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The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Friday, and with it the traditional fast observed daily throughout the month from sunrise to sunset. Restaurants throughout the Islamic world run special menus for Iftar, the nightly meal which breaks the fast. Of course, it's also offered at many restaurants in Los Angeles, but one specific local restaurant's Iftar menu caught our attention: Revolutionario Tacos.
Why? Because Revolutionario North African Tacos is not only one of our favorite eats in all of Los Angeles, but one of the city's most delicious and inventive kitchens, as well.
This is the first year Revolutionario will be serving an Iftar menu. "Given the current political climate, we wanted to make a socio-political statement," Susan Zadi, co-owner of Revolutionario, told LAist. "It's a humanistic statement. We want people to break bread together, literally."
The special menu will run from May 26 through June 24, beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 10 p.m. each day the restaurant's open. "Observant Muslims take their Iftar meal after sunset, but we’re staring Iftar food service early as an invitation for all our customers to enjoy regional foods from North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia," a press release from the restaurant states.
Menus may change daily, and will be posted to Revolutionario's Facebook page. Sample menus include Mantu (a Central Asian spiced meat dumpling) with yogurt sauce, braised lamb shank, harira soup, and mansaf (a Jordanian lamb and rice dish). All menus will include a dessert, and all guests will receive a date along with water, milk, or kefir.
"These are traditional Iftar dishes," Zadi continued. "They are from around the Islamic world, but so many of the spices and flavors overlap."
In addition to the Iftar menus, Revolutionario will be holding cooking classes on Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. "Classes will cover cookies, pastries, dumplings, flatbread, and pasta/noodle dishes from all over the Muslim world," Revolutionario adds in its press release. "Classes are free, but if you want to donate cash, the money will be used to continue our free food program for people in need."
Revolutionario North African Tacos is located at 1436 West Jefferson Boulevard in West Adams. (424) 223-3526. Revolutionario is open Wednesday through Sunday, with special Ramadan hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Iftar menus will range from $15 to $22 per person.
