In Los Angeles, a ‘Mexi-Terannean’ food spot named Tirzah’s popped up on our radar with intriguing fusion creations like their L.A. Kebab Burritos, Habibi Burritos and Falafel Sope plates. The owners behind this spot are an Egyptian-American named Steve Farah and his Mexican-American wife, Tirsa. Naturally, SceneEats had to find out the story.

“I think Egyptian and Mexican cuisine are a natural match,” Steve Farah told us from across the Atlantic. “Even beyond the food, there are a lot of similarities culturally. Both are very family-centered, community-driven and rooted in tradition, and that really shows up in the way the food is made.”

Although Steve grew up in Los Angeles, he was raised Egyptian—and had a lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant. “Both my mom and dad were born and raised in Cairo,” he says. “Growing up Egyptian, food was a big part of life. My mother is an amazing cook and I wanted to share her flavors with the world.” Things didn't go exactly according to plan: even though he went to culinary school, his entire career was in IT. That is, until he met his wife, Tirsa.
Steve met Tirsa “the old fashioned way”, at a club. “I offered to buy her a drink but she was trying to blow me off in the most polite way,” Steve says. But when Steve mentioned in passing that he was a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, Tirsa’s eyes lit up. Not only was she also a graduate, but she shared his same dream of opening a restaurant. “She had started a lunch delivery service called Love, Tirsa. It was her way of starting to chase her dreams of one day opening a restaurant.”

Steve asked for her phone number and they set up a date, and from there things were sealed. “After that date I think we both knew we were meant to be, and that's how we knew we would be opening a restaurant together in the future.”

When they took the leap of faith and opened Tirzah's, the Egyptian-Mexican fusion came naturally. “From a flavor standpoint, there are a lot of parallels. In Mexican cuisine you have tortillas, and in Egyptian cuisine you have pita. Both are essentially vessels for building flavor. There’s also a strong use of herbs and acidity in both. Egyptians use coriander, while Mexicans use cilantro, and both cuisines lean heavily on citrus, especially lemon or lime, to brighten everything up.”
The similarities don’t end there. “You also see that same foundation of staple ingredients: rice, beans, lentils, and this shared idea of taking simple, humble ingredients and turning them into something really flavorful and meaningful,” Steve explains, pointing to dishes like koshari as an example.

Where the two cuisines differ, according to Steve, in the approach towards cooking. “Egyptian food can be a bit more traditional and structured,” Steve admits, “while Mexican cuisine tends to be more flexible and regionally expressive.”

But Steve doesn't repel away from tradition. “All the Egyptian recipes and cooking came from my mother. I've spent a lot of time trying to capture and learn all her recipes. So it wasn’t about creating something trendy, it was about honoring real recipes and traditions, and then finding a way to present them in a format that feels familiar to our community.”
Although Tirzah’s is located in the predominantly Mexican L.A. neighbourhood of El Sereno, their clientele come from all over. In the years it’s been open, Tirzah’s has amassed nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and a solid reputation for itself. Steve is not sure if Tirzah’s is the only Egyptian-Mexican fusion spot in the melting pot that is L.A., but he is sure of one thing: “I don't mean to sound cocky, but nobody does what we do. It's simply the truth.”

The thought has crossed his mind to open a restaurant in Egypt, after some pleading from relatives. “My uncle Anwar who lives in Egypt keeps begging me to come to Egypt and open a restaurant there,” he tells us. While Steve says that’s unlikely to happen, the arrival of the 2026 World Cup in the US (eight games of which will take place in Los Angeles) means instead that Egyptians can go find Tirzah’s and try their fusions there–and maybe bring the concept back to Egypt.