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Bloomington Sun-Current – Thursday, March 1, 2012 – www.minnlocal.com
In the Community, With the Community, For the Community
Aida FROM PREVIOUS PAGE any palates. “I don’t want it to be too Middle Eastern or too Mediterranean,” Mohamed said. “I want people to feel comfortable.” It is not the only place serving Mediterranean food in town, but the Mohameds are banking on a menu — including the gyros and kabobs, plus items like naan bread, falafel and the hummus-like eggplant spread called baba gannoush — that caters to American sensibilities while retaining notes of authenticity. The restaurateur’s husband is mainly hands-off in the operation, but he returned recently from a trip to Egypt carrying exotic spices, so exotic she said she couldn’t pronounce their names. Beyond the hand-delivered spices, another personal touch graces the menu thanks to veteran chef Ossam Megahed, who keeps things interesting by changing the hue of the staple basmati rice on a regular basis. Patrons might find pink grains one day, brown the next, or maybe yellow. Megahed says he doesn’t use food coloring, but instead employs saffron, cinnamon cardamom or curry for the slight flavors tweaks and aesthetic flourishes. The colors serve as a mood enhancer, Megahed says, and besides, “your eyes eat before your mouth.”
Starting up, moving forward The Mohameds knew the Champlin resident, a native of Alexandria, Egypt, from their days eating at a northeast Minneapolis Mediterranean restaurant where he once worked. The other Aida cook, Mahmoud Mohamed, is Ahmed’s brother and has been states-side for three years, arriving from Cairo. He lives in Richfield, six blocks away from the restaurant. The Mohameds hope the team can help Aida avoid the pitfalls so many other establishments encounter, during a time they admit may not be ideal for a restaurant opening. “We knew the economy wasn’t great,” Mohamed said. “We just decided to go for it.” The restaurant came together in what seemed like a flash. The Mohameds signed the lease in late December and almost completely gutted the inside of the old Taco Bell before opening two and a half months later. And if it hadn’t happened so fast, it might not have happened at all. Amy Mohamed said she would have been more hesitant had the project developed slower. “I haven’t had time to think about it,” she said And she would rather ignore one commonly cited statistic, that 40 percent of new restaurants fail in their first year. One of her suppliers mentioned the number, and “I didn’t even want to think about it,” Amy Mohamed said. “I just said, ‘Don’t even say it.’” But at least so far, “people have been great,” she reported. “They’ve stopped in and said, ‘We’re so glad to have another food choice in the area.’” One of them was Barb Ragan, who lives four blocks a way and visited Aida for the first time earlier this week. “I noticed right away that it is Mediterranean. I like that kind of food,” she said. Plus, she opined, “it sure is better than Taco Bell.”
Above, veteran chef Ossam Megahed carves off some lamb and beef in the kitchen of Aida, the new Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurant in Richfield. At left, Megahed prepares a hummus spread at the new restaurant. Megahed, a native of Egypt, has been cooking in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants for 19 years. (Photos by Andrew Wig – Sun Newspapers)