Couscous and craft beer? It must be Farid Zadi’s Oktoberfest
There’s more to Oktoberfest than sausages and suds. Stuff like couscous, rabbit tagine, and lamb mechoui, for example. Farid Zadi, chef and owner of Spanish Fly Gastropub is holding his second annual Couscousfest/Oktoberfest celebration Saturday and Sunday, featuring North African street food, Algerian cold drinks and craft beers.
“The first annual Couscous Festival in Pasadena was a bit nerve-racking, since we didn’t really know what to expect in terms of crowd turnout or appetite for more exotic North African dishes,” Zadi wrote in a press release.
“But there was a line down the street 30 minutes [after] we opened the first day. The rabbit tagine was the first to sell out. People asked if they could eat the lamb heads from the whole lamb mechoui we served.
“I knew I had played it too safe with the menu and that Los Angeles was eager to try things North African -- game dishes and offal. So this year we’re featuring more offal dishes and street food dishes that I call ‘North African stoner food’ loaded with flavor and probably not good for you but worth the calories.”
Zadi will also give tagine cooking demonstrations both days at 2 and 5 p.m. The event starts at noon both days and will run “until the food runs out,” Zadi says.
The event will be held at Spanish Fly, but none of the dishes will come from the regular menu. Food prices range from $3 for small bites like the “tacos Arabes” to $26 per person for the full couscous royale, featuring lamb, beef, chicken, vegetables and merguez. You can also order in advance slow-roasted lamb or goat heads for $26.
Spanish Fly Gastropub, 3800 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, (818) 641-6899. Zadi says there will be two hours free parking with validation in the Mercury Building (enter on Western side of the structure).
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