Posted at 11:00 a.m.
We have rarely tasted a hummus as creamy as that of the Mezzmiz. It’s like putting silk on his palate. Nadim explains that his chef uses the highest quality chickpeas and cooks them over low heat for no less than two days. The skins separate on their own, then the legumes are then transformed into an ultra-smooth puree by a particularly efficient device.
“Of course I can make a hummus in five minutes with a can of chickpeas bought, but I will never get this texture and this taste”, assures the restaurateur, very satisfied with our appreciation of “his” dip.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Mezzmiz’s hummus is one of the creamiest in town.
On the menu of the Mezzmiz, which is both a Time Out Market location and a delivery service from a “ghost kitchen” in Saint-Laurent, there is also a muhammara with perfect acidity, a chicken with candied lemon and very tender olives, a fragrant filet mignon shawarma and several other specialties. Vegetarians and vegans have their own tailor-made “platters” made up of an assortment of bite-sized meat-free bites, on the one hand, and without any animal products, on the other.
Back to Montreal
If the execution of traditional Lebanese recipes is so high and “faithful”, it is because the Mezzmiz team arrives directly from Beirut. Nadim Hammoud arrived first, with his wife and two children. The commercial real estate specialist turned restaurateur left Lebanon in a hurry after the explosions in the summer of 2020, which left more than 200 dead, thousands injured and much desolation. Its restaurants were completely destroyed by the explosions coming from the port.
But even before this tragedy, Nadim felt increasingly dissatisfied, even worried about his life in Lebanon. Born in Montreal, he moved there with his family as a teenager. It was in 1994. “Everything that came before 2005 was magnificent. I discovered Lebanon, the sun all year round. We were surrounded by a lot of family there. »
Then, after the assassination of the statesman Rafiq Hariri, unease returned to this country which had known shortly before (1975-1990) a terrible civil war causing the exodus of almost 1 million people.
The country again began to sink into growing problems. In the past two years, the economy has crashed, COVID-19 has arrived — but that was not our priority! — and then there were the port explosions. This is where I decided to take my children and my wife and move.
Nadim Hammoud, co-founder of Mezzmiz
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Mezzmiz co-founder Nadim Hammoud was born in Montreal and lived in Lebanon for 25 years, then returned to Montreal with his family in the summer of 2020.
“I still consider Montreal my city. I wanted my children to come out of this situation and have a childhood closer to mine,” he adds.
His partner, Rony Zibara, owns the magnificent Villa Chamoun in northern Lebanon. He is a brand creator who travels between New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles, among others.
“Rather than trying to manage the restaurants from a distance, we sold. Then we started bringing in people who worked with us there, explains Mr. Hammoud. We decided to put our energy into a city which, we hope, has a future. Our biggest problem here is COVID-19. The rest is very comfortable. A total of nine colleagues from the former restaurant group are now in Montreal.
In Lebanon, as early as 2010, the team had built a multi-concept catering company offering North American – even downright Montreal – specialties little known to the local population, such as smoked meat, poutine and mac n cheese. She even hired a team from Montreal to teach the Beirut team how to process smoked meat, make perfect deli sandwiches, and more. There was also a gourmet burger concept. “The burgers I ate in Lebanon weren’t good! “, does not hesitate to declare the one who has traveled all over the world. Then the “.co” group (deli.co, BRGR.co, etc.) took a culinary detour to Italy and brought back a pizza maker and his family from Naples. Thus was born Pzza.co!
Refined and unifying cuisine
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Mezzmiz has just moved to Time Out Market, in the Eaton Center.
In Montreal, where there are plenty of delis, burgers and pizzas, Nadim Hammoud and his partners have decided to offer sunny, fresh and healthy cuisine. “Here, Lebanese cuisine has developed into fast food, rather than fine dining. But it’s typically a healthy diet, with olive oil, chickpeas, eggplant, fresh vegetables, lemon, yogurt, all natural stuff. »
Montreal is a city that loves to eat and people want to explore different flavors. We offer them another face of Lebanese cuisine, as the Damas does for Syrian cuisine.
Nadim Hammoud, co-founder of Mezzmiz
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
This is how we “mezzmiz” in Lebanon, with an assortment of small dishes.
After bringing America to Beirut, he therefore brings Beirut to America. “In Lebanon, when we sit down at the table, we mezzmiz. We put 10-15 varieties of dishes in front of us and we nibble. There will always be plenty of choice. You will not see the color of the table! »
Before COVID-19, the team was already planning to open a large restaurant downtown, where it would attempt to replicate Beirut’s bustling vibe. Just before the signing of the lease, the pandemic started and the Mezzmiz model turned into a delivery service.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
This chicken with candied lemon and olives is exceptionally tender.
“We started in September 2021. With our Instagram page and word of mouth, we quickly had a very sophisticated, regular clientele who ordered for small family dinners, lovers, birthdays. “You went to my sister, to my cousin. It’s my dad’s birthday, we want to try you out.” And here, when people appreciate something, they call us and they are so grateful. It feels good, especially right now,” says Nadim Hammoud.