Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Madina Cuisine

All About Food | March 29th, 2017

photo by Logan Macrae

Madina Cuisine is a hidden gem. It’s an amazing environment and experience. It honestly felt like home, and it was the first time I had ever been there.

As you drive down 13th Avenue, Madina Cuisine is easy to miss, it’s tucked into the same strip mall as Kum and Go and O’Reilly Auto Parts. Don’t make that mistake. This is one restaurant in Fargo that should not be missed. It’s truly unique.

The interior is a dark burnt red, and the seating is rather ordinary, but the food is extraordinary and intoxicating. Madina is a magician, and her flavors are alive. Her food is truly made with love and passion.

I can’t even mention anything more about the food though until I introduce the woman behind it. Madina is an amazing woman. You’ll fall in love with her the moment you hear her speak, and her chuckle can only be described as melodic and heartwarming. Talking to her melted my heart, and I challenge anyone not to be taken by her charisma.

She is a jolly, motherly, joyous, mildly portly hijab adorned food advocate, and natural born chef. She spoke to me, and described her love of food stating “you know you love food when you go to a restaurant, and you not only eat the food, but you start wondering how you can play with these flavors somewhere else.”

She is talented, inventive, and her dream since she was fifteen was to own a beautiful restaurant. I had goosebumps rolling up my arms while she described it to me. She stated, “I’m not greedy, all I have ever wanted was a beautiful restaurant and to cook food… it’s not about the money, it’s about the food.”

This sentiment truly showed through the well-produced cuisine that comes out of her kitchen. The whole feeling is something special. It intoxicates you with the American dream, a reemergence of the old ideals that built this country.

The food is insanely good. I finished my meal and wanted to order another plate. The flavors were alive and danced in my mouth, a banquet of sensation. Everything was aromatic and brimming with dimension. I live for meals like this; a literal godsend, no matter what god you believe in.

We started with sambusa which is a puff pastry with seasoned chicken fried and served with a spicy green sauce. I had the chicken suqaar with perfectly seasoned rice, and some injura. The chicken was moist and perfect. It was spicy, but not so much so that it was unenjoyable. The injura is a spongy sour pancake-like bread that works perfectly for wrapping some of the delectable meat, rice, and lettuce. The flavors were all perfectly matched and prepared with care and attention. My friend had the goat cutlet which was excellent also. It was done in a beautiful reduction, and the flavors were on point. It was tender and delectable.

Madina Cuisine is a genuine amenity, an ornament of the community. Food is one of the most powerful connections to home, and she provides a home to those in the community that miss their traditional fare. It is her goal to cook foods that makes people feel this way, and she said to me that she would try to cook anything for someone, so they could be reminded of where they came from and made to feel more comfortable.

Madina Cuisine is an asset and deserves the patronage of Fargo. I will be returning on a regular basis.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Madina Cuisine

2225 13th Ave S, Fargo

9am-9pm daily

701-235-0504  

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakota communities will join a “nationwide day of defiance” against authoritarianism and President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday, June 14. A range of "No Kings" events…

Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

Fighting the good fightBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Over two thousand rallies took place nationwide June 14 as part of the “No Kings" protest. Ten of those protests were held in North Dakota, with thousands in attendance.…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWe need Paul Revere on a Harley: “ants and autocrats are coming!”The Asian needle ant has been nesting in the American South since at least 1932. It probably hitched a ride on a freighter from…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com The weather warmed up quickly here in the upper Midwest this spring, sparking prime eating season. This means burger battles, food trucks and lake-season food travel. The 2025 Downtown Fargo Burger…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The June 9 death of musician Sylvester Stewart, known much better by stage name Sly Stone, saw an outpouring of tributes, memorials and appreciations from some who knew him personally and many…

By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAct Up Theatre, in partnership with Minnesota State University Moorhead, will present “The Sound of Music” on June 10-14. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead’s…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…