The next iteration of Fooq's owner David Foulquier's ongoing pop-up residency series, Da Lida will highlight the skills of Los Angeles-based chef Lina Goujjane. The pop-up will open for dinner with indoor dining, delivery, and takeout on Tuesday, October 27.
Da Lida — a portmanteau of Lina and David — was envisioned when the two chefs were traveling together in France. The name means "place" in Italian, similar to "chez" in French. The two chefs have known each other for a long time, and Goujjane was a part of Fooq's opening team.
Born in Paris and reared in Manhattan, Goujjane credits her passion for wine and food sustainability for leading her to the post of sommelier at the Michelin-rated Restaurant at the NoMad Hotel Los Angeles. When COVID-19 struck, she turned to creating her signature pasta sauces at home for friends and family.
In Miami, Foulquier had his own outlet. His goal was to harbor and partner with young talented chefs offering cool and creative artisan food. The first pop-up, Lil Laos, was a hit.
"This time around I wanted to have my hand in the concept, and bring a certain Fooq's vibe and touch to it and to partner with someone who is equally committed to the cause," Foulquier tells New Times. "Lina's sauces are outstanding. She developed and sold some fantastic sauces during COVID, and her wine knowledge and palate are world-class."
The Da Lida pop-up will be a casual pasta bar specializing in traditional Italian dishes served alongside a focused collection of wines. The rotating menus will incorporate fresh seasonal produce with selections that include antipasti and pasta, accented with fine Italian olive oils and fresh herbs.
For Goujjane, the Da Lida philosophy embodies the basis of all great Italian cooking: Use the best local ingredients as simply as possible and prepare and serve them with passion and care.
Chef Lina Goujjane spent three years perfecting her bolognese recipe, now available at the Da Lida pop-up at Fooq's.
Photo by Maya Billig
You can try the chef's Bolognese, and her other signature pasta dishes, from October 27 through the end of December 2020, as Goujjane and her team take over the Fooq’s kitchen to dish out her Old World Italian dishes. Dinner will be available Tuesday through Saturday from 7 to 10:30 pm. with staggered indoor and outdoor seating. Reservations can be made via OpenTable.
The menu will change weekly. A signature prix fixe ($39) will include an appetizer (antipasti) course, followed by a salad (verdure), a pasta (primi), and a dessert (dulce). A beverage pairing ($25) starts with a welcome spritz cocktail, followed by a glass of white or rosé with the first two courses and a red to accompany the primi. The menu will also be available for à la carte ordering.
Rotating antipasti dishes will include burrata and pesto, aged prosciutto and finocchiona salami, burrata and anchovies, grilled bread, and gem lettuce with Calabrian chili and breadcrumbs. The signature primi dishes will offer a selection of pastas such as spaghetti alla nerano and rigatoni Bolognese. A classic Fooq’s favorite, buccatini amatriciana, will make its return to the menu.
And then there's the wine.
"Since day one, my goal with this pop-up residency was to find a way to develop talent, and bring people thru my doors who would leave in a more successful place than when they started with me," says Foulquier, who groomed the likes of Macarena Carrillo and Mariel Dalmau, founders of Miami's natural wine club, Grape Crush. "It’s so great to see how [Goujjane] carried on from Fooq's to places like NoMad and Majordomo, to now coming back and us creating this awesome Da Lida concept together. It feels like it’s all coming full circle."
Da Lida Pop-Up at Fooq’s. 1035 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 786-536-2749; fooqsmiami.com.
