The tabloid-sized, one-sheet menu at Jamile’s International Cuisine sort of resembles a board game. With each of the 31 dishes photographed and laid out in squares, it evokes the feeling of playing tic-tac-toe or Connect Four.
You could make a game out of it; in the process, you’d experience delicacies from all over the world. “Our dishes come from everywhere,” said Hamsa Hashi, who co-owns the restaurant with best friend Jamile Sheik. She points out that the spaghetti is an Italian dish, the rice is from India, and the canjera, which is made of flour and served liked bread, is from Somalia, where the pair hails from. The hodgepodge on the menu is reflective of the food they grew up eating in their native country. Hashi and Sheik moved to Charlotte in the mid- 1990s, but it wasn’t until last December that they ventured into business to offer their favorite cuisine to the locals.
“Jamile loves to cook,” Hashi said. “It was always her dream to open a restaurant.” They had an immediate fan base—“A lot of Somali people live on this side of town, around Central Avenue,” Hashi said—but the masses have begun catching on too. An article on the restaurant was published in The Charlotte Observer about three months ago and has helped increase its popularity. Most of the dishes range from $8 to $10, and among the favorites of customers are the ones that feature goat meat. You can have it served with fadirshan, a combination of rice and pasta. And the chicken suqar is tiny strips of meat with a slightly sweet flavor. In keeping with the international flair of this eatery, one of the waitresses is from Ethiopia and one of the cooks is from Guatemala. Most customers get their orders to go, and it’s a popular carry-out spot for several of the city’s cab drivers, many of whom are from African countries. On weekends, you’re more likely to find people dining in.
- Profile written by Jarvis Holliday