Ya Hala Owner Mirna Attar Is Revisiting Her Memories of Lebanon in a Prix Fixe Menu | Eater Portland

"Created as a dedicated dining space within Ya Hala and named for the beloved Lebanese singer Fairuz, the Fairuz Room is a Friday-night, family-style prix fixe experience that melds Attar’s memories of Lebanon with Pacific Northwestern ingredients — rotating dishes have included kishk soup with black garlic toast, asparagus moussaka, and beef shanks with Swiss chard kibbeh — and draws inspiration from the home cooking of Lebanon’s regions and from Fairuz’s music. Maya Massad describes the menu as having “a lightness to it; very much like Fairuz’s voice,” and the meal is paced with bread fresh from the oven, roasted nuts as a sign of hospitality, and staff who talk diners through each course; the room also offers Lebanese wines and cocktails such as sour cherry Negronis that aren’t available in the main dining room. The space channels the atmosphere of a Lebanese home with vintage Fairuz movie posters, textiles inspired by her wardrobe, and a big central couch meant to make diners feel at home — a detail that also reflects village kitchen culture, where upholstered furniture is common because people spend the day slow-cooking, relaxing, and drinking." - Janey Wong