet, for us at least, is a small whole grilled lamb served on a bed of rice. I tried carving but it didn’t seem to be that useful with knives and a server soon came to save me from carving my fingers.

Around the room were other Indian, Thai and even Arabic dishes. Everything looked and tasted great. But the tasty flavor of the lamb remains etched in our memory. The most popular of the sweets in Doha is Omm-Ali. It seems that different countries are fighting for Omm-Ali’s property right, but the name supports the Egyptian claim on this delicacy. The buffet was 25 QR per person. I don’t think this is less than a $ 25 buffet in the States.

There are many other smaller restaurants on Salwa Road near the Plaza where Caravan is located. The ones we tried for breakfast were Syrian and Lebanese restaurants selling falafel, hummus, Foul (beans), eggplant, and other traditional Arabic breakfast delicacies.

Qatari society is a very closed society. It is very difficult to be invited to a Qatari house, but we managed to experience the closest we can get to a Qatari kitchen in a restaurant on the Corniche overlooking the gulf called Bulhambar. We ventured there without references. It was a perfect winter afternoon with a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Walking along the Corniche, near the great symbol of the Asian Games, it is hard not to see that building. It is only a few years old, but it is decorated with traditional Qatari rugs and photographs of old Qatar. It is the first time we have seen Qatari workers in a restaurant. The location and authenticity of the environment is priced at 100 QR ($ 35) per person. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet. All food has Qatari names that are difficult to decipher. The food was very delicious and mostly consisted of different types of meat (chicken, lamb, beef, fish) packed with rice and cooked, extremely tender. The elegantly seasoned rice captures the full flavor of the meat. The experience was excellent, but we don’t venture there very often.

Although several American restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut, Chilli’s, Applebee’s, Pandarosa are in Doha, we were not in Qatar long enough to miss the American food chain. Prices at American chains are slightly more expensive than their prices in the US Starbucks was the only American chain we have frequented to load up on caffeine. A decent cup of coffee can easily get you to QR 25. Famous Doha hotels, including the uniquely shaped Sheraton and the Ritz Carlton, offer very stylish Western dining experiences. I loved the salad bar at the Ritz with the elegant smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail and sushi bar.

Suffice it to summarize this article by the fact that I have gained 15 pounds in my period in Qatar even though I was exercising during the same period.