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For most of us, just keeping up with the waves of demonstrations and thuggish counterdemonstrations in Egypt is intense enough without getting all gastronomic about it. But there is, rest assured, a food component even to Middle East unrest and revolution. Grist ably rounds up the food-related Mideast coverage and discovers a pattern: Sky-high food prices were a big player in the unrest in Tunisia which in turn sparked unrest in Egypt—a country that actually does a dang fine job of subsidizing staples such as bread.
Meanwhile, looters are doing their best to deny Egyptians Western-style fast-food choices when it comes to lunch: 32 Hardee's locations were closed after rioters damaged some of them. It's unclear whether the damage was caused by anti-Mubarak protesters lashing out at a symbol of the West, pro-government street toughs trying to discredit protesters, or Taco Bell partisans just striking a blow on behalf of mediocre Tex-Mex food with mysterious beef filling.
Image source: Flickr member Andrew 鐘 under Creative Commons
I live in Egypt, Hardees in open so is Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Chilies so the writer of the article need not worry, one can stilll buy bad American food in Egypt.
If you had taken any time at all to research for this article, you would have known that koshari is the one of the most popular dishes in Egypt and was what sustained the protestors in Tahrir Square, and elsewhere. Not that hard, people.
I find the title to this disgustingly sensational. But I guess it's what I should expect from CHOW.
I lived in Egypt last year, and yes, we even ate at a Hardees when we were there. The basic diet of the average (poor) Egyptian consists of lots of beans, vegetables -- cabbage being among the most consumed -- and rice. Meat is eaten infrequently (maybe once or twice a week at most) and the many fast food chains are strictly for the affluent. MacDonald's is considered to be a very fancy place for...+READ
I lived in Egypt last year, and yes, we even ate at a Hardees when we were there. The basic diet of the average (poor) Egyptian consists of lots of beans, vegetables -- cabbage being among the most consumed -- and rice. Meat is eaten infrequently (maybe once or twice a week at most) and the many fast food chains are strictly for the affluent. MacDonald's is considered to be a very fancy place for a date, and Friday's is off the chart for fancy, expensive meals. Most Egyptians start the day with fuul, which is like refried beans, served in a pita. If you are rich, you might have part of an egg sliced into the pita. Fuul is know as the "rock in the stomach" since it will keep you from being hungry for most of the day. The poverty is grinding, and there is no question that lit the spark. We had many cab drivers with University degrees, and driving cabs in Cairo's horrific traffic was the best that they could do.-COLLAPSE
This is horrible. I was in Egypt 2 years ago and the poverty even then was astronomical. Being poor in the US still means you have a bathroom; being poor in Egypt often does not mean that. Also, Egyptians are not stupid. They know that we supported Mubarak for the last 3 decades! And now we tell him to leave after giving him billions of dollars in military aid? Unfortunately there also is a lot...+READ
This is horrible. I was in Egypt 2 years ago and the poverty even then was astronomical. Being poor in the US still means you have a bathroom; being poor in Egypt often does not mean that. Also, Egyptians are not stupid. They know that we supported Mubarak for the last 3 decades! And now we tell him to leave after giving him billions of dollars in military aid? Unfortunately there also is a lot of anti-semitism- many in Egypt see the US as a puppet of Israel and they see Israel the same way the US sees Iran. While the Egyptians desperately need a solution to their poverty and it is a fact that Mubarak did not allow certain freedoms, there is no guarantee that something positive will emerge from this chaos... look at what happened in Gaza when they had free elections... they got Hamas who want to drive Israel into the sea. Democratic elections in the Mid East do not always get what the US wants; sometimes it leads to Hamas or Iran today. Does anyone recall Iran pre-1979? They were pro-US! I just hope that the violence tapers off and whatever government takes control when Mubarak steps down is sane and not vehemently anti-US or anti-Israel.-COLLAPSE
bread shortage crisis