Chili's in the Middle East

Ahh, it's the little things in life and here in the ME that make us happy. Like the Chili's that opened this July. We were warned, "Go to eat there as much as you can the first 4-6 weeks it is opened, because it will only go down-hill after that."

So we went to Chili's a few times in July and August but we haven't been back since...until last night. We are trying to get some good date nights in before the arrival of Baby R and Daniel is always wanting to go to Chili's. We met up with a couple of friends and settled in for some chips and salsa (Chili's is the only place we've found that serves them in the city), some good burgers, and a familiar atmosphere.

I must say, when you walk in to the Chili's here, it looks like you could be at any Chili's in the states. It has the exact same artwork, pictures on the walls, everything is similar---except for the arabic writing in the menus. So it definitely makes us feel at home.

As soon as we settled in, our waiter came by to say hello and tell us what items would not be available that evening. He then proceeded to flip through all the pages of the menu and listed about half of each page as he went. Only a few appetizers were available, NO burgers or steaks (must be a cow shortage), only a couple of chicken items could be scrounged up, and of course, the famous molten chocolate cake was temporarily unavailable as well. Hmmm. I have a feeling that this wouldn't happen in Chili's across America.

The bad news didn't spoil our night, though. We happily munched on way too many chips with salsa, quesadillas, and the rest of the available appetizer menu. The date night was successful, we'll just have to go back another day for those burgers. Mmm.