Restaurant brings new tastes to Twin Cities
LEWISTON – The scent tickles your nose.
It’s the aroma of Somali and French-Moroccan specialties at the Red Sea Restaurant on downtown Lisbon Street.
Somali elders Abdirizak Mahboub and Mohamed Haidara soon will open the first Somali restaurant in town. The local entrepreneurs, by creating food dishes special to the Middle East and Africa, are hoping to bring a new tradition to the community.
From sugaar and hilip adhi to tajin and couscous, they will offer a variety of food items that are prepared with spices unique to North Africa, India and Arabia.
Each item will be cooked to order depending on the customer’s preference using such spices as turmeric, cayenne pepper, harissa, lemon pepper or chili powder.
But if spicy isn’t your preference, don’t fret, not every dish is prickly to the taste buds.
“We’re trying to offer a different tradition to the city of Lewiston. We’ll have a little bit of everything,” Mahboub said.
Lamb, beef, fish, chicken and goat, called hilip adhi, will be prime menu items. The cafe also will serve fresh fruit smoothies – mango, carrot and grape – which are popular within the Somali community.
Besides the international dishes, there also will be American cuisine such as hamburgers and cheeseburgers,on the menu.
‘Worlds meet’
Chef Haidara has had 10 years of cooking experience all over the world. His “Eastern touch” comes from the techniques and styles he learned while working in Morocco, Gambia and Marseille.
The walls have been freshly painted sky-blue and red with black trim, photographs of Somalia are being hung and a sign is being designed – all in preparation for the official grand opening on June 27.
Mahboub has invited local and state officials to the opening.
“We want to invite the different officials who have worked hard welcoming the Somali community to Lewiston,” Mahboub said.
He said he hopes to bring Somali culture to the community and to show that they are not here for government assistance.
“We’re here to help among ourselves” he said. “We want to put the bad experience behind us, and show the world we are here to create jobs just like other citizens.”
It will be a new beginning, Mahboub said.
Plans for the near future range from expansion of the menu to include breakfast items to adding a cafe in the back parlor of the restaurant.
The menu will expand over the next few months to incorporate new ideas and requests.
“The Red Sea is where two worlds meet,” Mahboub said in reference to its location between Africa and the Middle East.
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