Sampling refugee cuisines with friends at Flavors From Afar
Michelin Bib Gourmand: Michelin guide’s best value for money restaurants – offering a three course meal at a reasonable price.
It’s true, ‘reasonable’ is in the eye of the payer. Admittedly, some of the LA Bib Gourmand’s are a little ‘rich’ for the Cheap Girls blood (I’m looking at you Saffy’s…) but we’ve long admired this Michelin category for removing much of the pomp that seemingly has to accompany really great food in this town.
So, we set out on a quest to try as many as we can - and determine if they are, indeed, worthy of this recognition.
Flavors from Afar is arguably the most interesting LA eatery to earn this accolade. Working with refugee and immigrant communities the restaurant features a rotating menu of cuisines not often found in the U.S. In addition to to the featured country of the month, Flavors from Afar keeps fan favorites on the menu year-round. And, a portion of the restaurants proceeds go to the Tiyya Foundation, which supports immigrants and displaced Indigenous communities.
We picked this spot for Janice’s birthday dinner, and brought a few friends so we could order even more. (By this point, we had a few drinks and our photo taking skills were lacking, apologies.) The restaurant was spotlighting Afghan food.
What we ate:
Mantu: If we could travel the world eating only one category of food, it would have to be the dumpling. No matter where you go in the world, almost every country has their own version, so we couldn’t resist the Afghan variety. These beef dumplings were served with a tomato lentil sauce and topped with yogurt, marrying the heartiness of Eastern European and Russian with the spices of the Middle East.
Afghan Burani Banjan: A stewed eggplant dish with lentils and tomato sauce. Delicious, melt in your mouth, a great vegetarian dish, but completely unnecessary when you order the mantu, which have similar spices and flavors.
Egyptian Braised Lamb Shank: Did you know that Egyptians served their lamb shanks fall-off-the-bone tender smothered in a brown gravy? We didn’t, but we’re glad we do now. This lamb shank had such depth of flavor without a ton of spicy heat that marks the cuisine of this region of the world. It melted in your mouth.
Haitian Short Ribs: The table was locked in a heated debate - the Egyptian lamb shank vs the Haitian short ribs, and we were a split group. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either. The short ribs were marinated in an epis sauce, the Haitian equivalent to a mirepoix, but with much more flavor. By the end, we were gnawing what was left fo the meat directly from the bone.
Kenyan Coconut Tilapia: Candidly, Rachel insisted we order this because she’s been on the hunt for the African breads like ugali and fufu she’s seen on TV, and this dish was served with a side of ugali (an African cornmeal dough.) The ugali was pretty underwhelming, but this tender whole tilapia stewed in a rich coconut curry was a standout of the meal. There was not a drop left of that sauce in sight when we left.
Cost: $50-60 pp (they don’t serve alcohol, which helps the bill)
