Last Wednesday, Scott came by my office to look around, and then he, Matt, and I went down the street to Taste of Morocco for a quick dinner before going gayting with the D.C. Ice Breakers. Neither of them had had Moroccan food before, so it was a fun expedition.
As we waited, one of the waiters brought and ceremoniously poured glasses of sweet, hot, Moroccan tea for each of us. Dinner started with a chicken bastilla, the distinctive dish with spiced chicken encased in crispy layers of phyllo dough, then dusted with powdered sugar and cinnnamon. Here's a before and after picture to show the inside of the bastilla.
Matt selected the tagine of chicken with preserved lemons and green olives, accompanied by bowls of white and saffron rice. He seemed to enjoy it.
Scott and I both got couscous, his vegetarian and mine with lamb. In both cases, a bed of couscous was mounded up with stewed vegetables (and lamb, too, in my case). Lots of Americans have heard of couscous, but don't really know what it is. The typical explanation of it being "semolina" doesn't help much either, since few non-cooks realize that semolina is just a type of coarsely-ground wheat flour made from "soft" (as opposed to "hard") wheat. That coarsely-ground grain is carefully steamed so that it swells up and makes a sort of light, fluffy pasta.
Since we were running short on time, we couldn't stick around for dessert and had to race over to Ballston. After the skate, though, everyone went to Chevy's Fresh Mex for beer, margaritas, and assorted Mexican-themed appetizers.
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