Friday, September 15, 2006
First Post -- a review
A restaurant review, that is.
Calgary has three Moroccan restaurants (although one of them is on hiatus right now). Tonight we went to the Casbah, located on what used to be known as Electric Avenue. The avenue (11th) seems to have gone upscale, with more restaurants than bars now. The Casbah is below street level, and kind of looks like a hole-in-the-wall, but it's quite spacious inside. It's decorated with plenty of brass and ceramic items and painted in pleasing reds.
We opted for the "Diffa", a feast of 5 courses, and mint tea. Pampering comes first -- by having one's hands washed with rosewater. Tradition says that you should eat with your fingers: one finger is bad manners, two fingers is arrogant, three fingers is just right, and four or five fingers is a sign of gluttony (or possibly just klutziness).
First came the tomato Harira soup, which we drank out of the bowls. Moroccan food doesn't just have an aroma; it has a perfume. It's a beautiful blend of foods and spices. Salads were next, an arrangement of three marinades: beets, carrots and corn (interesting how corn has slipped into some non-North American cultures' cuisines). Then we had the Bastella, a phyllo-wrapped mixture of chicken and fruit; more fruit in it than at other restaurants, which made it quite juicy. A fluffy couscous with meats and vegetables and a chicken tagine were served together. We actually managed to eat all of that with our fingers too, with a minimum of couscous ending up on the table (I must be getting better at it). We were pleasantly full by then, but a just-right serving of baklava and ice cream finished off the meal. The whole thing took 2 1/2 hours, which is a lovely, relaxing way to spend an evening.
Oh and I should mention that the service was great, too.
Calgary has three Moroccan restaurants (although one of them is on hiatus right now). Tonight we went to the Casbah, located on what used to be known as Electric Avenue. The avenue (11th) seems to have gone upscale, with more restaurants than bars now. The Casbah is below street level, and kind of looks like a hole-in-the-wall, but it's quite spacious inside. It's decorated with plenty of brass and ceramic items and painted in pleasing reds.
We opted for the "Diffa", a feast of 5 courses, and mint tea. Pampering comes first -- by having one's hands washed with rosewater. Tradition says that you should eat with your fingers: one finger is bad manners, two fingers is arrogant, three fingers is just right, and four or five fingers is a sign of gluttony (or possibly just klutziness).
First came the tomato Harira soup, which we drank out of the bowls. Moroccan food doesn't just have an aroma; it has a perfume. It's a beautiful blend of foods and spices. Salads were next, an arrangement of three marinades: beets, carrots and corn (interesting how corn has slipped into some non-North American cultures' cuisines). Then we had the Bastella, a phyllo-wrapped mixture of chicken and fruit; more fruit in it than at other restaurants, which made it quite juicy. A fluffy couscous with meats and vegetables and a chicken tagine were served together. We actually managed to eat all of that with our fingers too, with a minimum of couscous ending up on the table (I must be getting better at it). We were pleasantly full by then, but a just-right serving of baklava and ice cream finished off the meal. The whole thing took 2 1/2 hours, which is a lovely, relaxing way to spend an evening.
Oh and I should mention that the service was great, too.
# posted by Leslie Carmichael @ 10:39 PM 
