"Is falafel healthy?" asked my colleague as we watched our sandwiches being made by a man wearing a disposable glove on one hand, but not the other and squelching up the falafel with his fingers, ready for the pitta bread.
The Michael Jackson of falafel-making, we mused. Once in pitta, they're wrapped in another layer of thin dough and grilled. The result is something the size of a Subway sandwich but twice as heavy.
Better without chips but with aubergine, they're crammed with bits of cucumber, tomato and onion and "medium spicy" sauce. Marvellous for lunch, they keep you full for hours. Firaiha Falafel has been in place for 10 years and is run by a charming Jordanian called Sameer Mohammed.
He is generally sitting at one of the three tables, and will obligingly relay your order to the King of Pop impersonator waiting behind the counter. That the Arabic falafels at Firaiha are worth stopping off for is proved by the number of cars that pull up outside and honk their horns impatiently for service.
The sandwiches come with the usual pickled vegetables and a bunch of peppery gargeer leaves. A meal for two costs between Dh20 and Dh40. Seriously.
Firaiha Falafel, Corner of Muroor and 15th Street, Abu Dhabi, 02 445 4988
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
More Iraq election coverage:
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0