Lebanese dishes come three different ways at downtown eatery
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Jeremy Duckworth and Victor Bouzide (with a Turkish coffee) inside Nuba. Photograph by : Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun
It’s hard to run a place that’s almost fast food (not quite) and offers really healthy and organic food. But at Nuba, they manage to do that.
“And we don’t own a microwave or a can opener,” says Jeremy Duckworth, chef and co-owner. “We use organic beans and grains and as much organic [ingredients] as we economically can.”
This is the second outlet. The first, at 322 West Hastings, is a much tighter squeeze than this one, which is still casual but newly renovated and brighter. The menu is identically Lebanese with recipes based on another owner’s grandmother’s food.
Of note, Victor Bouzide’s grandmother cooked some of these dishes at the Chicago World Fair in 1893 when she was 13.
Bouzide eventually ended up in Windsor, Ont. where he opened several restaurants, including La Mishwi, a Lebanese restaurant. That’s where he and Jeremy Duckworth met up. Duckworth is his Nuba partner and chef.
There are a few tables at Nuba but a lot of locals do takeout. Dishes are done up three different ways — as mezze (appetizer size), pita (stuffed in a pita with lettuce, tomato and tahini); or as an main dish (served with tabbouleh, salad, hummus, pita and brown rice or potatoes). Prices range from about $4.50 to $10.
The red lentil soup is porridgey thick and quite a hit. They soak and grind the chickpeas for the falafel and make their own pickles. “Najib’s Special” is crispy cauliflower enhanced with organic lemon, sea salt and tahini; kibbeh is like a freshly ground lamb burger with veggies, pine nuts and spices mixed in and cooked to barely done.
The only disappointment was the house salad, which was huge and fresh but the dressing, with lemon and sumac, was overly tart. I left most of it but was well sated with my falafel dinner of ample portion. Vegans and vegetarians will find lots to choose from.
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NUBA
206 Seymour St., 778-371-3266. Open for lunch and dinner daily. (The Hastings Street branch is open from Monday to Friday only.)