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Boston meets Egypt at Bigger Bite

by Tom Hanchett, 2011
 
No longer in business.

frappesWith Spring warming up, do your thoughts turn to frappes?  If so you’re likely from the Boston area, where “frappe” (rhymes with cap) is local lingo for a milkshake.  Now a new eatery called Bigger Bite brings Boston frappes — plus a surprising taste of Egypt — to the UNC Charlotte area.

Proprietor Rami Onsi grew up around Boston where his parents Eva and Amed ran a Brigham’s restaurant, a regional competitor to the Friendly’s chain. Around this time in 2009, with New England still gripped by winter, they took a trip south and discovered the Queen City.  “Friendly people, beautiful weather,” he smiles. The whole family moved to Charlotte.

Their Bigger Bite restaurant features lots of New England soda fountain treats.  Frappes are hand-made, such as the black-and-white, a Boston favorite with chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream.  Or try the raspberry lime rickey, a custom-mixed soft drink.

Bigger Bite’s kitchen, run by Eva, offers entrees from burgers to chili.  Says Rami, “It’s basically the food we grew up with.”

That includes Egyptian home cooking.  “I was born in Boston,” Rami says, “but my parents are from Alexandria, Egypt, and when I was 14 we went back for several years.”

So look at the Bigger Bite specials board and you’ll usually find Egyptian eggplant casserole or grilled kabobs or koshari, a rice and lentil dish with thin-sliced beef or chicken shawerma.

Don’t miss the falafel, a sandwich wrap filled with lettuce and vegetarian “meatballs.”  Eva blends fava beans, spices and fresh herbs to make her own falafel patties, then quickly deep fries them. It’s crisp and savory, perfect to eat with that black-and-white frappe.

Bigger Bite
No longer in business.

9311 JW Clay Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28262-5411
(704) 595-9285