Brief Visit to Mauritania

Brief Visit to Mauritania

A culinary experience not to be missed in the Mile End is a visit to la Khaima at 142 Fairmount West. Last Friday night, the charismatic Atigh welcomed us into his exotic restaurant that specializes in dishes from North Africa and his native Mauritania. Our experience started with our host giving us a list of the ingredients in the lentil appetizer. Here's the unusual albeit delicious combination of spices.

Ingredients
lentils, tomatoes, bulgur, diced onion, cilantro, ground coriander seed, cumin, harissa, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, lemon, limes, parsley, garlic, black pepper, olive oil and salt.
 
This was served with pita bread cut into quarters. I'm not sure that I would try this on my own. Too much of a few of these spices could spell disaster.

The main course was a choice of olive lamb tagine, delicate-tasting lamb sausages or vegetables cooked in peanut sauce. It was an impossible choice, so we opted for a little of all three, which appeared to be the choice of most of the tables. The main dish was served with a cold hibiscus tea, which Atigh is famous for. We had just enough room for the best mint tea I have ever tasted and a small honey and pistachio pastry.

A Chest that belonged to Atigh's Grandmother

This is a great and inexpensive place to go with a large group of friends. But it's also very popular, so I would suggest making reservations in advance.

Here's a link to a post on Atigh's hibiscus drink, which he makes and bottles on the restaurant premises. You can find it at corner stores throughout Montreal.

Other posts about the Mile End
Mile End Flavour of the Summer--Hibiscus
Hidden Beauty of the Rialto Theatre
Images de femmes at Rialto Theatre
Guerrilla in the Midst
Bagel Conundrum
Mile End's Ring of Fame
What it is by Lynda Barry
The True Gender
Almost a Visit to Gender
St-Viateur: the Polish Bazaar
The Mile End Buzz Around Beekeeping
For the Love of Vinyl
Airing Our Dirty Laundry





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Mile End Summer Flavour--Hibiscus

Mile End Summer Flavour--Hibiscus

For several months, I have been walking past an African grocery store on Fairmount that advertises the sale of hibiscus in bulk. I was curious and wondered about the target market for this product. After all, who could drink that much tea.

Through the window of Al-Boutik, the name of the store, I could see a large wooden table at the centre, a map of Africa next to the door, some shelves filled with bags of bulk foods and large swaths of colourful fabric draped across the ceiling. But unfortunately, the store was never open for business.

On Friday night, on my way to the grocery store, I saw that the light was on and walked in. I met Atigh Ould, the charismatic owner of both la Khaima, the restaurant next door, and Al-Boutik. Wearing a teal-coloured turbin and black rectangular glasses, Atigh welcomed me in and showed me around his store. He is from Mauritania, a country with a mixture of North African and West African cultures, and his favourite drink as a child was hibiscus flower tea, which can be served either hot or cold. The owner told me that this drink was in fact brewed and bottled on the premises and could be found in some 100 stores in the greater Montreal area. He invited me back the next day with my children to try the hibiscus freeze pops (see picture below) and invited us to his store's grand opening on Sunday, April 17.

I dropped by with my children a few days later, and the hibiscus freeze pops were a big hit, even with my 2-year-old. I learned from the store attendant that the African store was also going to be a lunch counter, and the big table at the centre of the room was so that people would sit together and talk to one another. I was intrigued by this unconventional approach and wondered if it would be successful. The store attendant also told me that Atigh's inspiration for building his store's business around an artisanal product made on the premises was his neighbour from down the street, Fairmount Bagel.

My husband also dropped by to meet Atigh, whom he found just as charismatic. Unable to pinpoint the source of his charm, I asked my husband what was it that made the store owner so intriguing. It was a no-brainer for my husband.
"The man is happy," he said, "and happiness attracts people."

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