The restaurant owner told his story as recipes from his Iraqi homeland arrived at the table.
Arkan Abood talked about his dream of America and the factory work that followed his arrival, about joining the Army and — finally — opening Kahramana Market & Bakery in a building where Chubbyville once served burgers and fries.Â
He explained this meal, too. The long strips of beef — butchered the traditional halal way — with garlic sauce for dipping.
The Lebanese bread.
The hummus. “Everybody know hummus.â€
The baba ganoush made with eggplant and olive oil.
A squeal of joy and scattered applause for the flavorful dip rose from one end of the long table where the Taste of 27th Street food tour guests were settling in for stop No. 3.
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The baklava would come later for the name tag-wearing diners, treated to a culinary feast last Thursday night for $20 apiece.
“People seem to love the tours,†said Marti Lee, operations officer for NeighborWorks Lincoln and one of the evening’s hosts. “They sell out fast.â€
The popular dining adventures, a joint effort of Neighborworks, the North 27th Street Business and Civic Association, Nebraska Appleseed and the Asian Center, were unveiled last spring, but the desire to promote the diverse area is far from new.
“We’ve wanted to do something for forever,†said Casey Conrad, president of the business and civic association. “But we didn’t know how to do that.â€
Then Lee showed up from Kansas City full of creative ideas and suggested something social that would showcase the corridor’s ethnic restaurants and shops.
At Appleseed, Christa Yoakum, who had relationships with many of the small-business owners, helped bring participants on board.
More staff from the nonprofits signed on as hosts, and a food tour was born.
“We thought we could kind of break down some walls,†Conrad said. “Not only is there interesting cuisine here, but great people behind it.â€
Last Thursday night, tour groups — one at 6 p.m., another at 7 — gathered at a strip mall on the west side of the busy traffic corridor, where old and new Lincoln meet.
Long John Silver’s and Vung Tau Pho Grill. Sinbad’s and Subway. Kwik Shop and Kim Son Travel. Jiffy Lube and Aladdin Tobacco Shop. A U-Haul shop and a Yazidi cultural center.
Just south of Holdrege Street is Heartland Optical, where Conrad helps run the family business.
“I get to work here and watch all these businesses open and begin to thrive,†he said. “We want to break down barriers that keep people from trying them.â€
Last Thursday, the Pho Factory served up crepes stuffed with shrimp and pork belly, accompanied by cilantro and mixed herbs. The popular noodle dish restaurant also offered more familiar fare in the form of egg rolls and spring rolls.
Owner My Khanh Nguyen was on hand to offer crepe-rolling lessons and fill empty platters before the group headed next door to the Little Saigon Market for a lesson in shopping and cooking Asian-style.
At the market, guide Rebecca Reinhardt took attendees past colorful snack foods and jars of fish paste to the meat case, where she hefted a whole chicken.
“The Asian people like the meat with the feet and the tendons,†she says.
Next, she pointed out a bag of black fungus root (good for the blood) and held up a bundle of fresh leeks (a perfect poultice for inflammation).
“A lot of the veggies you see here, you might not see at Super Saver,†she says.
Before heading out the door, guests had a chance to make a quick purchase and figure out how to peel and eat a lychee fruit — a sweet, egg-shaped gem hidden under a porcupine-like shell.
The tour ends at Banhwich Cafe with sweet Vietnamese waffles — no syrup needed — and tall glasses of bubble tea.
The verdict?
Five stars.
“I loved it,†said Megan Conner, winner of a bamboo plant giveaway at Little Saigon.
Conner was a particularly huge fan of the savory crepe and the unfamiliar fruits and vegetables at the market.
“And that waffle,†Conner says. “Delicious.†(I second that. I began the tour as an observer, but along the way I got hungry.)
The food tours have also served as a social vehicle, Lee said, both for the business owners and the guests.
And I can second that, too. I ended the night happily drinking mango bubble tea with Bill Hayes, Joel and Tiffanie Green, Kristal Flaming and Andrea Davis — who turned out to be a funny foodie with stories about noodle knives and her search for the elusive szechuan peppercorn.
Organizers hope to host three additional tours this year, said Pat Anderson-Sifuentez at NeighborWorks.
Dates have not yet been set, but watch any of the sponsors’ Facebook pages for an announcement. (Previous tours have made stops at Vung Tau, Big Sal’s, Imperial Palace, Misky Bakery, Dory’s BBQ, Ajora Falls Ethiopian Restaurant and Turkish Sweets.)
It’s a fun and easy way for people to try something new and support a local business, Anderson-Sifuentez said.
“And to come back.â€