SubscribeDINNER November 13, 2009
When I eat outside my cultural boundaries I tend to be concerned about the authenticity of what’s on the plate. It’s an interesting concern. You’d think that when venturing into a foreign cuisine one’s main concern would be that it taste good not that it be authentic. Like many foodies, I have been known to pester friends of all nationalities for the inside scoop on where their community is eating. Which is what led me to Jounieh, which an Egyptian friend described as the only worthwhile Egyptian restaurant in Montreal.
So I asked him if Jounieh had koshari and when he said they did it pretty much sealed the deal. You see my wife, the JJ, in addition to being a stunning woman and the baker responsible for my inability to lose the last ten (OK twenty) pounds, is the biggest koshari fan I know. She came back from Cairo after trekking around Egypt a few years back with nary a word about pyramids, desserts or museums, but raving about an Egyptian dish that, frankly, sounded pretty disgusting. Koshari is Egyptian fast food with its roots in the British empire: a mix of rice, lentils and pasta topped with tomato sauce and fried onions. It’s cheap, quick and filling and if you know the JJ it seems like something not exactly up her alley.
The rest of Jounieh’s menu seemed unfamiliar but amateurs of Lebanese cuisine will see through the different names to some familiar dishes. Take the kobeba, which I know better as kibbe akras: little football shaped balls made with bulgur stuffed with ground meat and pine nuts and deep fried until golden. There are also soujouk, makanek, falafel, spinach and meat pastries and vine leaves. But I skip the vine leaves to try an interesting variant: mahsy crump, Egyptian style stuffed cabbage leaves are exactly like vine leaves but made with…uh, cabbage. A little taste of Poland in the Middle East. Good stuff all around, but I personally prefer the kibbe…umm kobeba and vine leaves at Daou.
But we weren’t at Jounieh to get into an argument about the cuisines of the Levant. We were there to eat koshari. It is served as a big round dome crowned withthe macaroni along with a bowl of thick tomato sauce and a side of thinly sliced, amber colored fried onions. There is also a vinegary spicy sauce laced with cumin that those who like heat will want to keep near at hand. One spoons tomato sauce, onions and hot sauce into the carbohydrate mash to one’s taste. I recommend a second side of onions, they add a great sweet and fatty dimension to the dish. I always thought the JJ was exaggerating about how good koshari was but it is truly, truly addictive… not to mention filling.
We still find room for dessert, a big piece of cream konafa and a little mint tea, but my mind was still on the koshari and how I would eat another bowl if my bloated stomach would let me. Just on the basis of that one dish, I’m definitely making the trek back to Jounieh.
Café-Restaurant Jounieh
595 Cote-Vertu Blvd
Ville St-Laurent
514.744.9898
http://www.jounieh.ca/
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