"On their very first date some eightyears ago, Benji and Jennie Smith joked about opening a restaurant together. At the time, Benji was working as a prep cook at Momofuku in Washington, D.C., and Jennie had worked as a bartender during college. The two bonded over their love of food and cooking. That first date led to a second and then a third. The couple fell in love and soon relocated to San Francisco, where Benji worked as a sous chef at Canteen."
"The name Uqbar comes from the Jorge Luis Borges short story, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," published in the Argentinian writer's collection "Labyrinths." "Uqbar is a made-up country, maybe somewhere in the Mediterranean or Asia Minor, it's ambiguous," said Jennie. The word, pronounced "oook-bar," is also just fun to say. After reading the story, Benji would shout it out randomly around the couple's home. And one day it struck them as the perfect name for their Mediterranean restaurant."
Benji and Jennie Smith first joked about opening a restaurant on their very first date eight years ago after bonding over a shared love of food and cooking. Benji worked as a prep cook at Momofuku and later as a sous chef at Canteen, while Jennie bartended in college and earned an MBA. Their restaurant, Uqbar Mediterranean Cafe, will hold its grand opening on Friday, Nov. 21, in the former Tomate Cafe space on Fifth Street in West Berkeley. The name Uqbar comes from a fictional, ambiguous country that the couple liked, and the menu will emphasize Mediterranean influences, California's year-round growing season, and abundant local produce.
Read at The Oaklandside
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