If you’re heading out to Meet d3 this weekend, go hungry. Held from December 8 to 10 at Dubai Design District (d3), the second edition of Meet d3 is serving up more than 50 installations and performances from the art, design, fashion, music and food worlds. The event is open to everyone, including kids, and free to attend. There’s a lot to take in — and all that culture is bound to make you hungry.
Here are four hot spots to check out when your belly starts to grumble.
Craft Cafe is a home-grown concept in Dubai. Their regular menu has something for everyone, including all-day breakfast, plenty of healthy options, salads, sandwiches and signature dishes such as braised beef and slow-cooked veal belly. During Meet d3, Craft Cafe chefs will be dishing up a special barbecue menu. www.craftcafe.ae
Harper’s Bazaar Cafe is the first cafe in the world from the Hearst magazine (a second Dubai location is planned for City Walk). The sophisticated interior of this trendy cafe speaks to the art crowd and the secret garden-inspired terrace is a chic place to unwind. Along with the regular menu, guests can stop in for a special gold latte during Meet d3. Call 04 557 8009
Mirzam is a home-grown factory in the design district specialising in fine chocolates. The chocolatiers here create artisan chocolates with just three ingredients — cocoa beans, unrefined cane sugar and a bit of cocoa butter. You can watch each step of the chocolate-making process at Mirzam, including the hand-wrapping of each chocolate bar. Mirzam’s single origin collection is made from beans that come from Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and India. Guests can stop in for a chocolate-tasting session throughout Meet d3. Call 04 333 5888
Finally, don't miss grabbing a bite at Vicolo (which translates to 'narrow city street' in Italian). This is a new concept that was developed exclusively for d3. Vicolo serves up casual Italian street food which, of course, includes pizza, but you can also get bites such as crispy fried fish and squid drizzled with lime juice, arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with mushrooms, peas and mozzarella) and burratina — mozzarella filled with stracciatella, served with marinated bread in tomato juice. www.vicolodubai.com
sjohnson@thenational.ae