Andrea Flores Edinburg – A local Arabic family-owned restaurant is showing the major role food has in preserving Syrian culture and how it is key to celebrating Arabic heritage.
This year marks the fourth time Arab-American heritage is recognized in April.
Yousra Yazji, owner of Fares Arabic Cuisine in McAllen, is making her goal come true by sharing homemade Syrian food and culture in the Valley.
Fares Arabic Cuisine started when Yazji and her husband’s families moved from Syria to the Valley in 2018.
Yazji said her family is one of the co-founders of the Arabic community in the Valley.
She added almost all family members are passionate about cooking so opening a restaurant was a family project.
Yazji said people warned her about obstacles before opening the restaurant.
“A lot of people said, they would say it was going to be hard, ‘you’re not going to have customers,’” Yazji said. “So, we said mainly ‘we’re not making it really for the Arabic community or Syrian community, it’s mainly made for the Hispanic community or any cultures in the Valley.”
Yazji says the restaurant’s focus is keeping authenticity by bringing their homemade food to the community. One of her favorite dishes is kibbeh, which is a fried or baked dough made from bulgur wheat and finely ground beef with a filling of walnuts or pine nuts, beef, onions and spices.
Blanca Huff, a first-time customer, said she has been passing by the restaurant for a while now and had always wanted to stop by.
Huff was impressed with the food and said the restaurant’s crew guided her into what meal to get.
“I’ve been driving by, and I’ve always wanted to stop by,” Huff said. “It was the best decision; it was really good.”
Family member Hannah Salinas-Yazji said the restaurant’s crew is always happy to educate new customers on Syrian cuisine.
“They always will provide detailed explanation of what the food is,” Salinas said. “Through that you can learn what’s in each dish and the history that is behind that.”
