Cheap eats galore (if you can find them)

It's funny how many people I talk to about Abu Dhabi are surprised to hear how hopping the culinary scene is.  (If you one of those surprised people, check out the Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2009 festival site.)  Yes, it's a city in the middle of a desert, but so is Las Vegas, and I'm sure the latter has many decent eateries (I can't confirm this empirically, as I've never been to Las Vegas and am highly unlikely to set foot there).

Let's take just ONE of the umpteen posh hotels in the city, Le Royal Meridien (remember, this is not the same place as Le Meridien).  A quick look at their website reveals that this hotel alone has nine dining options:

1.  The Shuja Yacht dinner cruise (dinner on a boat)

2.  The Piano Lounge (rather what it sounds like)

3.  Al Fanar (the spaceship restaurant)

4.  Amalfi (de rigueur Italian place)

5.  Soba (Japanese)

6.  L'Opera Brasserie (I still haven't figured out what or where this is)

7.  PJ O'Reilly's (also rather what it sounds like)

8.  Oceans (overpriced, er, delicious seafood)

9.  Zari Zardozi (Indian)

You could stay there for a week and never eat at the same place twice, but you'll pay through the nose for the privilege.

So where to go for a good dinner that won't kill the budget?  Fortunately there are scads of little places - some dirt cheap, some just a hell of a lot more reasonable than what you'll find in a four-star hotel.  TimeOut Abu Dhabi recently published a list of 31 cheap eats, and if you add in the remaining 35 or so from the average-priced list, there's a wealth of places to choose from (I don't recommend 49ers The Gold Rush unless you happen to be a single male looking for, um, company).

There's just one tiny little wrinkle.

Most of the restaurant and café reviews don't actually provide essential information on location.  And even those that do include this minor detail do it in a pretty vague way.  Take, for example, the write up on my favourite Persian restaurant, Hatam al Tae, which offers this handy map:

Great!  Super!  Whoohoo!  A map showing where this restaurant is!  Except that Hatam al Tae is actually located on the other side of Hamdan Street, more like here:

I know what you're thinking:  "Big deal, so it's across the street.  Not a problem."  But Hamdan Street is fairly wide, noisy, and chock-a-block full of cars.  And Hatam al Tae is a wee place, tucked in a corner off the main road.  So you might miss it.

Note to TimeOut editorial staff:  A map that provides flawed information as to the location of a business is about as useful as a clock that's run down.  Except that a broken clock is right twice a day, whereas a bad map is never right.

Being the Pollyanna that I am, however, I see a bright side to all of this:

When you go looking for that elusive cheap eat in Abu Dhabi, I guarantee you'll burn more calories looking for the place than you'll consume once you're there.