i like to eat.

Last Saturday, my friends and I headed to Aziza, voted the best Moroccan restaurant in the city. My only experience with Moroccan food was at Cafe Zitouna (see post) and I was ready to try some good Moroccan food.

The interior is gorgeous. It feels like you stepped into a jewelry box with deep jewel tones and intricate detailing.

Between the five of us, we split three appetizers - anchovies, basteeya and meatballs. I've always thought anchovies were too fishy. These were definitely not! The anchovies were preserved in lemon, marash (Turkish pepper flakes), celery and nicoise olive. The basteeya was much better than the one I had at Cafe Zitouna. It was a huge phyllo pie filled with chicken, almond and spices. The meatballs were my favorite appetizer. They were on a skewer with grapes and there was a side of jicama in an herb vinagrette.

My friend, Jeff, suggested I get the lamb shank or couscous. My experience with lamb has only been mediocre, sometimes hesitant on my end, so I figured if I was to have good lamb, it would be here. Our waiter confirmed my decision by telling us Aziza does lamb very well.

Three of us got the lamb shank that came with barley, prunes and cranberries. The meat was soooooo tender. Oh my. I've never had meat that tender. It literally fell off the bone. There was barely any gamey-ness to the meat, which I loved. The shank was huge. Too huge. Half way through, I was already tired of it. :X It was just so much meat! My boyfriend ordered it too, so we both felt like we should have ordered different things to taste variety. Not as though the other two did not share...

Bruce ordered the rabbit that had a beautiful presentation with carrots, parsnip and dried cherry. It even came with a little foam which reminded me of Wylie Dufresne from WD-50 with his molecular gastronomy (mixing science with food preparation). The rabbit was tender and juicy, tasted just like chicken - really. Lastly, Jeff ordered the couscous that came with prawns, chicken and lamb. The best couscous I've ever had! It was so flavorful. I can eat that all the time.

We couldn't leave Aziza with out dessert so we split the yogurt mousse with blood orange, streusel, almond and honeycomb. The second one was my favorite dish of the entire night (funny how my favorite is a dessert...), a hazelnut madeleine with huckleberry sauce (I can seriously eat that every day) with a meyer lemon-buttermilk sherbet. Divine.

Overall, I enjoyed Chef Mourad Lahloou's (he beat Cat Cora on Iron Chef!) creations very much. Not sure if I'll go back; there are just so many restaurants in the city to try. I recommend Aziza if you want good Moroccan food. As for my dishes, I can't leave saying I love lamb. Aziza did an excellent job cooking the lamb, but still, I'm not a lamb person. But maybe if I eat more of it, I'll get used to it? That's how I got used to raw fish...who knows. Either way, an enjoyable experience.

                     

Click here to download:

Aziza._tag_dinner_food_morocca.zip (2518 KB)

Last week, I had another pretty dish from Gap's cafe. It was Moroccan stew with saffron couscous.

I'm not sure what made it Moroccan because I didn't taste any cumin, paprika or any other exotic spices. The meat was fork tender and the potatoes had the right texture - not too hard or soft. It tasted like traditional American stew, but with raisins thrown in. I usually eat smaller sized couscous so it was nice to try something different.

Another satisfying meal from Gap. I really need to expand my lunch destinations. Next week!

   

Click here to download:

Moroccan_Stew_Saffron_Couscous.zip (532 KB)

After two full days of Christmas feasting, I wanted to try something new, so my boyfriend and I went to Cafe Zitouna on Polk x Sutter. I've discovered this restaurant through Yelp before and noticed it had pretty good reviews (see reviews here). That night seemed like the perfect time to try something new.

We ordered a pot of delicious Moroccan mint tea that came in an adorable pot. The taste is a tad strong at first sip, but you quickly get used to it and the mint becomes very soothing. I really loved the whole set the tea came in. The silver platter, small tumblers and intricate shaped pot. I want my own set!

Seeing that Cafe Zitouna also offered lentil soup, I was determined to compare it to my all time favorite at Wally's (see post here). No comparison. Hands down, Wally's is still the best. Cafe Zitouna's was too chunky and didn't have enough flavor.

I remembered reading Yelp comments raving about the b'stilla or "the pie from heaven" so I ordered it. It was HUGE. My boyfriend and I could have easily split it. The pie was filled with shredded chicken, scrambled eggs with herbs, almonds, ginger, honey, saffron and surrounded in phyllo dough with sprinkled powdered sugar and cinnamon. It was a little weird having the sweetness of sugar and cinnamon in something I wanted to be savory, but it was decent. I don't think I would have ordered it again, but it wasn't horrible. I don't think it deserves the title of "the pie from heaven" though. :X

My boyfriend ordered kufta tajine which was sauteed meatballs with bell pepper, tomatoes, onions, eggs and spices. It was stew-like and was full of spices. I definitely liked his dish a lot more than mine. I also felt like I could make it at home, even serve it with rice for a heartier meal.

Do I agree with the 4 out of 5 rating on Yelp? Unfortunately not. It wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't go again. There are too many restaurants in the city to go back to only-mediocre restaurants! ;)

         

Click here to download:

Trip_to_Morocco_tags_food_san_.zip (1552 KB)