Mishmish’s purpose is as sweet as its namesake
Tumble the word “mishmish” around on your tongue and a smile will invariably spread across your face. This colloquial phonetic word for apricot in Arabic is delightful to say—and a charming name for the Fraserhood’s newest spot to grab baked goods and coffee.
“The name has special meaning for me,” reflects co-owner Dallah El Chami. It taps into memories of his parents’ home in Lebanon and the sweet apricot preserves ubiquitous throughout the Middle East
“I’d sit at the table with Dad in the morning, and we’d eat bread with apricot jam for breakfast,” he continues. “It’s my dad’s favourite flavour of jam, and that’s a huge part of how the name came to life. Mishmish brings in an element of fun. After all, you have to be a little crazy to do something like this in the first place.”
Middle Eastern influences are, indeed, the backbone of the menu. There’s the halva cornflake cookie, a popular holdover from El Chami’s beloved eatery Superbaba. And ka’ak bagels covered in sesame seeds, soft with just the right amount of chew. Plus muhammara and labneh, with hot honey or apricot jam (of course!) for dipping. But this third-culture bakery also celebrates the confluence of its co-owners’ diverse backgrounds and leans into exploring a broader range of flavours: Leah Christ’s German heritage and years of experience in bread baking, Marysol Lopez’s Mexican upbringing, and Shawn Rassekh’s Persian lineage.
“It’s fascinating from a historic point of view to think about how food has moved through different regions of the world,” says Christ. “A recipe changes slightly with extra spices here and there, or a different ingredient of place, or maybe a slightly different name.”
Mishmish’s osmalieh is the perfect example of this cross-cultural exchange. Also known as knafeh, the elegant pastry sees creamy ashtah sandwiched between two crunchy layers of thinly-threaded kaitafi, all sprinkled with pistachios and drizzled with an orange-blossom-and-rose-water syrup. Global trade carried this traditional Arab dessert across the Atlantic, where it became a seminal part of Lopez’s childhood in Mexico.