Turkish Big Bite Restaurant Opens In Saint John
SAINT JOHN – The Port City has a new addition to its international cuisine repertoire. Turkish Big Bite restaurant, located at 533 Westmorland Road, offers Canadian and Ottoman fare, which is a mix of flavours from the regions surrounding the Mediterranean, as well as Central Asian and Eastern European influences. They’ve been up and running since November.
For owner Mohamad Mousa the dream of owning his own restaurant has been a long time, and a long distance, coming.
“I’ve been in Saint John for 7 years,” Moussa explains over a cup of hot tea at the broad wooden table, fluffy pillows bookending the comfortable banquette seating. “I’ve got a lot of experience. A little bit from here, a little bit from there. I’ve worked before with Taste of Egypt, with Romano’s Pizza, House of Chan, many restaurants.”
That plus his experience cooking for restaurants in his homeland of Syria, as well as in neighbouring Jordan, totals 15 years.
Moussa and his family came to Canada as a part of the federal government’s refugee resettlement during the conflict in Syria. He didn’t have any family or know anyone in Canada, which is the usual criteria of how refugees are placed in the country.
“I said ‘I don’t know anyone, I don’t care I can go anywhere’. So the government said ‘would you like to go to Saint John’ and I said ‘Sure! I don’t know Saint John – where is it?’”, he laughs. “So I said, OK, I’ll come here and start a new life here.”
In addition to the usual fare of hummus, falafel , barbeque, and kebab, Turkish Big Bite has a couple of signature menu items that you can’t get elsewhere in the area.
The shawarma is a dish made in collaboration with Turkish Big Bite’s neighbour, the Saint John Bakery.
“I gave them the secret recipe for the bread, we get it fresh every day from next door,” Moussa says.
The sandwich is a wrap of meat, and sauce made from heavy cream, mushrooms and onions.
Turkish Big Bite also features applewood smoked rice, which is a novelty for many customers.
“When we added it to the menu we thought ‘maybe people won’t like that’,” he says. “We tried it anyway and all the people love it!”
A point of pride for Moussa is having something on the Turkish Big Bite menu that everyone will like.
“We have a mix of many cultures in our dishes. Turkey has many kinds of food from many different countries,” he says. “We chose to have many different kinds of food here. We are Canadian and we want to make food for everybody.”
For Moussa taking the plunge to come to Canada, and stay here, has been a decision that has paid off.
“All the people are very friendly, like most people want to help. I don’t see that anywhere else,” he says. “In Saint John, most of the community loves to help each other.”
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
Editor’s Note: This story was last updated on January 13, at 11:40 a.m.