Where Restaurateurs Eat: Column 5

Michele Johnson, co-founder of Pitfire Pizza shares her favourite restaurants. Plus a Cook For Lebanon fundraising dinner.

If you’ve recently joined my Substack tribe, you might like to check out the first four ‘Where Restaurateurs Eat’ columns to give you some context before reading the recommendations from this month’s super woman.

I would love your nominations for aspirational female restaurateurs leading their businesses. They might not be on my radar - and could land themselves a feature here.

Google Maps link here with the UAE restaurant recommendations from our power ladies - populated monthly as each column is published. All interviews are linked HERE.

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And now let’s meet…

Michele Johnson - co-founder of Pitfire Pizza with branches in Dubai Hills, Arjan, JLT, Mirdif Hills and Time Out Market.

Top three go-to, favourite restaurants in the UAE:

• Neighbourhood Food Hall located in Motor City, is my go-to when I’m hungry, but not sure what I want. You will find basic communal seating and a large selection of cuisines to choose from including Singaporean, Indian, Sri Lankan, Mexican, Italian, Peruvian and Japanese. For a burger, I order the High Jamz, and there’s also a shop serving to-die-for cookies and cakes, even though I’m usually too full for dessert! It’s also home to Dubai’s first ever Lao Kebab House, which is my current obsession. I go with friends and order the entire menu - the food is insanely good. All the kiosks are staffed by friendly, knowledgeable chefs and cooks, serving really good versions of their country’s staple dishes, so it’s nearly impossible to go wrong.

• Mamak is a Malaysian restaurant with two locations in Dubai. You will often find me at the one on Hadiqa Road near Safa Park for breakfast or lunch.  Having lived in Kuala Lumpur for ten years before coming here, I find comfort and familiarity in the dishes they serve…like nasi lemak, roti canai, murtabak, and of course iced teh tarik, or iced lemon tea. On weekends you’ll have to wait for a seat but it’s worth it.

• Maisan15 is another spot that I go to regularly in Barsha. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  The mashallah chicken zinker is one of the best fried chicken sandwiches you’ll find in town, and the burgers are also excellent. Along with these staples, chef Rita Soueidan serves things like Yemeni shakshouka with labneh mix, falafel with homemade pickles, chicken adobo, and a beautiful steak with shoestring fries. What’s not to love?

One home country restaurant:

• A restaurant that our family ALWAYS went to growing up is McLin’s in Daleville, Alabama, which is still thriving to this day. It’s called a steakhouse but we always visited for the seafood – a few of my faves are the fried catfish, homemade hush puppies, grilled shrimp, and the ever popular pickle plate.

One restaurant located elsewhere internationally:

• I’m going to choose one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. La Casa Sena is a place that my husband’s family (including me) have returned to time and time again for anything from a casual meal to a special occasion. It’s located on ‘The Plaza’ in Santa Fe - the capital city of New Mexico. The dining room is beautiful - approachable but elegant. The outdoor patio is equally inviting and great in the summer; filled with beautiful trees, bushes and plants. The menu is mostly Mediterranean with a few New Mexico dishes thrown in. 

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You may have missed…

• My next dining experience: A one-night-only #FourChefsDinner with a Portuguese-Spanish culinary theme on the 29th October.

• Recent restaurant reviews: Osteria FunkCoolio; Rare; Sufret Maryam; Three Cuts.

• My 2024 guide to Dubai’s top restaurants. A record 45 homegrown concepts. Paid subscribers also receive a PDF of this guide.

• I update My Little Pink Lifestyle Book with new finds every month.

• A private one-hour Zoom call with me to pick my brains. More info here for F&B industry enquiries - and here for foodie/ diner queries.

• A couple of opinion pieces: Michelin Dubai guide & MENA 50 Best Restaurant Awards.

• My Where Restaurateurs Eat monthly column.

• Recent culinary travel guides: Baku, which includes do’s & don’ts of restaurant travel research. How to eat your way round Manila during a typhoon.

• Looking for a gift for a foodie friend? Perhaps consider an annual subscription to this newsletter with the added bonus of breaking news, advance notice of my dining experiences, invitations to special events, and more perks! You’ll have my forever love.

I leave you with my unwavering hope for freedom and an end to all genocides. It’s not just a year overdue in Palestine, but 76 tragic years of ethnic cleansing since the Nakba 🇵🇸🍉 And now Lebanon too 🇱🇧🕊️ On that note, Gates Hospitality is organising a Cook For Lebanon fundraising dinner alongside a tribute to the late chef Greg Malouf this coming Sunday 27th October at Bistro Des Arts. More info and booking details here ⬇️

FooDiva. x