pickles

pickles
bidaa, near the movenpick hotel

what was consumed: classic burger with extra tomatoes and extra lettuce, chili cheese curly fries, classic poutin, "bread&butter" fried pickle chips

kuwaiti burger challenge ... the challenge continues!

before a quick weekend jaunt to muscat, friends and i got together for dinner at "pickles." i happy not only to continue my "Q8 burger challenge," but also to enjoy fried pickles (who doesn't enjoy that?). so, we fought through thursday (the new friday) night traffic and head to the movenpick area in bidaa. note: we didn't get the memo inviting bikers (mostly sport vehicles, not harleys (harlies?), sadly ... ?) to the movenpick/bidaa area. and so, we had dinner with what felt like a billion bikers (it was probably closer to 30. that's a lot!).

the pickles menu, while simple (burgers, fries, pickled stuff), there were a few variations within each category (e.g. bbq burger, mexican burger, mushroom&swiss burger, etc.) which allowed for each of us to satisfy our cravings. i went the classic route - classic burger and classic poutin.

the burger was nicely cooked, though cooked "well done" when i asked for it to be medium (silly me for making that request to begin with). i also asked for no cheese, but my burger came with it (which is fine). i was more concerned about it coming out with no sauce, which it didn't (success!). the burger was served on a soft roll which stayed in tact and didn't fall apart as buns have a tendency to do. otherwise, the burger was exactly what i was looking for - simple and plain.

as for the poutin ... admittedly, i ordered it because i was curious what i would get. while i haven't actually had 'real' poutin a la canada (one day, i say, one day!), i've heard about it and have a good idea what it should taste like (& look forward eventually to tasting it, myself), i will continue my quest to find it outside america's neighbor to the north.

but ooooh, fried pickles! totally delicious. the "bread&butter" ones were sliced, like chips,   breaded and then fried. the pickles are totally delicious and the breading is a nice touch. they were accompanied by a delicious aioli (which we proceeded to smear on everythign else). i'm not sure about the "midget pickles" that are also on the menu; i'll have to try them next time.

we did try to order plain pickles (i.e., the ones that are not fried). why, you ask? why not! i blame t, but admittedly, the pre-fried pickles were pretty delicious as well. the servers, however, told us that they didn't have any, which made no sense. what do you use, then, to make the fried pickles?! of course, they were able to produce them later on. and i was 2-seconds away from doing what i do when i'm at 'matchbox' back in wdc (ordering bowl after bowl after bowl of pickles. nom nom nom).

and so, while i will likely venture to pickles again, for their fried pickles and for a classic burger, i do caution you : their special sauces (& their gravy for that matter) are ... sweet. not "whoa, awesome!" sweet, but "hmmm, why is there a strange sweetness?" sweet. weird ...