I’m JP, and I’m out to find the food & places you’ll love!

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but for one reason or another I just never knew how or when to get it started. Finally one night -at 12:29AM- I'm on vacation sitting in a hotel room in Fujairah after a day at the beach and go... "Why not now?" (Please don’t judge me)

I’ve always been told I have a knack for “finding places”; usually places that are out-of-the-way, not-well-known, or just not normally on the radar. I admit I’m a bit -adventurous- when it comes to trying new food places. Well, not in the way where I would go eat cockroaches and grasshoppers or anything like that, but more where I would just see a shady looking restaurant with 4 tables on a side street with bad lighting, and a Chinese couple sitting in flip-flops waiting for customers… and I would just walk in, grab a menu and see what happens.

(Who knows, maybe one day I’ll manage to talk myself into trying the roaches too … or maybe not)

Admittedly, sometimes I regret the decision (usually in more ways than one), but surely enough A LOT of the time I will stumble upon a hidden gem! Usually the place will be “less than polished”, but also totally magnificent when you dust it off, give it a little buff and just look past that less-than-appealing exterior.

Over the years I’ve managed to gather what I think is an impressive number of these little concealed diamonds, and because I am anything but an introvert, I tend to always try and bring as big a group as possible to go with me. Consequently, people started recommending their own little findings, and it went beyond just particular foods to pretty much anything that tends to “stand out”, especially in terms of urban eats, ethnic foods, home-style restaurants... Finally, it just went beyond food and into all kinds of “Places”.

Eventually, while sharing a wonderful sadr of Mansaf one day at one of those places, a friend looks at me and upon swallowing a spoonful goes “How do you find these places??”. I just shrug, to which he replies “Bro, you should write a blog!” At that point the heavens parted and a bright beam of light came down on me with angelic harp music, as the thought ran through my head; my eyes sparkled and I said… “Whatever dude, you wanna get dessert?”

(PS: Don’t worry, if you don’t know what “Mansaf“ is; It is a very rich and delicious Jordanian dish that is usually only good when homemade, and I WILL be recommending a couple of places soon)

Anyway, it took another 5 friends suggesting the blog thing at different times for me to finally consider it. I mean, I love trying and finding new places, and I love introducing my friends to these places. And more importantly than any of that… I LOVE FOOD! Also, anybody can get a good massage at a 5-Star hotel with a blonde Swedish lady with big bazongas, and pay an easy AED 300-400 for it without tips. But how many can get a GREAT massage, in an easily accessible place right around the corner, and literally pay a quarter of that? Well… I can. And I do… And I can tell you how and where.

So what the heck, here goes…

This is me… this is my blog… and as per my friend Nabil’s suggestion (since I apparently say “I found a place” so much that it has become my “lame catchphrase”)…

Welcome to #JPFoundAPlace… I’m JP and I’m out to find the food & places you’ll love! ;)

Follow me on Instagram, Like me on Facebook, and let me know what kinds of food YOU would like to find.